Most Idiotic Usages of Aircraft

There's plenty of A-10s at AMARC that can be taken out of storage and modernized. And the bird's still on the AF roster until at least 2030. Want to blame someone for so few F-105s? Yep: everyone's least favorite SecDef: Robert S. MacNamara. Plans for 1500 F-105Ds were cut in half, because he and the Whiz Kids were so enamored of the F-4. Though the AF loved the Phantom, they wanted a mixed fighter force of F-4s and F-105s-with the F-111 ultimately replacing the Thud as a nuclear striker and all-weather tactical strike aircraft.
 

Kissinger

Banned
Operation Bodenplatte was the Fat Man's last operation-by a Luftwaffe commander whose vanity and wilfulness knew no bounds. That operation not only destroyed the Luftwaffe in the West, but cost 253 pilots: 19 of whom were wing, group, or squadron commanders-literally irreplaceable.

Another idiotic use of aircraft: RAF Bomber Command dropping leaflets instead of bombs in the first months of the war. Not only were German armaments factories off limits to actual bombing attack (because they were private property), but even when military targets-like the German navy base at Wilhemshaven-were attacked, to give one example, ROE were so strict that many strike aircraft jettisoned their bombs-those who'd survived flak and fighters. The ROE? No ship tied up at the docks could be attacked, lest civilian casualties result from off-target bombs. As for the leaflets, as J.R. Collville-who was private secretary to both Chamberlain and Churchill before serving as an RAF pilot-it was done at Chamberlain's behest: he naively hoped that if the British did their propaganda properly, that there'd be some revolt in Germany-Hitler would be assassinated, or something that would cause the German civilian population to rise up. Anything to prevent a real clash of arms and a repeat of the Somme or Vimy Ridge. (from episode #2, Distant War, in the World At War documentary series) Such folly contributed to Chamberlain's downfall.
And Churchills famous line "We have solved the Continents Toilet paper problem." in response.
 
Indeed: a joke went around RAF bases that bomber crews had to be reminded to untie the bundles of leaflets prior to dropping, lest someone on the ground below be hurt by an untied pack of leaflets.
 

Kissinger

Banned
Indeed: a joke went around RAF bases that bomber crews had to be reminded to untie the bundles of leaflets prior to dropping, lest someone on the ground below be hurt by an untied pack of leaflets.

Well, the Germans hopefully responded in kind so the British could have some toilet paper.:p:D
 
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