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Old February 19th 06, 07:02 PM posted to rec.aviation.military.naval
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Default Red Pheonix- A Couple Of Reality Checks

Sorry for being quasi-on-topic (seems to be rare now!), but I just finished
reading Larry Bond's Red Pheonix (it wasn't very good- FAR too many
unbelievable coincidences!!). Besides stretching the plot, I believe he
stretches the plausibility of some of the action. So I thought I'd check
with some of the folks here who've been there, done that.

The A-A moments were generally readable, but the first action described is a
nighttime dogfight between F-16s and Mig-21/29s (including guns kills!).
Has there ever been a documented case of a nighttime dogfight? Would
something like that be possible in a -teen series jet? I'm not talking
about an intercept, but a messy, multiplane furball. Seems to me it'd be a
great way to get lots of collisions and blue-on-blue kills.

One other moment of great implausibility (maybe it happened twice?!) was
when an F-16 finishing a bombing run saw a SAM site, and then turned towards
it and hosed it with his cannon. OK, that's weak, but for those (Ed and
others) who've done Iron Hand/SEAD missions, how often were cannons used
agaisnt SAM sites? I would imagine pretty rarely as they would be
accompanied by AAA. I think it's been said (by Ed if not others), that
dueling ground guns with aerial cannons isn't the best idea in the world.

Thanks for any answers.