British Helo Pilots...

[LukeFF]

...are incredibly durable:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=982_1287162255

[mike_the_wino]

Wow. Gotta love those Brits. Unflappable.

[Stalins Organ]

"His escape is nothing short of a miracle...the bullet ricocheted off his flying helmet"

Duh - no credit to the helmet then....not acknowledgement that if the pilot gets incapacitated the co-pilot is there for a reason....no mention of the design of the helicopter to take damage...

Not to denigrate the guy's efforts, but apart from the actual facts, the reporting is sensationalist drivel!

[dieseltaylor]

Well it is a Murdoch channel - news as entertainment nt for facts or educattion

[Pak_43]

You haven't read The Sun much have you Stalin?

Times - for people who think they run the country

Telegraph - for people who do run the country

Sun - for people who don't give a **** who runs the country as long as they have big tits

[Affentitten]

Still the pilot's professionalism is a credit. If that was a Yank there would have been screaming and expletives all over the place. And like the reporter says, a few mill lower and it would have gone into his face.

I recall a couple of similar incidents. I think there is one in Chickenhawk and there is one from the Falklands War too, where the bullet came in the side of the helmet but deflected off the mike assembly, travelled round the inside brim, scoring the pilot's forehead and then exited out the other side. The co-pilot just saw the pilot slump forward with a big hole out the side of his helmt dripping blood. He couldn't believe it when the pilot regained consciousness and took control again.

[Stalins Organ]

Pak we don't get the Sun down here - one of the few blessings of being an isolated outpost of civilisation

Yes the pilot did well.....wouldn't take anything away from him at all.....but let's face it - what else are you going to do?? I don't think any half-decent pilot would have done anything different - even a mouthy yank would probably have done the same thing:)

And apart from the helmet and a/c design, how about the ppl who designed and delivered the training that the pilot used? And his cricket team captain at public school??!!

There's a lot goes into making a good pilot who can cope with the unexpected in this manner - certainly the man himself......but an awful lot has been done to make sure he _is_ the right person, with the right gear, on the right job too.

[Affentitten]

I never realised that the Brits were still using the M-60 as a crew weapon on the Chinook. In fact I never realised the Brits had ever had M-60s in their inventory.

[Michael Emrys]

I never realised that the Brits were still using the M-60 as a crew weapon on the Chinook. In fact I never realised the Brits had ever had M-60s in their inventory.

Perhaps came with the airframe as standard kit. And since it uses a standard NATO round, hardly worth the cost to replace.

Michael

[JonS]

Perhaps came with the airframe as standard kit. And since it uses a standard NATO round, hardly worth the cost to replace.

That sounds a bit unlikely - AFAIK, the British Chinooks have been extensively modified. There isn't much point saving the cost of a $1,500 MG when you're spending $15,000,000 on the airframe. Then again, this is the military, who do tend to have rather weird ideas about what is and isn't important.

There are plenty of MGs in British hands - like the GPMG - that use standard NATO 7.62 anyway, but it wouldn't surprise me too much for the Air Force to have their own unique MG, just because they can.

Having said all that, my guess is that the reporter just bollixed the description. IIRC, you never actually see this supposed "M-60". That caught my attention when I was watching it, so I was looking out for a glimpse of the weapon.

Oh, and Stalin: *raspberry* By your line of thinking, no one should ever be commended for anything they ever do. Newton may indeed have been 'standing on the shoulders of giants', but it was Newton that put it all together. Similarly, this pilot (raised and trained by a whole slew of Proper Chaps) is the one who used the a/c (designed by genii) to do a remarkable job. So, yeah, all credit to the Proper Chaps and the genii, but Top Marks to the pilot. Dollars to donuts he has an interview with the Queen in the not too distant future

[Stalins Organ]

M60D on Chinook page

[JonS]

M60D on Chinook page

Yeah, Wiki sez the M-60 is used by the RAF. IIRC, the RNZAF used/uses the M-60 as a door gun on their helos. Maybe there's something about it that makes it good on helos :confused:

[Stalins Organ]

They probably "came equipped" with M60's & why bother paying extra. Apparently the M240 (US designation of the MAG) is now equipping these mounts in place of the M60 in US service.

the Wiki page for the MAG lists a spade grip version only in US service for the LAV in 1987 - maybe there wasn't one before then?

[Affentitten]

And a little bit of a look around reveals that the pilot is Flt Lt FORTUNE. I think he needs his nickname changed to "Lucky".

[Michael Emrys]

I think he needs his nickname changed to "Lucky".

Or, knowing the Brits and their way of providing nicknames, "Good".

Michael

[dieseltaylor]

Its rather sad that the Army Air Corp and the RAF [and the RN] have all been screwing around with helicoptor requirements. In my book helicoptors are close close support and land based ones should not be RAF.

[Affentitten]

Yes it is strange that the UK still operates on that basis. It was the case in Australia even up into the Vietnam War that anything that flew was RAAF. But finally the Army said enough was enough.

[Michael Emrys]

The US Army made a bad deal back in the early days of Viet Nam when it gave up fixed wing aircraft. The arguments against their having fixed wing aircraft look good until the shooting starts and it is discovered once again that the USAF tactical support of troops on the ground isn't quite all it might be.

Michael

[Blackhorse]

Still the pilot's professionalism is a credit. If that was a Yank there would have been screaming and expletives all over the place.

???

What kind of ignorant statement is that?

Woolley, also an air mission commander during the operation where he earned the Silver Star, is a CH-47 Chinook helicopter pilot.

In November 2009, Woolley and his crew were called for a casualty evacuation mission in Baghdis province, western Afghanistan. As Woolley and his crew approached the pick-up site, his left door gunner reported heavy tracer fire coming at them. Woolley and his co-pilot maneuvered to avoid the rounds.

Once they were able to land, ground troops began loading five wounded Soldiers on the aircraft. Very quickly, the aircraft began taking more enemy fire. With less than a minute on ground, insurgents fired a rocket propelled grenade at Woolley's Chinook. The round penetrated the nose, flew between the two pilots, and hit the flight engineer in the back of the head before coming to a rest inside the helicopter, unexploded.

Woolley and his crew continued to take a barrage of enemy fire, but Woolley directed the team to stay on ground until the last patient was loaded. Once the fifth patient was loaded, Woolley led the team out of the hot landing zone and back to a coalition base where the casualties could receive treatment.

After they determined the aircraft was still flyable, Woolley made the decision to conduct a second casualty evacuation of several wounded and dead Afghan National Army soldiers.

"I feel privileged," began Woolley. "I guess the best way to describe it is I feel the same as I did yesterday, but it is an honor to be recognized. I would've done it anyway, but it truly is an honor and a privilege to be wearing this on my chest."

"These two officers displayed great courage while under intense enemy fire, while serving as air mission commanders in support of combat operations in Operation Enduring Freedom," said Col. Paul W. Bricker, commander of the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade. "They exemplify the tremendous commitment to our mission and join the long line of 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers recognized for valor in defense of our nation."

[Vanir Ausf B]

The Brits only swear at football games. During combat their upper lips are too stiff for their mouths to form the words.

[JonS]

What kind of ignorant statement is that?

Blackhorse; meet Aff.

[Affentitten]

It doesn't say that the American didn't swear, Blackhorse!!

(Plus the Flight engineer, if he survived, would have a story to tell. "Yeah, I got hit in the head by an RPG round. But I'm OK.")

(Not to mention how bummed the Taliban RPG guy must have been. He's fired the perfect shot, watched it hit the front windscreen and then had that split second waiting for the Hollywood explosion....)

[Michael Emrys]

(Not to mention how bummed the Taliban RPG guy must have been. He's fired the perfect shot, watched it hit the front windscreen and then had that split second waiting for the Hollywood explosion....)

Yeah, let's all give a big hand to the enemy. Without him we couldn't have made this movie.

Michael

[dieseltaylor]

Infiltrating dud muntiions into the enemy supply train to assist their morale!

BTW the plucky Taliban are friends of the West oops sorry I just time warped back to 1990

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Afghanistan/Afghanistan_CIA_Taliban.html

[Stalins Organ]

Whatever the U.S. government's current rhetoric about the repressive nature of the Taliban regime, its long history of intervention in the region has been motivated not by concern for democracy or human rights, but by the narrow economic and political interests of the U.S. ruling class. It has been prepared to aid and support the most retrograde elements if it thought a temporary advantage would be the result. Now Washington has launched a war against its former allies based on a strategic calculation that the Taliban can no longer be relied upon to provide a stable, U.S.-friendly government that can serve its strategic interests.

didn't we know that already??