Taran
From OnAirpower.org
Taran (Russian: "таран") refers to an air-to-air attack in which a pilot intentionally collides with an enemy plane in order to damage or destroy it. Most frequently tarans involve a fighter attacking an enemy bomber, although fighter vs. fighter tarans have been recorded. Unlike Japanese kamikaze attacks, tarans are usually not planned far in advance, but instead are usually last-ditch maneuvers prompted by, for example, guns being jammed or a lack of ammunition. Tarans also do not have the suicidal connotation of kamikaze attacks and although they are frequently fatal for the attacker, pilots that survive a successful taran usually receive considerable recognition for the risk they have taken. The effectiveness of taran attacks as anything other than an act of desperation, especially when they are conducted against large, durable aircraft like heavy bombers, is questionable. In World War II, for example, the Germans formed a special group, Sonderkommando Elbe, whose sole purpose was to use specially prepared fighters to ram into American bombers in order to stem the tide of the American's strategic bombing campaign. Some, but not all, of the attacks were successful, but ultimately they failed to have any greater of an effect than normal fighter attacks did and the unit was disbanded after only a short time.
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[edit] History
Taran attacks have a long history, stretching all the way back from late-19th century references in science fiction novels, through the first actual use of the technique early in World War I, to a reported occurrence in the Vietnam War and reported use by Soviet pilots against US reconnaissance planes in the '70s and '80s[1].
[edit] World War I
The first known ramming attack occurred early in World War I, when it was still uncommon for aircraft to be armed. On September 8, 1914, Russian pilot Pyotr Nesterov spotted an Austrian Albatross B.II on a reconnaissance mission near the city of Zhovka (located in modern-day Ukraine). Nesterov's Morane monoplane was able to catch up to the slower, heavier Austrian plane but lacking any armament Nesterov's only option was to use his aircraft itself as a weapon. He likely tried to use his landing gear to hit the Austrian plane, but he ended up hitting it with his propeller, causing both aircraft to crash to the ground. Both Nesterov and the occupants of the Austrian plane (pilot Franz Molina and observer Baron Friedrich von Rosenthal) were killed. On January 25, 1915, Nesterov was posthumously awarded the Order of St. Gregory, 4th Class for his actions[2][3].
[edit] Timeline
- September 8, 1914 Russian pilot Pyotr Nikolaevich Nesterov conducts the first known taran (ramming) attack, which was fatal to both Nesterov and his target[1]
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