Can women fly fighter planes successfully?

[Robert W]

Now you can watch and listen to a woman Col. ret. discuss her fighting in Afghanistan and also Iraq.

Notice she was not very busy in Afghanistan since Bush turned that planning and fighting over to General Tommy Franks. Franks is the modern day General Patton. A wonderful General.
As to this Col. Sure she could wage war in fighter planes.

 

[Stryder50]

Kim Campbell (pilot) - Wikipedia​

As you can see, she was a "military brat", her father had attended the Air Force Academy.
She flew A-10 which is more a ground attack combat aircraft than a fighter = anti-airplane type.
Still, a very impressive combat record at that.

When it comes to flying, this is not a gender/sex specific task, not a racial or ethnic one.

 

[Stryder50]

Kim Campbell (pilot) - Wikipedia​

As you can see, she was a "military brat", her father had attended the Air Force Academy.
She flew A-10 which is more a ground attack combat aircraft than a fighter = anti-airplane type.
Still, a very impressive combat record at that.

When it comes to flying, this is not a gender/sex specific task, not a racial or ethnic one.

EXCERPT:
....
The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (also Women's Army Service Pilots[2] or Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots[3]) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became trained pilots who tested aircraft, ferried aircraft and trained other pilots. Their purpose was to free male pilots for combat roles during World War II. Despite various members of the armed forces being involved in the creation of the program, the WASP and its members had no military standing.

WASP was preceded by the Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD) and the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). Both were organized separately in September 1942. They were pioneering organizations of civilian women pilots, who were attached to the United States Army Air Forces to fly military aircraft during World War II. On August 5, 1943, the WFTD and WAFS merged to create the WASP organization.[4]: 45, 49–50, 173 

The WASP arrangement with the US Army Air Forces ended on December 20, 1944. During its period of operation, each member's service had freed a male pilot for military combat or other duties. They flew over 60 million miles; transported every type of military aircraft; towed targets for live anti-aircraft gun practice; simulated strafing missions and transported cargo. Thirty-eight WASP members died during these duties and one, Gertrude Tompkins, disappeared while on a ferry mission, her fate still unknown.[5] In 1977, for their World War II service, the members were granted veteran status,[6] and in 2009 awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.[7][8]
...

Women Airforce Service Pilots - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[airplanemechanic]

I do think they can be damn good pilots. The ONLY issue I have with women being pilots is that most of them are trained on how to fly, but don't understand the systems and how they interact. Not that all men do, but they seem to do that better than women.

And as far as women being pilots in general, that's fine, but what you can't train a woman to do is be as strong as a man. What do I mean by that? Well, quite a few moons ago a small "puddle jumper" regional jet took off from our local airport and IMMEDIATELY the trim went into runaway straight up. They had two men in the cockpit, both young strong men. They got the runaway trim disconnected and were able to PHYSICALLY shove the flight yoke forward enough to keep the plane from stalling. They later said had even ONE of those pilots been a woman, the plane would have stalled and crashed killing everyone on board.

Ever since then I've been torn on women in the cockpit. Basically, yea they're fine as long as everything works normally. It's when the shit hits the fan that I worry about women being in charge.

 

[MarathonMike]

Fighter jet pilots, absolutely. Front line foot soldiers, no. Unless they can prove that they can carry a 200 pound man over their shoulder then OK.

 

[Stryder50]

I do think they can be damn good pilots. The ONLY issue I have with women being pilots is that most of them are trained on how to fly, but don't understand the systems and how they interact. Not that all men do, but they seem to do that better than women.

And as far as women being pilots in general, that's fine, but what you can't train a woman to do is be as strong as a man. What do I mean by that? Well, quite a few moons ago a small "puddle jumper" regional jet took off from our local airport and IMMEDIATELY the trim went into runaway straight up. They had two men in the cockpit, both young strong men. They got the runaway trim disconnected and were able to PHYSICALLY shove the flight yoke forward enough to keep the plane from stalling. They later said had even ONE of those pilots been a woman, the plane would have stalled and crashed killing everyone on board.

Ever since then I've been torn on women in the cockpit. Basically, yea they're fine as long as everything works normally. It's when the shit hits the fan that I worry about women being in charge.

I can see your point, but often guys aren't all that buff either.

My oldest son, when going through Army basic the first time, was in a group signed up for support tasks (was in a chemical warfare reserve unit at the time), so his basic class included quite a few women enlistees as well.

He had a similar beef on female strength, lack thereof. In one of the combat drills, the soldier is to dash out to the middle of the road, grab a fallen soldier by his harness and pull him back off the road. Most of the guys could do this by themselves, but nearly all the females had to double up to do it.

Females also seemed to have a challenge digging foxholes and would often use their "whiles" to entice a guy to finish it for them.

There was an exception in his class. One gal could out do most of the guys in push-ups and chin-ups. And she was far from "butch" looking he told me.

BTW, about aircraft systems failures, training is as important as physical ability. IIRC, at least one of those Boeing 737-8 MAX crashes look to have been due to very minimum training of the two guys in the cockpit who didn't know how properly to deal with a critical system failure.

 

[Stryder50]

Not only did World War Two see the sex barriers pushed and/or broken; women in many jobs and tasks they had seldom done before; both the racial barriers and prejudices were also being pushed and broken. Case in point;

The Tuskegee Airmen /tʌsˈkiːɡiː/[1] was a group of African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332nd Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The name also applies to the navigators, bombardiers, mechanics, instructors, crew chiefs, nurses, cooks, and other support personnel. The Tuskegee airmen received praise for their excellent combat record earned while protecting American bombers from enemy fighters. The group was awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations.

All black military pilots who trained in the United States trained at Griel Field, Kennedy Field, Moton Field, Shorter Field, and the Tuskegee Army Air Fields.[2] They were educated at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), located near Tuskegee, Alabama. Of the 922 pilots, five were Haitians from the Haitian Air Force and one pilot was from Trinidad.[3] It also included an airman born in the Dominican Republic and one born in Jamaica.[4][5]

The 99th Pursuit Squadron (later the 99th Fighter Squadron) was the first black flying squadron, and the first to deploy overseas (to North Africa in April 1943, and later to Sicily and other parts of Italy). The 332nd Fighter Group, which originally included the 100th, 301st and 302nd Fighter Squadrons, was the first black flying group. It deployed to Italy in early 1944. Although the 477th Bombardment Group trained with North American B-25 Mitchell bombers, they never served in combat. In June 1944, the 332nd Fighter Group began flying heavy bomber escort missions and, in July 1944, with the addition of the 99th Fighter Squadron, it had four fighter squadrons.

The 99th Fighter Squadron was initially equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter-bomber aircraft. The 332nd Fighter Group and its 100th, 301st and 302nd Fighter Squadrons were equipped for initial combat missions with Bell P-39 Airacobras (March 1944), later with Republic P-47 Thunderbolts (June–July 1944) and finally with the aircraft with which they became most commonly associated, the North American P-51 Mustang (July 1944). When the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group painted the tails of their P-47s red, the nickname "Red Tails" was coined. The red markings that distinguished the Tuskegee Airmen included red bands on the noses of P-51s as well as a red empennage; the P-51B, C and D Mustangs flew with similar color schemes, with red propeller spinners, yellow wing bands and all-red tail surfaces.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces. During World War II, black Americans in many U.S. states were still subject to the Jim Crow laws[N 1] and the American military was racially segregated, as was much of the federal government. The Tuskegee Airmen were subjected to discrimination, both within and outside of the army.
...

Note the four general's stars on his shoulders.

A P-51 fighter in the background.

Tuskegee Airmen - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Tuskegee Airmen Inc.​

New Home - Tuskegee Airmen National Historical​

 

[Stryder50]

CAF RISE ABOVE®​

Inspiring young people to RISE ABOVE adversity using
the lessons and stories of the Tuskegee Airmen and the WASPs

Happy 103rd Birthday to WASP Nell 'Mickey' Stevenson Bright!​

Nell Stevenson was a nineteen-year-old college graduate, when an article about recruiting women for the U.S. Army Air Corps caught her eye. Learn more about her life and journey as a WASP

Nell Stevenson Bright | CAF RISE ABOVE

Nell Stevenson Bright 1921 – Class: 43-W-7 Training Location: Avenger Field (Sweetwater, Tex.) Assigned Bases: Mather Army Air Base (Sacramento, Calif.) Biggs Army Air Field (El Paso, Tex.) Deming Air Field (N. M.) Planes flown: A-24, A-25, AT-11, AT-7, B-25, B-26 “We felt like we had the best...

cafriseabove.org

 

[Zavulon]

There was plenty of women fighter-pilots in Russia.

Before the war, hundreds of girls studied flying in the flying clubs of OSOAVIAKHIM. In early October 1941, the famous pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, Marina Raskova appealed to the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) with a request to allow her to create a women's aviation regiment. There were so many willing that it was decided to form not one, but three women's aviation regiments: the 586th Fighter, 587th Bomber and 588th night light bomber. The 586th IAP was formed on December 9, 1941. It included the first 25 girls who passed the rigorous exam. On January 28, 1942, the regiment began receiving Yak-7 fighters, and then Yak-1. The training showed a fairly high level of training of the pilots.
On February 23, 1942, the regiment carried out its first combat mission to cover the bridge over the Volga. For a long time, the pilots of the 586th regiment failed to shoot down a single enemy aircraft. Finally, on the night of September 24, 1942, the deputy commander of the squadron, Lieutenant V. D. Khomyakova, won the first aerial victory of the "women's" 586th regiment, shooting down a Junker Ju 88. Later, the 586th IAP covered the rear facilities of Saratov, Voronezh, Kursk, Kiev and other cities.
In September 1942, Lydia Litvyak, Raisa Belyaeva, Ekaterina Budanova, Maria Kuznetsova, Claudia Nechaeva, Antonina Lebedeva, Claudia Blinova and Olga Shakhova, at their urgent request, were transferred from the rear 586th regiment to the 437th and arrived at the front near Stalingrad. Fearing that they might die in the first combats, the command attached both units of the 1st squadron to the most powerful fighter regiments operating at Stalingrad at that time. Raisa Belyaeva's unit got into the 437th IAP, and Claudia Nechaeva's unit landed on September 13, 1942 at the Stalingradsky state farm, where the already famous 434th aviation regiment was based.

So, replenishment arrived in 434 iap: flight commander Lieutenant Klava Nechaeva, senior Sergeant Klava Blinova, second Lieutenant Olya Shakhova and Theirs LieutenantTonya Lebedeva. The link was serviced by mechanics, technician-Lieutenant V.I. Stukalin, sergeants Z.A. Malkova, A.M. Shakhova, A.A. Eskina, and senior sergeant V.M. Skachkova, parachute stackers, junior sergeants E.A. Terekhova, M.M. Makarova, aviation armament mechanics, privates M.D. Shcherbatyuk and T.S. Gubareva. The girls were seconded to the regiment by order of the commander of the Air Force, Lieutenant General A.A. Novikov. They were greeted unkindly. The commander of the regiment, Major Kleshchev, spoke frankly about the incoming replenishment: "It hurts me to see a woman in the war. It is painful and shameful-as if we men cannot protect you from this unladylike business. You'll may also cry." The squadron commanders did not want to take on this replenishment.

Here is how A. Semenov, who was seconded to the regiment from the Air Force Inspection, spoke after a comprehensive check of the level of training of the newly arrived girls' replenishment: "Frankly, at first the regiment's command was not happy with such a replenishment. They were afraid that the girls would distract some part of the men from their military affairs. But it turned out the opposite, the men only tightened up even more and behaved quite chivalrously. This was largely facilitated by the modest, dignified behavior of the girls themselves. The pilots were well trained in piloting a fighter, taking off and landing. But their preparation for combat operations suffered from serious drawbacks. They did not know how to conduct air combat tactically competently, maneuver vertically, and use weapons effectively. They still had to be taught and taught this. I could not imagine how they would fight in such a difficult air situation as that at Stalingrad. No matter what is said about gender equality, a man is a man: he is hardy, determined, unpretentious in everyday life. And to put it bluntly, his whole masculine nature was created to fight, to overcome difficulties. And the girls? Yes, it's just a human pity to send them into battle..."
The female pilots were assigned to squadrons, and experienced combat pilots became their mentors. The regiment's command began the introduction of a new replenishment by instructing them to escort transport aircraft, intercept enemy reconnaissance aircraft, and be on duty over the airfield. But the girls were offended by this and when visiting the Commander of the Air Force of the RA, Lieutenant General A.A. Novikov and the commander of the 16th VA, General S.I. Rudenko, they asked them to allow them to air battles. After listening to the arguments of the regiment's command, the commander noted that Kleshchev was doing the right thing, but, given the patriotism of young people, they should more often be led by experienced fighters.


And here's how Andrei Baklan recalled Lebedeva's Tonya: "Sometimes Tonya Lebedeva was my wingman in a frontline situation. You can look at her on earth-a small, fragile girl. And in the air, I would never have thought that there was a "weaker sex" nearby. More often than not, I forgot about it. Tonya piloted confidently. She followed my instructions clearly and in a timely manner. And only then did you remember who your wingman was, when you would hear a thin, excited voice on the radio warning of danger. Well, for example: "The skinny ones are up from us!". After completing the combat mission, Tonya will come up to me in a flight suit and a headset, which does not prevent her from turning into a teenage girl again, salute with her miniature hand and ask with hidden anxiety:
- Let me get some comments!
And what comments can there be? I answer with complete sincerity, without any stretch:
- Great! Keep it up !
Frankly speaking, the regiment's command protected the pilots. Of course, to the extent that it was even possible in the war. We tried not to send the "weaker sex" on obviously risky tasks. Well, the girls themselves were so eager to meet the dangers..."

 

[westwall]

Now you can watch and listen to a woman Col. ret. discuss her fighting in Afghanistan and also Iraq.

Notice she was not very busy in Afghanistan since Bush turned that planning and fighting over to General Tommy Franks. Franks is the modern day General Patton. A wonderful General.
As to this Col. Sure she could wage war in fighter planes.

Of course. Women have been fine combat pilots for decades.

 

[westwall]

I do think they can be damn good pilots. The ONLY issue I have with women being pilots is that most of them are trained on how to fly, but don't understand the systems and how they interact. Not that all men do, but they seem to do that better than women.

And as far as women being pilots in general, that's fine, but what you can't train a woman to do is be as strong as a man. What do I mean by that? Well, quite a few moons ago a small "puddle jumper" regional jet took off from our local airport and IMMEDIATELY the trim went into runaway straight up. They had two men in the cockpit, both young strong men. They got the runaway trim disconnected and were able to PHYSICALLY shove the flight yoke forward enough to keep the plane from stalling. They later said had even ONE of those pilots been a woman, the plane would have stalled and crashed killing everyone on board.

Ever since then I've been torn on women in the cockpit. Basically, yea they're fine as long as everything works normally. It's when the shit hits the fan that I worry about women being in charge.

Combat aircraft use powered flight control systems. If they fail, you punch out, no matter WHO you are.

 

[Stryder50]

There was plenty of women fighter-pilots in Russia.

Before the war, hundreds of girls studied flying in the flying clubs of OSOAVIAKHIM. In early October 1941, the famous pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union, Marina Raskova appealed to the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) with a request to allow her to create a women's aviation regiment. There were so many willing that it was decided to form not one, but three women's aviation regiments: the 586th Fighter, 587th Bomber and 588th night light bomber. The 586th IAP was formed on December 9, 1941. It included the first 25 girls who passed the rigorous exam. On January 28, 1942, the regiment began receiving Yak-7 fighters, and then Yak-1. The training showed a fairly high level of training of the pilots.
On February 23, 1942, the regiment carried out its first combat mission to cover the bridge over the Volga. For a long time, the pilots of the 586th regiment failed to shoot down a single enemy aircraft. Finally, on the night of September 24, 1942, the deputy commander of the squadron, Lieutenant V. D. Khomyakova, won the first aerial victory of the "women's" 586th regiment, shooting down a Junker Ju 88. Later, the 586th IAP covered the rear facilities of Saratov, Voronezh, Kursk, Kiev and other cities.
In September 1942, Lydia Litvyak, Raisa Belyaeva, Ekaterina Budanova, Maria Kuznetsova, Claudia Nechaeva, Antonina Lebedeva, Claudia Blinova and Olga Shakhova, at their urgent request, were transferred from the rear 586th regiment to the 437th and arrived at the front near Stalingrad. Fearing that they might die in the first combats, the command attached both units of the 1st squadron to the most powerful fighter regiments operating at Stalingrad at that time. Raisa Belyaeva's unit got into the 437th IAP, and Claudia Nechaeva's unit landed on September 13, 1942 at the Stalingradsky state farm, where the already famous 434th aviation regiment was based.

So, replenishment arrived in 434 iap: flight commander Lieutenant Klava Nechaeva, senior Sergeant Klava Blinova, second Lieutenant Olya Shakhova and Theirs LieutenantTonya Lebedeva. The link was serviced by mechanics, technician-Lieutenant V.I. Stukalin, sergeants Z.A. Malkova, A.M. Shakhova, A.A. Eskina, and senior sergeant V.M. Skachkova, parachute stackers, junior sergeants E.A. Terekhova, M.M. Makarova, aviation armament mechanics, privates M.D. Shcherbatyuk and T.S. Gubareva. The girls were seconded to the regiment by order of the commander of the Air Force, Lieutenant General A.A. Novikov. They were greeted unkindly. The commander of the regiment, Major Kleshchev, spoke frankly about the incoming replenishment: "It hurts me to see a woman in the war. It is painful and shameful-as if we men cannot protect you from this unladylike business. You'll may also cry." The squadron commanders did not want to take on this replenishment.

Here is how A. Semenov, who was seconded to the regiment from the Air Force Inspection, spoke after a comprehensive check of the level of training of the newly arrived girls' replenishment: "Frankly, at first the regiment's command was not happy with such a replenishment. They were afraid that the girls would distract some part of the men from their military affairs. But it turned out the opposite, the men only tightened up even more and behaved quite chivalrously. This was largely facilitated by the modest, dignified behavior of the girls themselves. The pilots were well trained in piloting a fighter, taking off and landing. But their preparation for combat operations suffered from serious drawbacks. They did not know how to conduct air combat tactically competently, maneuver vertically, and use weapons effectively. They still had to be taught and taught this. I could not imagine how they would fight in such a difficult air situation as that at Stalingrad. No matter what is said about gender equality, a man is a man: he is hardy, determined, unpretentious in everyday life. And to put it bluntly, his whole masculine nature was created to fight, to overcome difficulties. And the girls? Yes, it's just a human pity to send them into battle..."
The female pilots were assigned to squadrons, and experienced combat pilots became their mentors. The regiment's command began the introduction of a new replenishment by instructing them to escort transport aircraft, intercept enemy reconnaissance aircraft, and be on duty over the airfield. But the girls were offended by this and when visiting the Commander of the Air Force of the RA, Lieutenant General A.A. Novikov and the commander of the 16th VA, General S.I. Rudenko, they asked them to allow them to air battles. After listening to the arguments of the regiment's command, the commander noted that Kleshchev was doing the right thing, but, given the patriotism of young people, they should more often be led by experienced fighters.


And here's how Andrei Baklan recalled Lebedeva's Tonya: "Sometimes Tonya Lebedeva was my wingman in a frontline situation. You can look at her on earth-a small, fragile girl. And in the air, I would never have thought that there was a "weaker sex" nearby. More often than not, I forgot about it. Tonya piloted confidently. She followed my instructions clearly and in a timely manner. And only then did you remember who your wingman was, when you would hear a thin, excited voice on the radio warning of danger. Well, for example: "The skinny ones are up from us!". After completing the combat mission, Tonya will come up to me in a flight suit and a headset, which does not prevent her from turning into a teenage girl again, salute with her miniature hand and ask with hidden anxiety:
- Let me get some comments!
And what comments can there be? I answer with complete sincerity, without any stretch:
- Great! Keep it up !
Frankly speaking, the regiment's command protected the pilots. Of course, to the extent that it was even possible in the war. We tried not to send the "weaker sex" on obviously risky tasks. Well, the girls themselves were so eager to meet the dangers..."

View attachment 965697

While it's possible most of what you say here is true and accurate, without a link to a source, citing a reference, or any clue where you got this from, how are we to know you haven't fabricated this out of your imagination ???

 

[Stryder50]

I do think they can be damn good pilots. The ONLY issue I have with women being pilots is that most of them are trained on how to fly, but don't understand the systems and how they interact. Not that all men do, but they seem to do that better than women.

And as far as women being pilots in general, that's fine, but what you can't train a woman to do is be as strong as a man. What do I mean by that? Well, quite a few moons ago a small "puddle jumper" regional jet took off from our local airport and IMMEDIATELY the trim went into runaway straight up. They had two men in the cockpit, both young strong men. They got the runaway trim disconnected and were able to PHYSICALLY shove the flight yoke forward enough to keep the plane from stalling. They later said had even ONE of those pilots been a woman, the plane would have stalled and crashed killing everyone on board.

Ever since then I've been torn on women in the cockpit. Basically, yea they're fine as long as everything works normally. It's when the shit hits the fan that I worry about women being in charge.

Another factor to consider, during WWII the WASPs were mostly used to ferry aircraft from factory to service unit airfields. This included any and all types, including rather large and heavy four engine bombers that were physically demanding on the pilots to fly.

The B-24 is one of those that Wasps ferried by the hundreds;

Consolidated B-24 Liberator - Wikipedia​

Agony Wagon: The Consolidated B-24 Liberator, WWII's Unsung Heav​

Even more impressive is this little known tale about the Boeing B-29 Superfortress;
....
In the summer of 1944, the 25-year-old U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Paul W. Tibbets had a problem. He was in charge of training pilots on the Army Air Forces' newest, biggest and most complicated bomber yet, and the task was turning out to be much more onerous than he'd anticipated. Tibbets' men were putting up unprecedented resistance. In point of fact, the pilots had every reason to be wary. The B-29 was not only much larger and heavier than any bomber the U.S. had flown before, it also hadn't gone through the years of operational testing to which Boeing had subjected its predecessor the B-17. Initially engine fires were one of the major problems. The planes' Wright engines were often called the Wrong engines. Part of the trouble could be traced to the engine cowlings that were too tight and often caused fires even before the planes had taken off. Although engine improvements were made over time, fires remained a problem throughout World War II.

Tibbets decided that the way to convince the men to fly the plane was to show that women could do it. The young Colonel recruited Dora Dougherty and Dorothea Moorman to be his demo pilots. Dougherty remembers that at that point, she had never even been in a four-engine plane before. Tibbets did not warn his new recruits of the engine fire problem. Instead he trained them to take off without the standard power checks. After three days, the colonel decided his women pilots were ready for their demonstration. For several days, Dougherty and Johnson ferried pilots, crew chiefs and navigators from the very-heavy-bomber base at Alamogordo, New Mexico across the state. Tibbets' plan was a terrific success: After watching the women fly the four-engine bomber, the men stopped complaining about the plane. Air Staff Major General Barney Giles brought the demonstrations to an abrupt halt after just a few days, telling Tibbets that the women were "putting the big football players to shame." Giles was also worried that an accident would unleash tremendous adverse publicity. The two women were sent back to Eglin Field, Florida, and never flew a B-29 again. But the plane they'd demonstrated went on to play a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II.
....

Women Fly the B-29 | American Experience | Official Site | PBS​

A couple other related links;

Men Were Too Scared to Fly the B-29 - Until Two Women Did​

Recognize the nose art on the B-29 behind them ?

Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) - National Air and Space Muse​

 

[Robert W]

Of course. Women have been fine combat pilots for decades.

Thanks.

 

[Robert W]

Kim Campbell (pilot) - Wikipedia​

As you can see, she was a "military brat", her father had attended the Air Force Academy.
She flew A-10 which is more a ground attack combat aircraft than a fighter = anti-airplane type.
Still, a very impressive combat record at that.

When it comes to flying, this is not a gender/sex specific task, not a racial or ethnic one.

It is not really suited to fighting other airplanes but fights troops supremely.

 

[Robert W]

Combat aircraft use powered flight control systems. If they fail, you punch out, no matter WHO you are.

This story in the OP brings forth that she lost those powered flight control systems and used the mechanical system to land the fighter. She did a fine job landing back at the airfield.

 

[Blaster]

 

[Blaster]

 

[Zavulon]

While it's possible most of what you say here is true and accurate, without a link to a source, citing a reference, or any clue where you got this from, how are we to know you haven't fabricated this out of your imagination ???

Most of it from this article (in Russian):

https: //dzen### . ru/a/YNbzfmDPinLg5Sxk

Remove ### and spaces, because, as far as I know, links on non-English sources are not allowed here.

Talking about English sources, you can start with Wikipedia:

Lydia Litvyak - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[whitehall]

You aren't really a "fighter" until you enter the ring. Likewise a "fighter pilot" is just a pilot who flies something that the military describes as a fighter plane. The Clinton's apparently pushed their choice to be the first woman Carrier pilot way past her capabilities and the Navy was stuck with Kara Hultrgreen until she tried the most out of control landing in modern Carrier history. Her co-pilot must have been ready with the ejection lever because he survived. Apparently the Navy was instructed not to talk about the incident.