The Cyprus War in 1974 was a rare internal struggle between NATO countries. In this war, Turkey blatantly invaded Cyprus and fought fierce exchanges with the Greek troops stationed there. Both the Greek and Turkish air forces were also involved in the battle. The interesting thing about
is that at that time, the two air force fighters were out of the same door, and both were equipped with F-5 "Freedom Fighters" and F-102 "Triangle Sword" fighters. In an air battle on July 21, two Greek F-5s successfully shot down two Turkish Air Force F-102s. However, Turkey concealed defeat and claimed that it had shot down two Greek F-5 fighter jets. As a result, it became a laughing stock within NATO.
F-5 and F-102: The second-hand fighters
F-5 and F-102 dedicated to allies of the US military are both fighters developed by the United States in the 1950s, but the design positioning of the two fighters is completely different. Among them, the F-5 "Freedom Fighter" flew for the first time in 1959. It was designed to be a low-cost export fighter. It is equipped in many allies of the United States. The US Navy and Air Force only use this aircraft as a training aircraft. There are many modifications to the aircraft, and the main one discussed in this article is the early model F-5A of the aircraft. The F-5A is simple in design, without radar and advanced airborne equipment, but its easy-to-handle body, better maneuverability and practical weapons make this model popular internationally. The aircraft has a maximum flight speed of Mach 1.6, an internal fuel range of 1,400 kilometers, and a climb rate of 160 meters per second. The main weapons are 2 20mm cannons and 2-4 AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared tracking missiles. Carry rockets and bombs for ground attacks. The
F-102 "Triangle Sword" is a rare tailless delta-wing fighter in the United States, and is the first fighter in the world to apply the concept of area rate to the airframe. The F-102 flew for the first time in 1953, with an output of about 1,000. The aircraft was designed as an all-weather high-speed interceptor, equipped with the advanced all-weather air interception system at the time, and was mainly equipped with air force bases in the United States and Western Europe. Intercept Soviet strategic bombers. The aircraft has a maximum flight speed of Mach 1.25, an internal fuel range of 2173 kilometers, a climb rate of 66 meters per second, and the main weapon is 4-6 AIM-4 Falcon air-to-air missiles (divided into infrared tracking and semi-active radar) , Can also carry 70 mm unguided anti-aircraft rockets. It is worth mentioning that F-102 can also carry AIM-26 "Nuclear Falcon" air-to-air missile, equipped with a 250-ton TNT-equivalent nuclear warhead.
If we compare these two fighters, we can find that although the F-5A has a relatively simple design and does not have advanced airborne equipment, its air combat capability is actually better than the latter. The
F-102 was designed earlier. At that time, the supersonic technology was still immature. The aircraft barely exceeded the speed of sound and could only be regarded as the first-generation supersonic fighter, while the F-5 was already a second-generation supersonic fighter. The only advantage of F-102 in air combat is that the large-area delta wing is conducive to circling maneuver, but the F-5 also effectively improves the circling ability through the side strip wing design, so the horizontal maneuverability is not weaker than F-102. At the same time, the speed and climb rate of the F-5 far exceed that of the F-102, so the flight performance is stable and stable over the F-102 "triangular sword". The
F-102 also has a very serious flaw, that is, there is no cannon. In the 1950s, the U.S. Air Force once prevalent the "cannon uselessness theory". New fighters including the F-102 and F-4 suffered a lot from it. As a result, they tasted bitter results in the Vietnam War. F-102 participated in the battle in the early days of the Vietnam War. As a pure interceptor, it did not get an air combat result. Instead, it was shot down by a Vietnamese MiG-21 (11 for various other reasons). The aircraft was neither suitable for serving as a bomber escort nor suitable for ground attacks, so it had to be completely withdrawn to the country. After the
F-102 "Triangle Sword" came into service, the aircraft quickly became obsolete due to the appearance of the second-generation aircraft. The United States has developed the F-106 "Triangular Javelin" on the basis of the F-102A, with a speed of Mach 2.3. This is a true second-generation aircraft and soon replaced the F-102. The
F-102 was retired from the US Air Force in the 1960s, and a batch of F-102 deployed in Europe was transferred to the Turkish and Greek Air Forces. Turkey received 50 in 1968 and Greece in 1969In the year 24 aircraft were received.
A few years ago, Greece and Turkey also imported F-5A/B fighters respectively. Among them, Greece imported 55 FA fighters in 1965, and Turkey imported 75 F-5A and 13 double fighters in the same period. Seat-type F-5B and 20 reconnaissance-type RF-5A.
In other words, when the Cyprus War broke out in 1974, the Greek and Turkish air forces were almost identical, and they were very familiar with each other's fighter performance. What needs to be emphasized is that due to insufficient financial resources, these fighters of the two countries are second-hand, and the air-to-air missiles they carry are also the old AIM-9B early-type Sidewinder and AIM-4 Falcon.
Memories of the retired Brigadier General of the Greek Air Force
Regarding the air warfare in 1974, Thomas Scanpattoni, a retired Brigadier General of the Greek Air Force, once published his memories. He was one of the participants in the Greek-Turkish air war.
A year or two before Turkey invaded Cyprus, the shadow of war had already enveloped the Aegean Sea. At that time, the Greek and Turkish conflicts in Cyprus were extremely fierce, and Greece and Turkey were also deeply involved, both trying to bring Cyprus into their sphere of influence. Although Greece and Turkey at this time were both under the framework of NATO, the relationship between the two countries had already been undercurrent.
However, before the outbreak of the war on July 20, 1974, the Greek and Turkish fighters remained "friendly" on the surface, and even visited each other’s air bases as a daily exchange project between NATO countries.
Thomas Scanpattoni at the time, as a Greek pilot, visited the Bandilma Air Force Base in Turkey (located on the southern shore of the Marmara Sea in the Black Sea Strait) in April 1974, and was within reach of the Turkish invasion. 4 months. In the previous months, F-5 fighter jets of the Turkish Air Force also visited Greece. Therefore, Thomas Scanpattoni did not predict that he would fight these "NATO allies" in a few months.
At dawn on July 20, Turkey used the Cyprus military coup (which broke out on July 15 and overthrew the president at the time) as an excuse to dispatch thousands of troops to land in northern Cyprus. The Turkish side claimed that the move was to "protect" the local Turkish people. Security.
Thomas Scanpattoni recalled that the Greek military at the time was completely unprepared for this, at least the Air Force did not get any warning in advance. On that day, Scanpattoni himself was still on vacation. The outbreak of the war was only known through neighbors reminding him. At this time, the Greek military government had already begun a general war mobilization. Scanpattoni hurried to the air force base, but the road was very blocked and it took him a long time to get to the combat position.
In the air base, Scanpattoni was ordered to put on the anti-G suit, and after listening to the briefing, he entered the fighter shelter and sat in the F-5 fighter plane in a state ready to attack. However, on July 20th, there was no movement from Turkey over the Aegean Sea. When
arrived the next day, the situation changed. In the early morning of July 21, on the display screen of the Greek ground radar, signals from Turkish combat aircraft suddenly appeared on a large scale.
found a target in the northern Aegean!
Scanpattoni and the other pilots sat in the fighter plane, fastened their seat belts, and quietly waited for the takeoff command. At about 1:30 in the morning, the alarm sounded and the Greek Air Force Command issued a takeoff command. Scanpattoni took off in the first group.
Scanpattoni’s lead pilot was Lieutenant Dinopoulos, who was slightly older. Without further thinking, Skamptoni started the two J85 turbojet engines and left the bunker.
Unexpectedly, Lieutenant Dinopoulos's lead was a step late. When the two arrived on the take-off runway together, Lieutenant Dinopoulos used gestures to express that his radio intercom was malfunctioning. Dinopoulos signaled Scanpattoni to take off first, and then he followed, changing from the lead plane to the wingman to cover Scanpattoni.
According to Dinopoulos' current situation, it could have returned to the bunker, but both F-5s insisted on taking off. Scanpattoni later recalled that Dinopoulos' approach fully embodies the level of training and professionalism, and laid the foundation for victory in air combat.
rises into the airLater, the two F-5 fighter jets were ordered to put their weapons off to avoid premature conflict with the Turks. At this time, the anti-aircraft artillery of the air defense forces across Greece are also in a state of combat readiness. In accordance with the order, the two F-5 fighter jets used air interception methods to search for Turkish aircraft in the air.
Scanpattoni and Dinopoulos' twin planes, under the instructions of the Pelion mountain radar station, began to climb to the northern waters of the Aegean Sea, and in accordance with the ground radar command, constantly changed their routes and altitudes. Scanpattoni is in the front, Dinoplo is behind, and Dinoplo keeps a higher height than the former to ensure that Scanpattoni's movements and directions are clearly visible.
After several changes in altitude and course, the ground commander ordered the two F-5s to target the area between Agios-Ephratios Island and Rimmos Island and maintain a 6000-meter distance. height. When the two F-5s continued to climb, the ground radar issued a warning and a target appeared 20 degrees to the right. At this time, the speed of the F-5 fighter jet was 650 km/h and the altitude was 5400 meters.
almost immediately saw two Turkish F-102 fighters when Scanpattoni turned his attention to the front right. The two Turkish F-102s are flying to the left of the Greek F-5 in formation! The two sides are already very close.
unreliable air-to-air missile!
When Scanpattoni found the target, he immediately made a sharp turn, trying to circle behind the Turkish fighter. At the same time, the Turkish F-102 fighter also discovered the Greek F-5 and began the same hovering action. When
F-102 turned to the 8 o'clock direction of Scanpattoni's land plane, Scanpattoni saw that the Turkish fighter turned to the direction of Turkish airspace, and mistakenly thought that the opponent was preparing to return to base. Therefore, Scanpattoni reported to the ground radar, but this is not the case!
The Turkish F-102 soon turned to Scanpattoni's 6 o'clock direction, which is directly behind him. Scanpattoni drove the F-5, activated the maximum acceleration and circling speed, and kept turning to try to escape the tail bite. Due to the continuous reduction of kinetic energy, the F-5's flight speed also began to decrease and the altitude began to fall. Scanpattoni has fallen into a passive state.
After four consecutive sharp turns, Scanpattoni lost visual contact with the F-102, which made him very panicked. He kept turning around to look for his opponent, trying to find the F-102 he was chasing.
When the altitude of Scanpattoni’s F-5 fighter jet dropped to 3000 meters, a huge water column appeared on the sea surface. Later, obvious oil stains appeared on the sea. What does this mean? Scanpattoni quickly understood! He hurriedly searched for the wingman and confirmed the location of Dinopoulos to the ground radar, but did not get any specific answer.
Scanpattoni’s fighter was quickly ordered to return to the airport, and when his F-5 landed on the runway, Dinopoulos’s plane also happened to fly over the runway. After the two pilots got off the fighter plane, they were immediately surrounded by a group of people, but a jeep quickly took them away. After a while, Scanpattoni knew what had happened.
It turned out that Dinopoulos, as a wingman, was far behind Scanpattoni, and the two Turkish F-102s did not find him. As a result, when Scanpattoni's F-5 and two F-102s performed "air ballet", Dinopoulos witnessed the F-102 lead plane launching an AIM-4 "Falcon" missile. Fortunately, the "Falcon" missile did not hit at all, and Scanpattoni did not even notice it. The
AIM-4 "Falcon" belongs to the first generation of air-to-air missiles with very small off-axis angles. At that time, both F-5 and F-102 were in a spiral downward spiral process, unable to meet the launch requirements of the Falcon. However, the Turkish fighters were paralyzed and failed to discover that Dinopoulos' F-5 had secretly bit them.
At that time, the Greek F-5 fighter jet was equipped with the AIM-9B Sidewinder missile, which was also an outdated first-generation air-to-air missile. Since the F-5A fighter does not have radar, the pilot needs to use the alarm sound of the infrared seeker to determine the launch timing. When the alarm sound is very strong, the Sidewinder missile can be launched. The launch of
AIM-9B air-to-air missileThe shaft angle is also very small, and the ideal launch distance is only 800 meters. Dinoplos waited patiently for all parameters to meet the requirements before pressing the launch switch. However, the first "Rattlesnake" did not have enough warm-up time to catch the target. The F-5 quickly fired a second "Rattlesnake", which accurately hit the F-102's tail nozzle.
Because the F-5 was too close to the enemy aircraft, Dinopoulos had to make a sharp turn to avoid the fragments of the Turkish fighter. The Turkish F-102 lead plane fell headlong into the Aegean Sea. No parachute was observed at the scene, indicating that the Turkish pilot failed to eject successfully.
Turkey boasted "victory" and was finally beaten in the face.
On the evening of the day (July 21), two Greek pilots who participated in the war heard reports from Turkish TV. The Turkish side declared that "two Turkish fighters shot down two Greek fighters." The Greek government did not confirm or deny this brazen report.
It took a long time for Greece to learn about the fate of the second Turkish F-102. The Turkish pilot was panicked when the lead plane was shot down, thinking that the Greek fighter had been behind him (actually, he had already left). This F-102 desperately opened the engine afterburner and carried out a series of large overload maneuvers, which ran out of fuel unnecessary, and finally made an emergency landing on the roads in Turkey. Unfortunately, the F-102 was crashed during an emergency landing, and the pilot died of serious injuries after being taken to the hospital.
Scanpattoni later learned that the Turkish pilot who was shot down was quite high-level. The leader was a lieutenant colonel and the wingman was a major. As a result, a lieutenant in Greece was killed.
After that, Greek fighters quickly resumed patrols in the Aegean Sea, but Turkish fighters never dared to enter the Aegean Sea again. The Turkish invasion of Cyprus lasted until August 18, and Turkey finally seized nearly half of Cyprus. But throughout the war, the Turkish Air Force was firmly suppressed by the Greek Air Force over the Aegean Sea.
Many years later, Scanpattoni was assigned to serve in Naples, Italy, as a NATO member pilot. On the ground, a Turkish pilot talked to him about the air battle in 1974. In order to brag about the capabilities of the country’s air force, the Turkish pilots said that “Turkish F-102 shot down two Greek F-5s”.
Scanpattoni responded to him: "Do you think I look like a zombie?" He directly stated that he was one of the two F-5 pilots. Turkish pilot's face quickly changed color, 斯坎帕托尼 recalls - "I've never seen a more awkward than he." (Author: Tao Mu sword)
