MKopack 0 Posted June 18, 2008 "We screamed down the chute, aiming for a SCUD missile storage area. There were missiles going everywhere. They were shooting SAM's with and without radar guidance. The adrenaline was really pumping! I pickled, and came off with nine G's! My 500 knots was converted to 400 knots and my RHAW lit up with a SA-2 at my dead six. I heard AWACS call, "SA-2 Active, western Kuwait!" I thought, "No kidding, he's on me!" I punched chaff, jinked right…and it went away…came back to egress heading…he's on me again…no kidding! My airspeed is down to 350 knots and I'm thinking, "This is it, he's got me!" As you get slower the tracking solution is easier for the missile and I really had a solid spike, right at my dead six. I've got twenty miles to go to the border, but the SA-2 is closing at supersonic speed and I am convinced that the war is over for me. It was time to punch the tanks off. There is a little plastic cover over the jettison button so that you don't accidentally punch them off. The crew chief had glazed it over with white glue to make it look pretty. I bruised my finger, but the adrenaline rush got that button punched. The tanks came off the airplane, it was clean, and I started to accelerate. Right then, I heard a Weasel guy call "Magnum two." The SA-2 is gone…just like that, and I am outta there!" This is part of an interview, courtesy of Lou Drendel, with one of the pilots in my squadron during Desert Storm, the 614th TFS from Torrejon AB, then Capt. (now BGen) Phil 'Ruhldog' Ruhlman, at the Lucky Devils in the Gulf War (http://www.lucky-devils.net) website. Along with the the interview, we've got over 250 personal photos of our aircraft, people and places, a photo gallery of official USAF photos, articles, stories and some amazing cockpit video of the largest raid on downtown Baghdad during the war - Package Q. I invite you to take a look and hope you enjoy my tribute to the people that support, maintain, and fly the aircraft that we all love to see. Visit the Lucky Devils and Forgotten 1000 in the Gulf War ...and you won't even have to sleep in a tent... Mike Kopack ex-Lucky Devil Viper Maintainer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+JimBeamer5 3 Posted June 23, 2008 Someone almost had a bad day! Nice sight, a lot of work gone into that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
