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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Russian pilot MAJ Roman Filipov saved the last round for himself rather than be captured |
| 2018-02-06 |
| A Russian pilot who was forced to eject from his stricken jet over Syria killed himself with a grenade to avoid being captured by jihadists ‐ as he shouted, "This is for our guys!" Maj. Roman Filipov’s Sukhoi 25SM fighter was struck by a portable surface-to-air missile as he flew low over opposition-held Idlib in northwestern Syria, according to the UK’s Telegraph. The 33-year-old pilot managed to keep the plane in the air briefly but was forced to bail out after one of the engines failed and his flight controls became unresponsive. Extremists from al Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham opened fire on him after his parachute opened, but he made it to the ground and shot two of the rebels with his Stechkin pistol, the Express reported. Dramatic video circulating in social media shows the fighters ducking as the gutsy aviator then shouts, "This is for our guys!" He then pulls the grenade’s pin and blows himself up. Filipov, from the eastern city of Vladivostok, was posthumously nominated for the Kremlin’s highest honor, the Hero of Russia, according to the Russian daily Kommersant. "Maj. Roman Filipov fought an unequal battle with his service weapon until the last minute of his life," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #16 Speaking of oopsies, I remember one loach pilot flying for us would carry white phosphorus grenades and have his observer drop them to flush the bushes. Until. One bad day this helicopter got all sparkly white cloudy and that was it. Must have dropped one poor bastards. There was very little left of anything. I think the Cayuses were magnesium hulled. But everything burned to ash except the rotors. |
| Posted by: Blackbeard Bumble5724 2018-02-06 22:55 |
| #15 "A cavalry plume on a tomb Is charged with insouciant gloom, And the infantry drop With a modest kerplop, But we flyboys fall down and go boom." |
| Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 2018-02-06 19:40 |
| #14 I guess that I will have to ditch the Grey Goose sea breeze at happy hour. :-) |
| Posted by: B. Poodle6475 2018-02-06 18:31 |
| #13 Humor offered though I guess not appropriate. Speaking of flying tanks. A straight vodka leaves no stains on uniforms and honor. Чистая водка не может запятнать ни чести, ни мундира. |
| Posted by: Woodrow 2018-02-06 18:25 |
| #12 Hat tip to Knuckles :-) |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2018-02-06 17:26 |
| #11 Grenade in a Mason jar, true. (Former SE Asia Huey pilot. ) |
| Posted by: Knuckles Gonque7901 2018-02-06 17:12 |
| #10 Knew a Huey pilot who 'claimed' they put them in Mason jars and tossed them out at altitude. Damn. Clever solution to the problem of how to let the handle go when it hit the ground. |
| Posted by: gorb 2018-02-06 13:39 |
| #9 Knew a Huey pilot who 'claimed' they put them in Mason jars and tossed them out at altitude. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2018-02-06 09:06 |
| #8 I knew of Forward Air Controllers who flew around with hand grenades in the cockpit, but they mostly threw them out of the window... (seems like an opportunity for a massive |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2018-02-06 08:47 |
| #7 Probably not a great idea to eject over the people you just strafed/bombed. The guy was flying a tank killer where there were no tanks. |
| Posted by: B. Poodle6475 2018-02-06 07:59 |
| #6 Might not have been a difficult choice, considering potential outcomes. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2018-02-06 07:37 |
| #5 Custer's boys probably felt the same way. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2018-02-06 07:36 |
| #4 RIP Soldier. |
| Posted by: Enver Flusock4230 2018-02-06 06:41 |
| #3 ...Might have been on the Other Side, but you gotta admire that attitude. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2018-02-06 05:51 |
| #2 Don't know if I believe - but, as long as Russians bomb the shit out of the nearest town, its good. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2018-02-06 03:05 |
| #1 Russian pilots bail out with grenades along with their service weapons? |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2018-02-06 00:04 |