To say that the demarche of the young German turned into a huge scandal for the Armed Forces of the USSR is to say nothing. After a special meeting of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, the Minister of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union Sergei Sokolov, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Defense Forces, Air Marshal Alexander Koldunov, lost their posts. Dmitry Yazov was appointed to replace Sokolov.
The figure is stated to be from several dozen to three hundred military personnel, from lieutenants to generals, held accountable for the flight and landing of M. Rust at Sheremetevo-3, as Red Square was jokingly called after this incident. Many researchers of this history are inclined to believe that such repressive measures were unjustified: the Soviet air defense system was configured, first of all, to counter enemy combat aircraft and cruise missiles, and not to hooligans on sports aircraft.
Another stable version of what happened: it was a brilliantly planned and carried out action to discredit the USSR and the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union. The Cold War between the West and the USSR continued, and the successful flight of Matthias Rust turned out to be a wonderful occasion to once again sting the “evil empire”.
By the way, shortly after Rust’s flight, a similar story with a light aircraft occurred in France - there an amateur pilot also made an unauthorized flight over the country’s capital, causing the command of the air defense forces to worry. And in 1994, a sports Cessna landed near the White House in Washington. The landing then turned out to be unsuccessful - the pilot died.
In neither case was a “cleansing” of the Armed Forces in France and the United States carried out. The radar service was strengthened and the technical side was improved regarding the detection of such objects, tracking them and information exchange.
On September 1, 1983, a Boeing 747 of the South Korean airline Korean Air Lines, flying on the New York-Seoul route, was shot down in the skies over the USSR. During the flight, the airliner entered closed Soviet airspace and flew over several Soviet military installations. As a result, two Su-15 interceptors were lifted into the air.
Military pilots repeatedly tried to establish contact with the intruder, but they never received a signal back. The Korean Boeing continued its flight towards Sakhalin. Having reported this to the operational headquarters, the command decided to shoot down the plane. After 40 minutes, the Su-15 fighter-interceptor under the control of Gennady Osipovich was given an order to shoot down the passenger airliner.
Osipovich fired two missiles at the planes, one of which damaged the Boeing’s tail. After 12 minutes, the plane, spiraling down from a height of 9000 m, fell into the sea near the island of Moneron. The crash killed 246 passengers and 23 crew members; no one survived.
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Video: NaturalHeaven on YouTube
Last Approach - Downed Korean Boeing
According to an investigation by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the most likely cause of the flight path deviation was that the Boeing 747 pilots did not set the autopilot correctly and then did not perform proper checks to confirm the current position.
The incident caused a serious aggravation of the already difficult relations between the USSR and the USA at that time. The scarcity of information and material evidence at the initial stage of the investigation of the disaster gave rise to alternative versions of the incident. However, the Russian Federation's release of flight recorder recordings from flight KAL 007 confirmed ICAO's original version.
SUPERSONIC RAM
On November 28, 1973, an Iranian Air Force RF-4C Phantom II reconnaissance aircraft invaded Soviet airspace in Transcaucasia. On alert, a Soviet MiG-21SM under the control of Gennady Eliseev was urgently scrambled from the airfield in Vaziani. Ignoring all requests to change course and leave Soviet airspace, the Phantom continued its flight. Then the command allowed Eliseev to shoot down an enemy plane.
The MiG-21 fired two missiles at the intruder, but both of them missed the target. Having used up all the ammunition, the pilot decided to ram the Phantom. This was the third case of a supersonic air ram in the history of aviation. The crew of the Iranian plane (Iranian and American) ejected and were released by the Soviets two weeks later (the Iranian pilot subsequently died in the Iran-Iraq War). Gennady Eliseev was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for his interception.
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Video: ANZ Nick on YouTube
Supersonic fighter - interceptor Su-15
SPY PLANE U-2
On May 1, 1960, a U-2C reconnaissance aircraft piloted by Francis Powers invaded Soviet airspace. This was not the first time that high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft had flown over the territory of the Soviet Union.
A U-2C was shot down by Soviet air defenses in the Sverdlovsk region while on a reconnaissance mission from Peshawar Air Base, Pakistan. According to the official version, the plane was shot down by an S-75 anti-aircraft missile system. Powers survived because the missile only damaged the plane's tail. As a result, he was sentenced to prison by a Soviet court and was exchanged in 1962 for the Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel.
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Video: Dmitry Chronicle on YouTube
Battle of reconnaissance U-2 stealth aircraft
INCIDENT CL-44
On July 18, 1981, a CL-44 transport aircraft (number LV-JTN, Transporte Aéreo Rioplatense, Argentina), making a secret transport flight on the Tel Aviv-Tehran route, invaded Soviet airspace.
Four Su-15TMs were scrambled from the Vaziani airfield to intercept the intruder, but due to indecisiveness and unskilled actions of the command, the interceptors prematurely consumed fuel and were forced to return to base. Then a similar aircraft, piloted by Valentin Kulyapin, armed with R-98M medium-range air-to-air missiles, was aimed at the target with the task of landing the intruder.
Trying to carry out the order, the interceptor approached the target, which made it impossible to use missiles, while the intruder was approaching the border of USSR airspace. Kulyapin decided to ram the CL-44 and on the second attempt he was able to hit the intruder’s stabilizer from below with the fin and fuselage of his aircraft.
The transport plane lost control and fell several kilometers from the border; 4 crew members on board, including a British citizen, died. Kulyapin successfully ejected and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for the ram. As it turned out, the Argentine plane was transporting weapons for Iran.
INCIDENT WITH SOUTH KOREAN BOOING
The incident with the South Korean Boeing occurred on April 20, 1978 in the airspace of the USSR over Karelia. Due to a compass malfunction, the plane deviated significantly from its route. At 20:54 local time, the Boeing was first detected by Soviet radars. At 21:19 he invaded Soviet airspace in the Kola Peninsula area.
Since the intruder did not respond to requests from air traffic control services, a Su-15 piloted by Captain Alexander Bosov was scrambled to intercept. Approaching the Boeing, Bosov shook his wings. In response to this, the intruder turned around and began to leave towards Finland. Bosov received an order to destroy the intruder.
At 21:42, the interceptor fired an R-98 missile, which exploded near the leftmost engine of the Boeing, tearing off a part of the wing 3-4 m long. In addition, the passenger cabin was depressurized, the plane began a sharp descent and was lost from sight by Bosov.
The Boeing was forced to land on the ice of frozen Lake Korpijärvi. As a result of the hard landing, 2 passengers died: a businessman from South Korea and a tourist from Japan. In total, there were 97 passengers on board (including 26 women and 5 children) and 12 crew members.
LANDING ON RED SQUARE
On the afternoon of May 28, 1987, 18-year-old Matthias Rust took off from Hamburg on a four-seat light Cessna 172B Skyhawk. He made an intermediate landing at Helsinki-Malmi airport to refuel. Rust told airport traffic control that he was flying to Stockholm. At some point, Rust lost contact with Finnish air traffic control and then headed towards the Baltic Sea coastline and disappeared from Finnish airspace near Sipoo. Rescuers discovered an oil slick in the sea and regarded it as evidence of a plane crash. Rust crossed the Soviet border near the city of Kohtla-Jarve and headed for Moscow.
Moving to Moscow, Rust was guided by the Leningrad-Moscow railway. Along the route of its flight, duty units from the Khotilovo and Bezhetsk airfields took off, but the order to shoot down the Cessna was never received.
The automated air defense system of the Moscow Military District was turned off for maintenance work, so tracking of the intruder aircraft had to be done manually and coordinated by telephone. Rust landed on the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge, coasted to St. Basil's Cathedral, got off the plane at 19:10 and began signing autographs. He was soon arrested.
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Video: chipilayr on YouTube
Mathias Rust on Red Square 1987
The incident in the area of the Syrian-Turkish border, where, according to a statement by official Ankara, vividly recalled the times of the Cold War. During that period, the air confrontation between the USSR Air Force and the military aviation of NATO countries repeatedly led to military clashes.
According to incomplete data, in the period from 1950 to 1983, at least 40 cases of the use of weapons by USSR and NATO Air Force aircraft against each other were recorded. These cases do not include combat in Vietnam, Korea and the Middle East.
According to military experts, in reality there were much more military clashes, but many incidents were hushed up by both sides in order to avoid escalation of the situation.
At the same time, the main losses in these battles were suffered by NATO forces, since they were the ones who carried out operations in close proximity to the airspace of the USSR. During the military clashes, NATO forces lost at least 27 aircraft and helicopters and more than 130 military personnel. The losses of the USSR Air Force do not exceed 10 aircraft.
Here are just the largest air incidents of the Cold War.
On April 8, 1950, the PB4Y-2 Privatir bomber aircraft of the 26th Patrol Squadron of the US Navy was shot down by Soviet La-11 fighters over the Baltic Sea near Liepaja, Latvia. According to the Soviet pilots, the intruder fired at them and was shot down directly over Latvia, falling into the sea. The US said a private plane was shot down. The crew of the downed plane, numbering 10 people, died.
On October 8, 1950, two US Air Force F-80 Shooting Star fighter-bombers, during a combat mission against ground targets in North Korea (during the Korean War), deviated from course, invaded USSR airspace and attacked the Sukhaya Rechka airfield. in the Vladivostok region. As a result of the raid on the ground, 8 P-63 King Cobra aircraft of the USSR Air Force were damaged, one of which was subsequently written off; there were no casualties or injuries. The United States apologized in connection with the incident; the commander of the air group whose planes carried out the raid was removed from command and transferred to headquarters; the pilots were court-martialed.
On June 13, 1952, an RB-29 Superfortress reconnaissance aircraft of the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron of the US Air Force, taking off from the Japanese Yokota Air Base, was shot down by Soviet MiG-15 fighters over the Sea of Japan. According to the pilots, the intruder fired at them. All 12 members of the plane's crew are considered dead.
On July 29, 1953, the RB-50G Superfortress reconnaissance aircraft of the 343rd Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron of the US Air Force was shot down by Soviet MiG-17 fighters in the area of Askold Island over the Sea of Japan. During the interception, the aircraft's tail gunner unsuccessfully fired at Soviet fighters. Of the 17 crew members, 1 survived, picked up by an American ship.
On November 7, 1954, an RB-29 Superfortress reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by Soviet fighters over the Kuril Islands. The crew bailed out, 10 were rescued by American emergency services, and 1 drowned after splashdown. The Soviet side stated that the plane was in USSR airspace and fired at the fighters that intercepted it; the American side rejected these accusations.
On June 22, 1955, a P2V Neptune patrol aircraft of the US Navy Patrol Squadron 9 was attacked by Soviet MiG-15 fighters over the Bering Strait and then crashed on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. There were no deaths among the crew members, but they were all injured. The incident occurred in difficult weather conditions, which makes it difficult to reconstruct the picture of what happened. The USSR agreed to pay financial compensation in connection with the incident.
Soviet aces shot down Turkish planes and captured a Turkish colonel
On September 2, 1958, a C-130A-II Hercules reconnaissance aircraft of the 7406th Combat Support Squadron of the US Air Force, taking off from Adana airfield in Turkey, was shot down by Soviet MiG-17 fighters over Armenia. All 17 crew members died, their remains were returned partly immediately after the incident, partly after search operations 40 years later.
On May 1, 1960, a US CIA U-2C reconnaissance aircraft piloted Francis Powers, shot down by the Soviet air defense system in the Sverdlovsk region during a reconnaissance flight from the Peshawar air base in Pakistan. The plane was shot down by an S-75 anti-aircraft missile system. An anti-aircraft missile also accidentally shot down a Soviet MiG-19 fighter, scrambled to intercept the intruder (pilot Sergei Safronov died). Powers survived, was sentenced to prison by a Soviet court, and was exchanged for a Soviet in 1962. intelligence officer Rudolf Abel.
On October 21, 1970, a light twin-engine U-8 Seminole aircraft of the US Air Force lost its way, violated the airspace of the USSR and landed at the airfield of a military flight unit near the city of Leninakan, Armenian SSR. In addition to the pilot, there were two American generals and a colonel of the Turkish army on board. Realizing his mistake, the plane tried to take off again, but was blocked. After an investigation into the incident, the pilots and passengers were released.
On November 28, 1973, an Iranian Air Force RF-4C Phantom II reconnaissance aircraft invaded Soviet airspace in Transcaucasia. The MiG-21SM fighter that intercepted it unsuccessfully expended its missiles, after which pilot Gennady Eliseev carried out a supersonic air ram. The crew of the Iranian plane (Iranian and American) ejected and were detained by the Soviet military. Pilot Gennady Eliseev died. For intercepting the intruder, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).
On August 24, 1976, a pair of Turkish Air Force F-100 Super Saber fighter-bombers invaded Soviet airspace. One of them was shot down by a Soviet anti-aircraft missile system; the pilot ejected and landed in Turkey.
The beginning of which was the collapse of the USSR into independent states. With his disappearance, the longest war of the twentieth century, which was fought between the West and the East and was called the “Cold War,” ended. Secret military operations were carried out for 46 years, not only on land, but also at sea and in the air. The beginning of the Cold War - 1945. The goal is the struggle for world domination of the capitalist and communist superpowers.
Neither the USA nor the USSR could openly oppose each other, so the entire confrontation resulted in the Cold War.
Throughout all these years, the Americans carried out large-scale reconnaissance activities against the Soviet Union, violating air, sea and land borders. There were some provocations. It is clear that the USSR could not allow such actions to be carried out with impunity, so such provocations often ended in local battles. Mostly they were carried out in the air.
Beginning in 1945, American aircraft conducted reconnaissance of Soviet Far Eastern territories, in particular Kamchatka, the Bering Strait, Chukotka and the Kuril Islands. And there were reasons for that. The war between America and Japan in the Pacific has entered its final stage. American actions in the air sharply intensified.
Despite the fact that during the Second World War, America and the USSR were allies, this did not prevent the Americans from feeling very at ease in the airspace, quite often flying over Soviet military bases and ships. It must be remembered that, most likely, the American pilots making such flights did not think about the problems of big politics, assuming that the principles of military brotherhood were above all. However, the leadership of both countries needed reasons to start conflicts and, as you understand, they did not have to look for them for long.
At the end of May 1945, anti-aircraft artillery of the Pacific Fleet shot down two American B-24 military aircraft. The incident occurred in the Kamchatka region. Two months later, a similar situation occurred with another American P-38 aircraft, in the same area. But since the fire was not aimed at destruction, the planes did not receive any damage. But the Americans responded much harsher. In August 1945, American air force planes fired at two Soviet border boats near the island of Kamen Gavryushkin, wounding 14 and killing 8 crew members. It is quite possible to assume that American pilots mistook Soviet ships for Japanese ones, but the first victims of the Cold War have already appeared.
After the end of the war in September 1945, air border violations continued. Previously, Americans could explain such actions by carrying out operations against Japan or by mistakes.
Thus, during the period from May to September 1945, 27 cases of violations were recorded, in which 86 B-24 and B-25 aircraft were involved. From the moment of Japan's surrender until 1950, there were already 46 such provocations involving 63 aircraft. Moreover, during the period from June 27 to July 16, 1950 alone, 15 air violations were recorded.
The first air collision occurred in the Far East in the same 1945, when one of the American bombers made an emergency landing. This happened over Korean territory, near the city of Hamhung, where at that time there was a large airbase of the Soviet air force. The Americans, violating the agreement on the air corridor, flew over it, heading to Manchuria for prisoners. The air base management accepted this situation, but the commission that arrived in the city demanded that measures be taken to stop such flights. In November, one of the American planes, which was making another flight over a Soviet base, was intercepted by 4 Airacobra P-39 fighters and forced to land. When American pilots refused to comply with the demands of Soviet fighters, one of them fired at an American plane, causing an engine fire. The Americans were forced to land. None of the American crew were injured. It is noteworthy that fire was not opened on Soviet aircraft. Later the B-29 was sent to Moscow for testing.
In the post-war years, there was a violation of the borders of the Soviet Union in the north-west, from Norway and Finland. It was a little calmer in the southern cordons of the country. But here, too, air border violations occurred, mainly over the territory of Azerbaijan. In 1947, the crew of one of the provocateur aircraft was captured. Thus, from Iran, a single-engine aircraft of the air force of this state appeared. He landed near the city of Nakhichevan. The Border Patrol detained its crew. The pilots explained that they were flying to Tabriz from Tehran, but lost their orientation and therefore ended up on Soviet territory. This may have been true, but the plane belonged to Iranian intelligence, and was also armed. Also in 1947, three more cases of violations by Iranian and American aircraft were recorded in the same area.
Later, air provocations were carried out more often, and their consequences were more tragic.
There is evidence that the official first casualties of the Cold War occurred in 1950, when an American PB4Y aircraft violated Soviet airspace in the area of the Libau base in the Baltic. Alerted La-11 fighters intercepted him. But since the American pilots refused to follow the commands of the Soviet pilots, they had no choice but to open fire. The Americans responded with fire. As a result, PB4Y was shot down and fell into the sea. All 10 members of its crew were killed. It is worth noting that such American military vehicles had already appeared several times before, so the Soviet side set up an ambush. The Soviet command insisted that the B-29 was shot down, while the Americans still admitted the loss of PB4Y.
There is also information that Americans suffered losses on the Soviet borders before. For example, in 1949, an American B-25 plane was shot down over the Black Sea, which landed three paratroopers on Soviet territory, while it itself tried to escape into neutral waters. It was intercepted by two Soviet fighters and shot down. The American crew was picked up by a Soviet border boat.
Most of the evidence of air battles during the Cold War has been preserved since the 50s. It is clear that there are no accurate statistics and cannot be, but still some data even sometimes appeared in the press. Thus, according to some sources, over the 10 years since 1950, American aircraft attempted to violate Soviet airspace 81 times, from which 20 combat vehicles did not return. According to American sources, the United States began reconnaissance over Soviet territories back in 1949, using specially converted bombers. Until 1960, 17 such aircraft did not return.
Other sources speak of a different figure. Thus, during the period from 1953 to 1956 alone, Americans violated Soviet air borders 113 times.
It was not possible to avoid tragic mistakes for the Soviet side. In the summer of 1954, when another American reconnaissance aircraft appeared on radar and then went into neutral waters, its own Tu-14 plane, which was returning as part of a group from training bombing, was shot down. The entire crew of the car was killed. However, the pilot who shot down his plane was not brought to justice, since the Tu-14 was produced in a small series and therefore was little known to the main aviation units.
Like America, NATO also had a large number of reconnaissance aircraft, most of which were located in close proximity to the Soviet borders. Moreover, the CIA had its own air reconnaissance, and the military department had its own. Each of them had its own tasks, tactical and strategic.
It should also be noted that neutral states were also involved in aviation reconnaissance. Two incidents involving Swedish military aircraft that were shot down by Soviet fighters in 1952 received wide publicity in the Soviet press. The DC-3 aircraft were part of the Swedish radio intelligence unit and were equipped with the most modern equipment for listening to communications taking place on the radio over Soviet territory. Moreover, Swedish aircraft, in addition to active aerial and electronic reconnaissance of the Baltic coast, provided assistance to anti-government troops in the Baltic states.
In addition, reconnaissance aircraft from countries such as Great Britain, Iran, Germany, and Turkey also appeared near the Soviet borders. And although they appeared extremely rarely, the potential of the air forces of these states increased, which did not allow the Soviet troops to relax.
It should also be noted that American aircraft learned to harm Soviet aircraft without even crossing the borders of the Union. So, for example, when one of the Soviet batteries in the Baku area was about to fire 130-mm anti-aircraft guns, an American aircraft equipped with powerful radio electronics took off from an Iranian base and simply flew along the Soviet border, creating interference. In response to such “rudeness,” Soviet troops began to create radio interference for one of the American bases, which was located in Iran, which significantly complicated the takeoff and landing of aircraft. A week later, the “interference fight” was stopped by mutual agreement.
But if until the mid-50s, Soviet troops somehow managed to maintain the inviolability of the state’s borders, then in 1954 the last frontier collapsed. The reason for this was the advent of automatic drifting balloons (ADA) in service with Western intelligence services, which were capable of rising to great heights, thus becoming inaccessible to fighters. They were equipped with the latest reconnaissance equipment and launched from military bases in Norway, Germany, Italy, France, and Turkey. ADA could reach an altitude of up to 30 kilometers, so even the Soviet MiG-15bis, Yak-25 and MiG-17P, which operated at an altitude of up to 15 kilometers, were not able to reach them. Therefore, the balloons successfully carried out reconnaissance over almost the entire Soviet territory. The USSR air defense forces had no choice but to record their appearance.
True, some ADAs were still shot down. The first of them was destroyed in 1954 near Chernivtsi at an altitude of 10 kilometers using a MiG-17P. A few days later, Soviet pilots tried again to shoot down the balloon, but this time they failed.
The period of greatest activity of the ADA began in 1956, when in just two months about 3 thousand balloons violated Soviet borders. And over 20 years, 4112 balls were recorded, of which 793 were shot down.
In addition, the British Canberra reconnaissance aircraft and the American RB-57 and U-2 caused many problems to the Soviet air defense system. Later the RB-57F appeared. All of them operated at altitudes inaccessible to interception.
In just 5 days of July 1956, they made 5 breakthroughs into Soviet territory up to 350 kilometers deep. In the same year, the Lockheed U-2 appeared, which appeared over Moscow and Kiev, Crimea and Minsk, the Far East and the Baltics, Siberia and Central Asia. All attempts to “get” high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft were unsuccessful. And only in November 1959 the “antidote” was found. It was at this time that the S-75 Desna anti-aircraft missile system was adopted into service with the Soviet air defense system. It demonstrated its effectiveness on November 16, when an American balloon was shot down at an altitude of 28 kilometers.
The S-75 began to be used not only to protect borders, but also especially important objects on the territory of the state itself. A little later, the Su-9, fighter-interceptors with a ceiling height of 20 kilometers, also began to enter service. But their number was still not enough to provide reliable protection. So, in 1960, a Lockheed plane, taking off from Pakistan, violated the Soviet border in the Turkmenistan region and headed for Baikonur. Attempts were made to intercept it using two MiG-19s, but one of the aircraft was destroyed, so the interception did not take place. When the Lockheed returned back over the territory of Turkmenistan, two MiG-17s tried to intercept it, pursuing the reconnaissance aircraft even over Iranian territory, but to no avail.
In May 1960, they still managed to defeat U-2, but there were some casualties on the Soviet side. Near Sverdlovsk, two MiG-19s and Su-9s were alerted, but none of these fighters managed to intercept the enemy, but the missilemen dealt with this problem. True, they overdid it: in a hurry they began to fire at their own, as a result of which one MiG-19 was destroyed and the pilot died.
A major international scandal broke out, after which US President D. Eisenhower banned Lockheed flights. The silence continued for more than 2 years. At the end of August 1962, they again appeared over Soviet territory in the area of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Chukotka.
In addition to such high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, low-altitude aircraft also appeared over Soviet territory: the RB-47 Stratojet and the RB-45C Tornado. Thus, the RB-47 repeatedly appeared over the Sea of Japan and the Caspian Sea, in the Vladivostok area. In July 1960, one of these aircraft crossed the border near Arkhangelsk. A MiG-19 was used to intercept it. As a result, the American plane was shot down, leaving only two of the 6 crew members alive.
When anti-aircraft missile systems, as well as new generation fighter-interceptors, appeared in the arsenal of the Soviet troops, high-altitude border breakthroughs ended. But this does not mean that air border violations have stopped. Long-range radar detection aircraft appeared in the arsenal of NATO countries, which could conduct reconnaissance even when outside the desired state. It was enough to be near the Soviet borders to conduct successful reconnaissance hundreds of kilometers in depth.
Very little information has been preserved about the confrontation between America and the USSR in the 60s, since strict censorship in the press was introduced by order of L. Brezhnev. Any incidents that happened on the Soviet border were classified. Therefore, the only source is the Western media. Thus, in 3 years, from 1967 to 1970, the American side violated the air borders of the Soviet Union more than 10 times. Among them is the case of the DC-8, which crossed the border near the Kuril Islands in 1968, carrying the name of 100 American soldiers. Air defense fighters were sent to intercept. After conducting an investigation and establishing the circumstances, the plane itself, the soldiers, and the crew were handed over to the American government.
At the end of May 1978, a Soviet Tu-16R aircraft from the Northern Fleet Air Force disappeared in the waters of the Norwegian Sea. Nothing is known about what happened to the scout. The latest information received from the board was that the pilots had discovered the American Essex. There are speculations that the Tu-16-R was shot down by the Americans, although the latter deny their involvement in the disappearance of the Soviet plane.
Another Soviet Tu-95RTs aircraft from the Northern Fleet Air Force disappeared in the Norwegian Sea in August 1976.
During an aerial reconnaissance flight to the Atlantic, the Tu-95RC tried to intercept the American F-4 Phantom, as a result of which one of them crashed its wing into the tail of a Soviet reconnaissance aircraft. The American pilots ejected, and the Soviet pilots barely made it to the base.
Another incident is associated with the violation of Soviet borders, which resulted in the death of hundreds of people. In September 1983, Soviet airspace was violated by a South Korean Boeing 747 airliner, which was very similar to the RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft. When a target mark appeared on the on-board radar, the Su-15 pilot, who was sent to intercept, identified it as an RC-135. There is no need to remind you what happened next...
After the new MiG-31 fighter-interceptors, which are considered the best in the world, appeared in service in the Soviet Union, the Americans no longer wanted to conduct aerial reconnaissance over Soviet territory. The Americans recognized the USSR's dominance in the air, focusing on creating ultra-precise aircraft.
In 2014 alone, Turkey violated Greek airspace more than 2.5 thousand times, and the United States more than once provoked the USSR by approaching the country’s air border with nuclear warheads on board. Don't believe me? That's in vain! When a Russian plane accidentally violated Israeli airspace, the pilot fled the country after being warned. Errors of this kind are acceptable at such speeds, and no one began to bomb the Russian Aerospace Forces. After all, Russia does not pose any threat to the state, which means there is no point in bringing it down.
According to Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, there was a minor incursion, just a mile away. And after communication with the pilot was established, he changed course and returned to Syria. No one considered it necessary to react to this; the Russian Federation does not attack the territory. Actually, there’s nothing to worry about.
However, as practice shows, not everyone is guided by this kind of logic. Türkiye, which clearly pursued certain goals, turned out to be more principled. Although, it would seem that at such a time it is possible to omit this kind of trifles and let people work in peace. But no. During an alleged airspace violation, a Russian Su-24 was shot down in cold blood.
If everything is so serious, and even now, when Russia is actively engaged in destroying the positions of the “Islamic State”, many countries are ready to turn a blind eye to the mistakes of Russian pilots, it is surprising why some countries focus on such mistakes.
But before we return to our sheep, let’s remember, first, how Turkey, for example, collected about 2.5 thousand violations of intrusion into Greek airspace last year alone. 2.5 thousand, Karl! This is not for you to go out into the street for a walk. And did anyone in the West react? Has Athens started full-scale hysteria and threats, they say, let’s do it, then we’ll see how you dance in your Ankara. No, that didn't happen. And so, for reference, on the eve of the tragedy on the Syrian-Turkish border, Turkey invaded the skies of Greece more than 20 times a day.
American planes have also found themselves on foreign territory more than once. For example, in Venezuela. But even then, no one began to shoot down the reconnaissance aircraft of the US Coast Guard. The question is: “Why?” Is the USA really that special, or do they have special privileges (judging by Erdogan’s logic, according to which every plane that violates someone else’s border should be destroyed).
The same notorious NATO planes, yes, the same organization to which Turkey immediately ran after shooting down the Su-24, were seen in several violations of the borders with Belarus. It’s surprising that Father Lukashenko did not fire a lethal shell at them.
And, in order to completely consolidate the material we have covered, let’s remember how our beloved Americans, fighting “for world peace,” several times carried out many operations when alliance and US bombers rushed at incredible speed to the borders of the USSR, loaded with nuclear warheads, so that check the Union's reaction. What will happen? Will he strike back out of fear? Or will it pass? Or will it still be possible to provoke?
But normal countries would not provoke the Third World War. At this stage, it is not very difficult to untie it. You just have to wonder if there is any point in these threats? And who will they ultimately benefit?
