Curiosities 35 - The Aircraft Shot Down By Its Own Ammunition
João Henrique Barboza Jorgetto • May 2, 2024
Probability is a funny thing. Although she is cold and utterly accurate in showing us that we are clearly at a disadvantage in some situations, we insist on believing that something can work out, no matter how slight the chance. What is the explanation for so many bets on the lottery, where the possibility of being the new millionaire on the block is one in more than 50 million? Ah, but there is a chance; so many try. Unlikely situations are also like this, such as being struck by lightning or even a meteorite, as happened to Ann Hodges in Alabama in 1954. What are the chances of this happening? A piece of rock crosses outer space, resists entry into the planet's atmosphere, breaks through your roof, ricochets off an old radio, and hits you on your couch as you rest.
Today, we have two curious cases of unlikely situations in which aircraft fired their cannons and were hit by their own ammunition!
The most recent case occurred in January when its shots hit a Dutch F-16 during routine training. According to the preliminary investigation, as soon as the 20mm Vulcan cannon was fired, shots were fired toward the training field target. Immediately, the aircraft entered a high-speed dive, exceeding the speed of the shots and coincidentally being in the line of the ammunition trajectory. Result? One of the projectiles hit the aircraft's fuselage, and the engine absorbed another fragment, causing problems and forcing the aircraft to make an emergency landing. Absurd, isn't it? Fortunately, there was nothing other than material damage. It is also curious that the Vlieland training camp, where the incident occurred, already has other bizarre cases. In 2013, another Dutch F-16 mistakenly strafed the control tower. The problem is that this had also happened in 2001 when a German Tornado plane also got confused, and in 1998, when a Danish F-16 launched a missile toward the same tower. This is not a very pleasant place to work.
Shooting yourself is nothing new. The situation had already occurred in one thousand nine hundred fifty-six, and unfortunately, the ending was not so good.
On September 21, 1956, Thomas W. Attridge Jr., an experienced test pilot for the Grumman company, was flying an F-11 Tiger for some tests. This flight was to see if they had finally corrected the positioning of the 4 20mm cannons, as in previous tests, the ammunition capsules scratched the paint and even dented the fuselage after they were ejected with the shot. Everything was ready, the plane was in the sky, and tests started.
It was then that Attridge quickly fired his weapons, increased his angle of descent, and fired another burst, continuing his dive, now with his engines at full power to increase speed. It was then that in less than a minute, Attridge received substantial impacts that destroyed the plane's canopy and caused him confusion and a lot of pain. Without knowing what had happened, the pilot immediately started looking for solutions to land, reducing speed, lowering the landing gear, and preparing for a hit on the ground. Seeing that he would not reach the runway, Attridge landed in a wooded area close to the airfield, with a traumatic landing that ripped off the right wing and vertical stabilizer. The result for the pilot was a fractured leg and three ribs, in addition to several cuts caused by shrapnel from the shot.
Further investigation showed that at the time of the first shot, Attridge was 4000 meters high, while at the second burst, his height was 2100 meters. The cannon's projectiles were fired at a 2000 km/h speed, while the F-11 aircraft flew at just under 1300 km/h. Then physics came to compose this bizarre story: the projectiles lost speed due to air resistance, while the plane gained speed in the dive with its engine now fully used. The result was the unexpected encounter between his ammunition and his plane, as shown in the image below:
Attridge recovered from his injuries and returned to flying within six months. He was subsequently promoted to project manager for the Apollo 9 lunar module.