Interview with an Su-15 pilot

[MigBuster]

 

Soviet interceptor pilots faced the daunting task of defending the world’s largest nation against the combined forces of the world’s most technologically advanced nations. The awesome responsibility of preventing nuclear annihilation from USAF B-52 bombers, countering the impossible nuisance of snooping mach 3 SR-71s and air-to-air combat with F-4 and F-15s were formidable tasks that the skilled pilots of the Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO) trained for in earnest. In the Cold War, the backbone of their manned air defence was 1300 Sukhoi Su-15s (NATO codename ‘Flagon’), we spoke to Su-15 pilot Valeri Shatrov to find out more. 

 

https://hushkit.net/2019/04/26/interview-with-soviet-air-force-su-15-flagon-fighter-pilot-defending-the-ussr/

 

 

 

[+whiteknight06604]

of course the easiest way for them to avoid nuclear annihilation would be to not be aggressive and threatening in pushing their ideology  this looks like a very interesting interview. thank you for the link. 

[fallenphoenix1986]

2 hours ago, whiteknight06604 said:

of course the easiest way for them to avoid nuclear annihilation would be to not be aggressive and threatening in pushing their ideology 

I imagine they were saying exactly the same thing about us 

[+whiteknight06604]

5 minutes ago, fallenphoenix1986 said:

I imagine they were saying exactly the same thing about us 

they were for sure but we were on the right side of history. there is no moral equivalent between pushing freedom vs pushing oppression.not everything the west did was right and not everything that Communism did was wrong but overall the of the two systems one was oppressive and caused untold suffering and the other did not. There is a reason hundreds of millions cheered when the Soviet stranglehold was eased and there is a reason that only despotic terror nations cheer when there are tragedies in the West.

[Trotski]

Well You could argue that from the soviet Pilots perspective, it was they who were on the side of "right" Being born and indoctrinated into the Greater Soviet, regaled but stories of the Great Patriotic War , and how Mother Russia had defeated Nazi Tyranny, sort of puts a whole different slant on it.

A good article though and an interesting read, especially on the combat effectiveness and maneuverability of the "Flagon"  The Russians made some very handy bits of kit.

[+whiteknight06604]

10 minutes ago, trotski00 said:

Well You could argue that from the soviet Pilots perspective, it was they who were on the side of "right" Being born and indoctrinated into the Greater Soviet, regaled but stories of the Great Patriotic War , and how Mother Russia had defeated Nazi Tyranny, sort of puts a whole different slant on it.

A good article though and an interesting read, especially on the combat effectiveness and maneuverability of the "Flagon"  The Russians made some very handy bits of kit.

I agree 100% that from their perspective they were on the right side....but in the end their ideology was responsible for the oppression of hundreds of millions and the deaths of a hundred million more. I would never fault the average soviet citizen for loving their homeland but in hindsight the system that they lived under was as evil and repressive as any the world has devised.the individuals who lived under that system were not evil they were victims even if many didn't see it at the time. 

[+whiteknight06604]

also i apologize for derailing this post. The article is excellent and i didn't mean to take away from that. 

[Viggen]

Great read, thanks!

[JosefK]

Thanks for sharing.  I thought about creating a reserve squadron of Su-15s towards the end of Nihon Hitori 2020 but the Su-15's longest range missile the K-8 is a measly... fourteen miles/twenty-three kilometers.  All the Su-15s would be in a 2020 air war would be... targets or drones. 

They might have stood a decent chance against unescorted B-52s and recon planes though.    Maybe a B-1B if incredibly lucky... since the USAF doesn't believe in arming its penetrating bombers with even tail guns anymore, much less the AIM-120s they arguably need.

[jeanba]

Great article.

I understand now why it is not so easy to shoot down a Su-15 in SF2 :)

[Trotski]

14 hours ago, whiteknight06604 said:

I agree 100% that from their perspective they were on the right side....but in the end their ideology was responsible for the oppression of hundreds of millions and the deaths of a hundred million more. I would never fault the average soviet citizen for loving their homeland but in hindsight the system that they lived under was as evil and repressive as any the world has devised.the individuals who lived under that system were not evil they were victims even if many didn't see it at the time. 

Of Course , the Soviet union was responsible for much bad jujuj , but one thing is sure, as a cold war warrior, I'm really glad the cold war didnt go hot, we would have overcome in the end I believe, but the cost would have been horrendous, to both sides. 

[Stratos]

Please guys, do not derail the post, is a aviation forum, not a politics one.

And remember one thing, no one would have won, world would have been destroyed several times before everything ended.

[+Gepard]

An admin should move the political part into the correct threat area.

[Trotski]

I dont think there was any deliberate political discussion, rather it was an aside, and no derailment was intended. conversations occasionally branch off a little before returning to the subject in hand.

[tiopilotos]

Great interview! I'm quite impressed by the fact that Flagon was a maneuverable aircraft. However I expected some more info about the capablities of Taifun radar and R-98 missiles.

[Trotski]

I would too, that sort of information seems to be hard to come by, always did like the look of the Flagon though, but assumed if flew like a brick .