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US Navy fires on Polish Port

Ace_Austin

Member
pilot
Gydina.... that was a hell of a port. Old Polish WWII DD and a firing range run by a former GROM bubba in an old Luftwaffe bunker. ( He was alota fun to talk to and great to shoot with.) If you ever wanna feel like your wandering around a 1980s Soviet era city, stick your head into that town.
 

A4sForever

BTDT OLD GUY
pilot
Contributor
BFD ... it happens. It's called an 'accident'.

I dropped on a covey of barges
once after I was in my run & the lead got cold feet 'cause he couldn't positive ID & called:
'ABORT, ABORT, ABORT' !!!

I called 'BOMBS AWAY'.

The BDA was righteous ... :)

However ... it was NOT an 'accident'. It was later called a 'good hit'. :)
 

CAMike

Well-Known Member
None
Contributor
CRON- Correct- and how exactly will the CO of the USN vessel justify todays actions vs. the Ruskys involvement with Poland at the end of WWII?
 

HeyJoe

Fly Navy! ...or USMC
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I'd say this was slightly worse. Killing the Captain, and several other crew, of another ship . . . shit happens . . . http://articles.latimes.com/1992-10-02/news/mn-339_1_turkish-ship

That incident is an entirely different kettle of fish. A little bit after midnight, the Captain calls away General Quarters and the Petty Officer manning the Missile Battery didn't get it was a drill and thought he was supposed to fire...so he did. Same thing happened with a Saratoga-based Tomcat that intercepted a USAF RF-4C Phantom. The E-2C calls away "Red and Free" and pilot confirms it with RIO who thinks he means exercise and says "GO ahead and shoot 'em (meaning a simulated shot). Pilot arms up and scratch one RF-4.
 

JIMC5499

ex-Mech
Same thing happened with a Saratoga-based Tomcat that intercepted a USAF RF-4C Phantom. The E-2C calls away "Red and Free" and pilot confirms it with RIO who thinks he means exercise and says "GO ahead and shoot 'em (meaning a simulated shot). Pilot arms up and scratch one RF-4.

Was this in Oct 87? I got asked to leave Mildenhall AFB over that. I had taken a few days leave when the Forrestal was in Portsmouth. The RF-4's squadron was based there.
 

helolumpy

Apprentice School Principal
pilot
Contributor
The rumor mill has reported that after the USS VINCENNES shot down Iran Air flight 655 they flew a banner on thier stern as the departed the Gulf that said; "Shit Happens".
Don't know if it's true, but it's dammed funny!
 

Alpha_Echo_606

Does not play well with others!™
Contributor
Was this in Oct 87? I got asked to leave Mildenhall AFB over that. I had taken a few days leave when the Forrestal was in Portsmouth. The RF-4's squadron was based there.
I must have been too busy drinking to remember this.
 

Brett327

Well-Known Member
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
The rumor mill has reported that after the USS VINCENNES shot down Iran Air flight 655 they flew a banner on thier stern as the departed the Gulf that said; "Shit Happens".
Don't know if it's true, but it's dammed funny!

Highly doubtful. I'm sure the Captain and crew weren't that flippant about killing a bunch of innocent civilians. In fact, I'm sure most of them felt pretty fucking low - I know I would.

Brett
 

Alpha_Echo_606

Does not play well with others!™
Contributor
The rumor mill has reported that after the USS VINCENNES shot down Iran Air flight 655 they flew a banner on thier stern as the departed the Gulf that said; "Shit Happens".
Don't know if it's true, but it's dammed funny!

Highly doubtful. I'm sure the Captain and crew weren't that flippant about killing a bunch of innocent civilians. In fact, I'm sure most of them felt pretty fucking low - I know I would.

Brett
I sure don't remember it, and the Vincennes was part of our group.
 

A4sForever

BTDT OLD GUY
pilot
Contributor
Most of you aren't old enough to remember the USS Vincennes/IR 655 incident, or most probably don't remember the 'temperature of the times' and the 10-15 years that had preceded the event. I can attest to the fact that there WAS a lot of less than respectful 'gallows humor' going on after the shoot-down and there was little, if any, hand-wringing over the event on this side of the Persian Gulf, certainly not in the U.S. military community. You must remember -- Iranians were NOT high up on the top-10 Christmas card list for most Americans in 1988 and the years going back to the fall of the Shah ...

Iran Air Flight 655 - Wiki

The CAPT -- Will Rogers III -- was supposedly 'looking for a fight', as was witnessed from his reportedly aggressive tactics leading up to the shoot-down. The Vincennes was still relatively new as was the AEGIS system ... and I think someone wanted to 'test it' and someone wanted a kill.


CAPT Will C. Rogers III - Wiki
 

HAL Pilot

Well-Known Member
None
Contributor
As I have stated before on this site, I was flying in support of the Vincennes during this incident and intimately involved. Until we landed a couple of hours later, I believed it was a F-14 that was shot down. Based on the info I had on data link, ESM and via the radios, I thought then it was a good decision to shoot and I still believe that today. I lose no sleep over my role.

There is a lot more to this incident then will ever be public and a lot that only the Iranians know.

But I will confirm that Vincennes with Captain Rogers was the most aggressive USN ship in the Gulf. I had a couple of incidents where he tried to take control of me and task me against my ROE (as MC, I refused). However I don't believe this aggressiveness had anything to do with the shoot down. Any Captain would have taken the shot based on the info Captain Rogers had available.
 

Alpha_Echo_606

Does not play well with others!™
Contributor
As I have stated before on this site, I was flying in support of the Vincennes during this incident and intimately involved. Until we landed a couple of hours later, I believed it was a F-14 that was shot down. Based on the info I had on data link, ESM and via the radios, I thought then it was a good decision to shoot and I still believe that today. I lose no sleep over my role.
This is what I remember hearing following the shoot down. HAL Pilot, what squadron were you with?
 
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