You ******* dipshit...when is the last time an F22 got shot down. And who would have shot it down...the ******* Spaniards? The Greeks? Give it up...you have no clue.
Who has no fly zones getting to Libya, Einstein?
F-22 has the radar signature of a bumblebee, dufus.
Technically true, but the distance is over 4500 NM and the cruise speed of an F-22 is about 1000 knots. While that looks like a simple 4.5 hour trip, lets not forget the pilots are strapped into a tight, single seat cockpit, not lounging in first class with food and a lavatory. They'd have to inflight refuel at least 4 times just to get there. That'd take about 10-30 minutes each depending upon how many aircraft in the flight. They'd have to loiter over the target for up to an hour then, where? Spend another 5-6 hours flying back? WTF?
Ten hours strapped to a seat is not "comfortable". Why send an F-22? Why not a B-1 loaded with cruise missiles? They could bring a lunch.
Disagreed. Blackbird pilots had special equipment and days of prep for a single mission, not to mention recovery. Long flights strapped into a seat are difficult and not something one does on the spur of the moment unless the fate of the nation is at stake.
How about them? Are you really willing to sacrifice a 33-71% loss rate? That's pretty generous of you with other people's lives.
How about them? Are you really willing to sacrifice a 33-71% loss rate? That's pretty generous of you with other people's lives.
BTW, my main point above is that assets should have been in place in theater not sent on 20 hour mission from Washington, D.C.
Mustang Pilot's Mission: A Day in the Life | HistoryNet
Debriefing
Back at the ready room Poyen debriefs us separately. Neither he nor anyone else shows any surprise about Barab and Kelley. Some make brief comments, or shake their heads sadly. Losses are expected.
Of the original cadre of 28 men, only eight 357th Fighter Squadron pilots survive the war unscathed, a 71 percent loss rate. Of the 128 replacement pilots, 70 come through unscathed, a 45 percent loss rate. Subtracting those who were shot down and became POWs or evaders, one-third of all 357th Squadron pilots are killed in action in the war.
Gun-camera film later confirms that Fred destroyed two Me-109s and I destroyed one. I report Barab’s 109 shootdown, and Fred attests to it. We learn that there were 26 victories today for the 355th Group, versus three losses.
Fred later tells the others I was a “tiger” and saved him, the genesis of my nickname, “Tiger” Lyons. I tell everyone how Barab and Kelley saved me.
I’m credited with five hours’ mission time for the Misburg raid. My total now stands at 121 hours, 45 minutes, toward a required 300 combat hours before I’m eligible for a 30-day leave in the U.S.
