Love to see Stalin land it with all his moral and political training, like fuck,more like good flying and and a wish to live. It should be immoral and political indoctrination and a wish to not get shot or sent to the gulag for incompetence.
Commissar: "The plane is good, but it needs a bigger gun." Engineer: "But comrade Commissar, if we put a bigger gun on the plane, it'll shoot itself down." Commissar: *Places his hand on the engineer's shoulder reassuringly* "Pilots with strong political training will make it work."
You make a mistake like that in the then Soviet military and you certainly didn’t make it to a Gulag. I think an enraged Commissar’s bullet got you first - fired from his service pistol without hesitation and also right in front of your comrades (very handy for motivation).
@@XolarPoweredHistory21 Russian joke: Red Army soldier Ivanov, why doesn't your machine gun erase? Comrade political instructor ran out of cartridges. Red Army soldier Ivanov, you are a member of the Komsomol! And again the machine gun of the Red Army soldier Ivanov shot down ...
The wikipedia article about the GSh-6-30 contains one of my favourite text snippets of all time: "The gun was noted for its high (often uncomfortable) vibration and extreme noise. The airframe vibration led to fatigue cracks in fuel tanks, numerous radio and avionics failures, the necessity of using runways with floodlights for night flights (as the landing lights would often be destroyed), tearing or jamming of the forward landing gear doors (leading to at least three crash landings), cracking of the reflector gunsight, an accidental jettisoning of the cockpit canopy and at least one case of the instrument panel falling off in flight. The weapons also dealt extensive collateral damage, as the sheer numbers of fragments from detonating shells was sufficient to damage aircraft flying within a 200-meter radius from the impact center, including the aircraft firing."
GSh-6-30 is a truely fearsome weapon. You fear it if you in recieving end, you fear if you shoot from it from plane, and you fear it if you maintain jets armed with it - it deal too much work for you.
Reminds me of the British Naval Gunnery School's report on its trials of the Gabbet-Fairfax Mars Automatic Pistol, circa 1902: "Singularly unpleasant and alarming. No one who fired once with the pistol wished to shoot it again."
In other words, this was a massive failure. You had a greater chance of inflicting more damage to yourself and squadron than other designs available at the time.
Ok, now I realize that it's really fun: MiG-27 and A-10 are very similar not only because of huge gun mounted on both planes. MiG was nicknamed Crocodile Gena for his nose and A-10 was nicknamed Cheburashka in USSR for distinct circular engines on both sides. And these 2 were always together, like Tom and Jerry in USSR ;)
I sincerely love the comical jabs at the Soviet era military mentality. Makes this so much better, plus the accent just makes it that much better. It's like having a Russian uncle telling us about the stuff they did back in the day. Again congrats on the channel. Bravo. 👏🎩
not as rare as you might think. Ex-soviet republics and other asian countries used many Migs. Both my grandfathers and one grandmother worked on and flew on Mig23, mig27 and mig29
My dad is a general in the syrian army I got to see the t90,72 and t55 And my grandfather is a general in AA division all I can say is Shilca is F*** LOUD
@Slovenski Slav did your Uncle fight in 1990s ? As syria is doing poorly israel boomed the port in latacka and my house is right next to the port so I woke up at the middle of the night to that But at least we got rid of the free syria army and ISIS And because my grandfather was general in AA in the 1980s and 70s He served in Lebanon and every time I show him a israel prpganda video about a Israel ACE who shot down 120 syria planes he laughed 🤣 and told me " we F*** there whole air force down " 🤣
@@PibrochPonder Who is "they"? You realize that the early Boshevik government consisted of over 80% people who hated ethnic Russians and Christian? That's when tens of millions died. Late Soviet Union was completely different and focused on nation building.
Hello Paper Skies! I really enjoy your content and enthusiasm for combat aircraft. I am a former U.S. Air Force F-16 crew chief, so I share your passion of military aviation. I would like to point out one fact concerning integrally mounted M61 Vulcan cannons on American fighters like the F-16. They are driven by a hydraulic motor rather than an electric one. Although this doesn’t really save much weight, it does help with torque loads and to accelerate barrel rotation as it operates under pressure at 3,000 psi. Thanks for the videos!
@@diverr69 Hi there and thank you for the interest in my post! Just to clarify, I was a crew chief rather than a pilot. I troubleshot problems and helped keep the aircraft flying, although I have flown in the back seat of a two-seat F-16 on two occasions. There are a couple of interesting stories (especially when I worked in flight testing) that I probably shouldn’t get into. But perhaps the most impressive thing I’ve encountered happened after I got out of the Air Force. I rarely tell this story because I know few people would believe it (I know I wouldn’t). But a few years back I honestly saw a UAP making right angle turns, instantaneous acceleration/deceleration and other seemingly impossible maneuvers at or near orbital altitudes and velocities. I don’t believe they were little green men; it’s more likely an unmanned technology from an unknown flight test program demonstrating radically different technologies from those we are familiar with. Sadly, I have no idea which country this aerospace vehicle originated from either. Nothing is immune to the laws of physics, however there are “theoretical shortcuts” that would not violate any physical laws (especially the laws of thermodynamics). I’m not entirely sure what I saw early in that summer morning sky, but I’m entirely sure what it was not. It was no aircraft, rocket, satellite, balloon or drone. It was something new and amazing and I’m glad that the United States government finally officially admits that they’ve seen it too. Keep looking up, you may be surprised at what you find!
I never knew your childhood backstory. Growing up in the Cold War with the Soviet Union is an interesting side we don't really hear about. Especially when the parent was in the military let alone flew a MIG. I bet you have a lot of cool stories!
It had a GSH-30-6 gun, which sometimes will lower the airspeed and produce a ton of smoke when fired . But this aircraft was also also fairly advanced for the time, it could fire GROM guided anti tank missiles, and can defend itself in an A2A engagement. It's like a villain's aircraft - has a massive gun, it's fast, variable geometry sweep wings. One of the most unique aircraft of the 20th century.
There are many anecdotes about how the Mig 23 was a poor plane, the engine was short lived and none fly now whereas its predecessor the Mig 21 is still in active duty...that being said I agree. The 23/27 was an amazingly advanced plane that I always had a liking for.
Very great video, I appreciated learning about something I have never really come across here in the US. Also, that colored pencil animation used was incredibly striking, I loved it! The sky was just so dynamic! It was fantastic to see!
The A-10 was a very different design and built to a different purpose. The rounds per minute may have been slower, but the muzzle velocity was far higher. Being built as it was, the A-10 has a much higher ammo load - ~1100 vs ~200 rounds. Different battle strategy, different philosophy. Far different support & infrastructure. Thank you for presenting this.
Ну скорость не намного а немного больше и то за счёт электропривода пушки в то время как у ГШ-6-30 пушка работает на отводе пороховых газов. Тактика вас СССР одна атака. 200 снарядов достаточно. Тактика А-10 расстрел неприкрытых ПВО войск что позволяет выполнять множество заходов для атаки.
@@АлександрШершнёв-р6с Kartvelli was Georgian not Russian, typical Russian ethnic assimlation, Russian are Russian, dont speak like every slav people are Russian. He was from a noble Georgian family, what does Russia have to do here ? He even chose France and then America as soon as he could to make his career, cuz no slav country could have helped him become what he became. And he didn’t make the A10 alone, really not. But yeah, he knew a lot in how a plane works.
@@som9134 да Картвелли этнический грузин .но он воспитанник русской инженерной школы. Грузия входила в состав Российской империи почти 200 лет. Естественно что самолёт конструируют осень много людей.но он был главным конструктором. К стати в СССР был главным конструктором летающих лодок ещё один грузин по фамилии Бериев. Это к тому кто что и где мог добиться.😂😂😂.
I just wanted to say, your content in amazing!! Thank you! Flamu, a WoWS content creator, shared one of your vids on his twitch stream and I was hooked. Amazing work!
Fascinating! It's interesting, the parallels that are flipped mirror images: the A10 was designed around its gun. The MiG-27's gun was designed around the aircraft. The M61 Vulcan was utilized later as an AA/CIWS weapon; the GSh began life as an AA/CIWS weapon. Also of note, the USAF, who have notably hated the A10 since its inception, tried to replace the A10 with a specialized F16 designated A16, and fit a podded GAU-7a with 5 barrels and a lower ROF to it...and it did exactly what the GSh did to the MiG-27! The A16 experiment was a failure and they've stuck with the A10.
@@mitri5389 Those "no one" are the soldiers who are working or worked under it's CAS. F-16 is a light fighter jet first of all. Yes, it's better for ground strikes but CAS has it's own nuances.
Fantastic work, as usual! It's cool your dad was a MiG pilot. I remember growing up, near where a squadron of Mig-23s was stationed, i watched them taking off, and landing, whenever i had the opportunity to.
An exclent video, thanks! As a tanker in the US Army during the 80's I am honestly very happy to not have ever had to face such a devastating weapon. I'm glad the cold war never went hot.
Eh, the 30mm cannon as a tank buster has proven to be a bust for both the Soviets and the USA. The overwhelming # tank kills from the A10 are missle kills, and as a close air support weapon, it's garbage, with a friendly fire rate so bad the British and other allies have requested to have the A10 withdrawn from their areas.
@@ivanthemadvandal8435 Allow me to clarify, I was in the 82nd airborne we were using the M551A1 Sheridan light tank. It had an aluminum hull and turret. A beer can on tracks. :P So I'm still glad we didn't get to face that gun, or in my case any gun. Hooray for serving during peacetime.
I love how you strike the perfect line between military technology and a humanfriendly mindset. Even the way you embed the political context in a considerate way without letting it overwhelm the actual storry is unpresedented. Well done for sharing sucha topic in a way a pacifist can watch it with pleasure and without beeing disgusted.
This is great stuff, Paper... very little of this information is available in the US, and as someone who grew up in the 1980s in an aviation family, your videos are an absolute treasure. And what a great way to grow up, with your father as a fighter pilot. I'm sure it was a magical time, and I hope all is well with you and your family. Thanks for all your hard work!
*Important!* For those interested in watching additional content from Paper Skies, the first episode of "Big Guns in the Soviet Air Force" will be released on Nebula on December 23. I indicated the release date in the video, but I want to be sure there’s no confusion here, since in the video, I say "available now". Based on the performance of my previous videos, at best RUclips will show this video to the majority of my subscribers a week or so after Dec. 23) . In the meantime, I don't want the most loyal part of my viewers, who are among the first to watch my videos and who might be interested in some extra content from Paper Skies, to miss this crazy Christmas sale from Curiosity/Nebula, which ends on Dec. 24. curiositystream.com/paperskies To answer the question, "Why are those episodes only going to be on Nebula?" ... considering that RUclips after a human review marked my previous video about Louis-Emile Train as "18+ only", I don't feel 100% confident that my 2 episodes about the USSR, which include Stalin’s repressions (executions and people being shot) will avoid “flags” from sensitive RUclips. Not to mention that even the topic "guns" itself is always a potentially dangerous one because of the existing RUclips "Firearms and Violence" policy.
@@skyisthelimit9887 They don't provide any explanation, which is the worst. In the past, they told me which policy exactly my video is violating. Now it was just an all of a sudden demonetization with a description "after human review ...". And nothing more.
@@Максим-е7с9м Я думаю, что начну делать это в конце зимы может быть. Это не так легко на самом деле, как может показаться. По крайней мере, для меня это было несколько неожиданно. Перевести текст на русский, затем наложить его на видео, из-за несовпадений по времени (между англ. и рус. словами) приходится менять видеоряд, затем все таблицы, тексты в видео и т.д.. По времени, конечно, это не новое видео делать, но занимает много времени. А с учетом того, что доход от русского видео будет в районе $200-300, заниматься этим в ущерб англоязычному каналу, я пока позволить себе не могу. Но надеюсь, что всё же сделаю это. Правда к этому моменту мои видео уже могуть быть на русском языке на других каналах. Недавно узнал, что один из рус каналов взял мой текст и часть видео про "Адмиралов" и просто сделал свое :)
My favorite aviation channel was Sandbox News with Alex Hollings and it still is my go to source for modern military aircraft but if l just want to be entertained with fascinating and often hilarious stories of Soviet era planes nothing even comes close to Paper Skies. Well written and narrated, lots of great film footage and just funny as he'll. You sir just do a fantastic job at giving us the true and hilarious story of what happened behind the iron curtain. From 1976 until 1982 l was a photo analyst for a government agency so these tales relate to my past
Well, MiG-23 was the most bloodthirsty plane in history. During one incident Soviet pilot left the plane, but plane don't just crush. After pilot used catapult machine decided to kill someone, flew trough border and crashed to farmer house.
You dad was a MiG pilot… that explains sooo much. And that’s also sooo freaking cool. I always look forward to learning more about life in the Soviet Union, and generally been throughly entertained and learned with every video you’ve produced. Keep it up!
I like the way you tell your stories. They are sequential and easy to follow, and very interesting. I had to smile when you showed the instrument panel dislodging from the vibration of the gunfire. I was flying in an EF-10B (the Drut! which is turd spelled backwards) in 1969 at MCAS El Toro, CA, preparing to go overseas to WestPac. This is an old Korean War night fighter that the Marines converted to Electronic Warfare at the beginning of the Vietnam War because our assets were so few. As we rolled down the runway and rotated for takeoff, as the nose lifted, the instrument panel fell off its mounts and back toward the pilot. It hit the stick and we pitched up. He reached up and pushed it off the stick and then we held it up with our feet! I always carried a folding knife that had a locking screwdriver blade so that I could undo and refasten panels during the preflight walkaround. We got the panel reattached and flew the mission.
it's a tiny reference to an old Soviet anecdote, when during the extensive fight the machine gunner told his commander that he can't hold his position anymore, because he is out of ammo. "Aren't you a communist?" - asked the commander. ... and the machine gun started firing again.
This is perhaps one of the best channels I've subscribed to, better than TV documentary quality. You're like a David Attenborough of planes, your accent makes it better somehow.
Your father was a MIG pilot; that explains why you know so many intimate details of the USSR''s Air Force. I hope you are living safely outside of the Russian Federation; embarrassing your former comrades can be deadly. Your manner of presentation is very entertaining. Thank you.
Sir. THAT was about the best produced and presented aviation video I have ever watched ! I am enthralled by all the wonderful footage that you found. As a child in the seventies I was plane mad. I had all the books. But all the Soviet aircraft were just code names and blurry photos. There were good air to air shots of the Bear sneaking around British coasts and keeping the RAF happy. Awesome and beautiful aircraft, and I longed to see more . Now you are showing them off. Thanks for that. It is a testament to good design for battle that the Crocodile got home with critical parts of it shaken or blown off. Great piloting too to stay with the plane and get it home...even if just for spares. That is how wars get won. Hats off to Soviet designers who managed to keep things going in spite of the military helping...
Your production value on this episode was very good. And once again, the information provided was excellent. Also, it is very refreshing seeing a documentary about Russian aircraft, that is not tainted by western misconceptions motivated by whatever excuse they had.
The only misconception is your assumption that there had to be an 'excuse', like we were somehow 'bad' for wanting to know what the Soviets were building, just like they wanted to know what we had. Please! I hope we can move forward from placing any blame based on past history. The fact is is that the communist way instilled a forced 'will' upon it's people that did not allow true freedom. And without that true freedom, there is no self determination of it's people or dynamic growth of it's country. People of the 'free' world long knew that many people of the Soviet society suffered dearly being very poor and not having goods and services and machinery technology that were as good as those in 'free' societies, and that the 'will' of the common person was truly restricted. Please don't think bad of us for wanting people to be free.Peace to all.
@@tomyost6330 How free is Julian Assange? We Americans are free to suck down the propaganda of CNN or the Washington Post. But not to hear about the crimes our government commits. No, there are no gulags for you and me. But that’s only because they aren’t needed in a society where the sheep police their own thoughts.
I wish I had kid’s books like that when young! But I was still obsessed with aviation at an early age, still am. Both the Mig 21,23, and 27 were quite beautiful in their own way. Superb video! Subscribed.
It's truly amazing that a guy from Argentina like me can learn from first hand accounts about Soviet airplanes from a channel like this!! Thank you for learning English and taking the time to make these videos!
This reminds me of Chico the Gunfighter. Chico was the callsign for F4E Phantoms used in 1972 during the later stages of the Vietnam War, and were armed with the standard 20mm Gatling gun under the nose and an additional 20mm Gatling pod under each wing. The planes could also be configured to carry CBU's or rockets under the wings depending on the mission. The planes were sent on free roaming strike and recce missions and used their guns to strafe ground targets with devastating effect.
I learned from Chuck Yeager's Air Combat (EA, 1991) that the Phantom wasn't designed with a gun in mind at all and didn't get one until a few years into its life. They had so much faith in its speed, climb capability and newly designed IR guided missiles that it wouldn't ever need to dogfight. That was, of course, false for a number of reasons. Bad missile reliability, a need for visual identification of target making confrontations too close for them anyway, etc etc.
I'm glad to see this comment here. I know it feels simple and natural, but it's not when you have to do the editing yourself. I enjoy the editing in these videos as well.
I'm only 3 minutes into the video but I must say, I had no idea that was your background, being able to sit in state of the art cockpits of modern planes, you where a very lucky child.
5:45 I had a 100rd magazine for my AR-15 rifle. It was called a *'C-Mag'* ('C' being the Roman numeral for 100). It was produced right in Atlanta where I worked at that time. It was admirably lightweight, being made from ABS plastic, but when loaded with ammo it became became a bit tubby.
c-mags have an unfortunate tendency to jam at the most inopportune moments, which worked out for the victims of the Aurora theater shooting. some of the malfunctions that happen with that mag system require experience in resolving which the shooter was ignorant of. stick to 30 rnd mag's
I watch a lot of aviation history videos… let me tell you, you are good. This piece is well researched, is humorous, and does neither glorify or bash Soviet engineering. No matter who they work for, engineers are doing amazing work and it’s nice to see their work being appreciated.
love your story! my father was an Officer for State Security (STASI) in the German Democratic Republic, but never took me to the office (He was just checking Letters, not directly Spying). He actually had a bit to do with Putins regiment, although he never met him.
So, you got into aviation because of your father? Just like how I got into railroading because of my father. When I was a toddler, my father would take me to see restored steam locomotive, which were the biggest and loudest and therefore the most impressive things I'd ever seen. And having had the chance to see many of them, ride behind others, and even drive one of them, was definitely a fun thing.
"It sounds like the recoil from the gun exposed a lot of problems with construction in the rest of the aircraft." Yes, in much the same way that GIs in the Pacific War firing captured Japanese Type 89 grenade launchers with the baseplate braced against their legs (instead of the ground, like it was supposed to be) exposed problems with construction of their thigh bones. :)
Given that the gun was meant to be mounted on a ship the size of a missile corvette (absolute minimum, and caused problems on those despite the shock absorbing mounts) or larger rather than on a fighter jet I doubt we can fault the aircraft too much.
This is an extremely well-done examination of this aircraft as well as the 'get it done' philosophy of Soviet engineers. Well done, Paper Skies. Fires the gun and the dash falls in his lap. There's an inflight emergency for you.
Man, the start of your video with the comments about the book sent me all the way back to my childhood. Now, I live on the other side of the world in South America and none of my family were pilots, but I can definitely share the sentiment of being so fascinated with aviation at a young age I'd be baffled when I saw a drawing I knew (or, rather, thought I knew!) was wrong - only goes to show that the love for aviation transcends geographical boundaries. For what it's worth, I must say I've been greatly appreciating your work of presenting these often lesser-known stories in such a concise and entertaining format, and particularly the insight into the Soviet aviation world. Seeing the notification of a Paper Skies video is always good news, so keep it up!
PLEASE more Cold War jet stories. I simply adore them so much. And your videos are so well designed, we truly see the immense effort put into every single one of them. Truly one of the best channels on YT !
The old soviet era aviation is a fascinating; often un-heard of out here in the west. Keep making these videos mate; your doing an fantastic job; the footage is incredible and its not the typical dumbed down crap that is often found on youtube. Congratulations on the good work; you make great videos; really professional but causal enough to be enjoyable; a great balance. I really hope it pays off for you; and keep going, ill be watching. Thanks.
Sir, greetings from Brazil! Your stories are really cool!! And the quality of the video is outstanding. You have the way to tell stories!!! I can't even noticed how 24 min passed so quick😊
I've noticed a pattern with Soviet aircraft development. They develop some perfectly fine aircraft, someone gets the bright idea od modifying it to do something it wasn't designed to do, they do the idea, the aircraft self destructs itself thanks to the modifications, Soviets approve the concept, and it goes into production, proceeds to continue self-destructing, and eventually gets pulled from service when enough tragedies happen.
Paper Skies, I LOVE your videos. Not only are so incredibly knowledgeable on Soviet military history, your wry sense of humor (as evidenced in the Tupelov video, "Of course it would not be the Soviet Union if, after discovering these design defects, it was put into production anyway"). Nobody has a better sense of humor about the shortcomings of communism than those who have lived under it. Now that I know that your father was a fighter pilot and you actually sat in a MiG 23 cockpit as a child, your authority on this subject matter makes sense. What amazing experiences you must have had! When I get a successful RUclips channel going, one of the things I plan on doing is a video on my favorite RUclips channels. I definitely want to share your channel with others. You really do fantastic work. Wishing you a blessed holiday season and (if appropriate) Merry Christmas.
Years ago, visiting areas outside Watertown, New York, I was lucky enough one day to see A-10 Warthogs doing practice maneuvers over the base area. Even several miles away there was no mistaking the fact that I just heard very loud brrrrrr sounds occasionally. Used to watch them fly around the Syracuse area a lot years ago also, and very low to see them well. Was always a thrill.
I saw the A-10 at an airshow. They did an on-target run (no firing), pulled up and did a complete loop, and ended the loop in a second on-target run. They also made quite an entrance, flying in just above the ground and the plane was nearly on top of you before you even saw it or heard it. Such a cool plane.
Early versions of the Japanese Hayabusa fighters also shot themselves down with depressing regularity when their 20mm rounds exploded before leaving the barrel. Other important parts like, for example, the wings would also sometimes depart the aircraft during high-speed dives. Fortunately for their pilots, and unfortunately for their enemies, these problems were eventually solved and the Hayabusa went on to be come almost as famous and as feared as the Zero.
That reminds me of the test flights of the grumman f-11 tiger in 1956. They were test firing a new gun, the plane ran into something and the plane crashed just short of the runway having lost power. They thought it was a bird strike until they found rounds of the gun lodged in the plane. That explained a prior test flight where the plane picked up some mysterious scratches. Test flights are a good thing.
Another one to add to my list of aircraft that shot themselves down, and perhaps the best example seeing as the problem was never fixed. There is also the MD Phantom that overtook the missile it has just fired and the early Hawker Hunters that ejected spent shell casings into the engine air intake.
Once I stop laughing I will still imagine a Hunter throwing brass into its engine. Did you hear about the Hunter that was landed where there was no Engine Start? Another Hunter landed there but kept his engine running. Then they were lined up nose to tail and he got a blow-start. If this is true, well it might be, but I didn't see it happen.
@@SephirothRyu Tovarishch, that is not the same as strapping an existing plane to a mighty cannon! It might be the better way to do it, but it is not the same. 😌
In 1999 Kargil war, an IAF Mig27 pilot fired his guns at high altitude in the himalayas even though he was advised not to. His engine flamed out and he parachuted in enemy territory. Another Mig27 went looking for him and was shot down with a stinger missile. The bodies of both pilots we returned to India in highly mutilated form. The plane was named "Bahadur" meaning Courageous in IAF. It was retired couple of years back.
See that's why they designed the plane around the gun in the A-10 and not the opposite way around. And even then from what I understand the A-10 needs lots of maintenance or it will start to Shake itself apart over time from firing the main gun. Love your content and channel.
Honestly, the MiG-27 seems like it could have been a very powerful and effective aircraft if it had been designed with the larger 30mm cannon in mind from the start, since it could have been made a bit larger and critical points could have been better reinforced to handle the recoil. It could have been a very interesting counterpart to the American A-10, showcasing an opposite approach to ground attack and tank busting: The MiG-27 was about 2.5 times faster than the A-10 and could operate in areas where there were still some active air defenses, but could carry half as many munitions (by weight), while the A-10 was less than half as fast as the MiG-27 and was very vulnerable to air defenses, but could carry twice as many munitions. It seems to sort of reflect that same difference in attitudes between Soviets and Americans when it came to fighting at that time: Americans with the attitude of "We will have air superiority," and Soviets with the attitude of "We don't need air superiority." You can see this reflected in the designs of fighters at the time too; American fighters had very sophisticated electronics, low caliber, fast-firing cannons, and good rearward visibility so they could react if they became defensive, while Soviet fighters had less sophisticated (though still advanced) electronics, high caliber, slow-firing cannons, and very poor rearward visibility because they would avoid becoming defensive. I don't know what all this means; I just know that if there was ever such a threat that it forced American and Soviet pilots to fight together, the combined air force would have been unstoppable.
I saw them firing the naval version of the Gsh-6-30 a few times. I never saw the Mig-27, but I've seen first-hand what it's capable of. It's an amazing yet fearful burst heavy-duty anti armor machine-gun. It shreds everything.
If I had a dollar for every nation that has shot itself down from being faster than its own bullets, I'd have 2 dollars, which isn't much but it's strange that it's happened twice
Oh "comrade", I love your work! Your personal story of this plane was a surprise, too, but something I sort of expected.. Thanks @Paper Skies, just brilliant, as always. You tell a side of aviation history not often seen, rarely heard about and that should be known. The sense of humour is great, too.
Just ran across this video and I found it very interesting! My professor for introduction to aircraft design this semester was on the team at Fairchild Republic who designed the A-10 in the 70's. He had some really interesting stories about the requirements the military had for the aircraft and how they came up with solutions to meet them.
Hayden, Did your 'prof' go on into the A-9's design and point their being short of meet'g the AF's requested areas of specifications thru the fly-offs? Goes to prove again, the old-timers (30-44) should be seated N the back of weekly design reviews, progress charts. Not a good idea to bring old habits to a new shoot-out.
Your English is wonderful. Your channel is quite interesting, and this coverage of yet another wild and woolly Soviet solution to an actual problem/requirement illustrates the enormous pressures put upon aircraft and weapon systems designers by the Soviet state. This was my first exposure to this most interesting weapon system. The GSh-6-30 was an incredible weapon, but it really should have had an airframe better designed for it. That would have allowed it to reach its full potential. Much respect from the U.S.A., and a subscription to boot.
The aircraft that changed the fate of Kargil war ! In India we know her as बहादुर or Bahadur meaning Valiant or Fearless due to its service to the nation in Kargil ! Brrrrrrt for Eternity ! We retired the beauty in 2019 Thank you Bahadur for your service to India you will never be Forgotten! BTW a good detailed video 👌 I thank your father for his service to his motherland 🙏 Merry Christmas and Happy New year !
Cool video. Just a note on the disadvantages of a gas operated Gatling, why the US and others didn’t use them. Gas operated designs don’t achieve their rate of fire nearly as quickly as electric or hydraulic cannons. The first few shots have to speed up the rotation of the barrels so for the first 1/2 second or so the ROF is inconsistent. Gas operated designs also require rounds to be left in the hot cannon barrel chambers in order for firing to resume. The Vulcan and other designs avoid this by clearing the gun of all unfired rounds and not loading more until it was ready to shoot again. So basically the Vulcan was the better design, safer and better first hit probability.
Excellent story. I am from the U.S. and have a very similar childhood experience. My father was an Aeronautical Engineer with Grumman Aircraft. Later number 2 for Grumman on Apollo. Like yourself I understood aircraft and their systems at a young age. By age 5, I knew how to fly, in my mind, of course. By age 10 I got the opportunity to fly a light plane. I leveraged that into becoming a Fighter Pilot flying the F4E Phantom II in the early 1970's. Great and wonderful fun. No doubt, Aerial Combat is exciting.
Man that gun was a beast! Great video, loved all the details! Also thanks for a video about the MIG-27, I always liked the MIG-23 and 27 growing up, cool looking airplanes! :)
I agree, the mig-23 is still a good looking aircraft. It was one of the first models I built some 30 years ago. I recently bought the academy version for nostalgia and rekindled my admiration for it.
Wow it must have been pretty amazing having a MIG pilot for a dad. My father flew a commercial Cessena in my younger years, which was impressive as hell to me and my friends as a kid, but lets face it , a fighter plane is way cooler. I hope your dad is doing well! Give the old boy a high five for me!. Also, I think the "design bureau" idea the soviets had was a brilliant idea. It got the competitive impulse western capitalists had as an advantage, and turned it into something compatible with the soviet idea. A *lot* of good ideas came from those things (and a few madcap ideas, but its not like the US didnt have a few nutty ideas too)
"Thanks to the pilot moral and political training" he manages to land the aircraft. That's a pure soviet report!
Things you'd only know if you had excellent political training.
Imagine the pilots reply to being asked how he did it. "Thanks to communism, I was able to land the plane safely!".
Love to see Stalin land it with all his moral and political training, like fuck,more like good flying and and a wish to live. It should be immoral and political indoctrination and a wish to not get shot or sent to the gulag for incompetence.
@@dekoldrick Almost as stupid as thanking God :D
Give his political commissar a promotion
Commissar: "The plane is good, but it needs a bigger gun."
Engineer: "But comrade Commissar, if we put a bigger gun on the plane, it'll shoot itself down."
Commissar: *Places his hand on the engineer's shoulder reassuringly* "Pilots with strong political training will make it work."
Underrated comment! Made me laugh
There's nothing reassuring about a Soviet superior placing their hand on your shoulder, you're one mistake away from the gulag
You make a mistake like that in the then Soviet military and you certainly didn’t make it to a Gulag. I think an enraged Commissar’s bullet got you first - fired from his service pistol without hesitation and also right in front of your comrades (very handy for motivation).
@@XolarPoweredHistory21 Russian joke:
Red Army soldier Ivanov, why doesn't your machine gun erase?
Comrade political instructor ran out of cartridges.
Red Army soldier Ivanov, you are a member of the Komsomol!
And again the machine gun of the Red Army soldier Ivanov shot down ...
lol
The wikipedia article about the GSh-6-30 contains one of my favourite text snippets of all time: "The gun was noted for its high (often uncomfortable) vibration and extreme noise. The airframe vibration led to fatigue cracks in fuel tanks, numerous radio and avionics failures, the necessity of using runways with floodlights for night flights (as the landing lights would often be destroyed), tearing or jamming of the forward landing gear doors (leading to at least three crash landings), cracking of the reflector gunsight, an accidental jettisoning of the cockpit canopy and at least one case of the instrument panel falling off in flight. The weapons also dealt extensive collateral damage, as the sheer numbers of fragments from detonating shells was sufficient to damage aircraft flying within a 200-meter radius from the impact center, including the aircraft firing."
GSh-6-30 is a truely fearsome weapon. You fear it if you in recieving end, you fear if you shoot from it from plane, and you fear it if you maintain jets armed with it - it deal too much work for you.
Yes; as a pilot I would certainly be "uncomfortable". 🤪
Reminds me of the British Naval Gunnery School's report on its trials of the Gabbet-Fairfax Mars Automatic Pistol, circa 1902: "Singularly unpleasant and alarming. No one who fired once with the pistol wished to shoot it again."
In other words, this was a massive failure. You had a greater chance of inflicting more damage to yourself and squadron than other designs available at the time.
I know this excerpt from What If by Randall Munroe. He was discussing the topic of machine-gun jetpack.
Ok, now I realize that it's really fun: MiG-27 and A-10 are very similar not only because of huge gun mounted on both planes. MiG was nicknamed Crocodile Gena for his nose and A-10 was nicknamed Cheburashka in USSR for distinct circular engines on both sides. And these 2 were always together, like Tom and Jerry in USSR ;)
Just googled Cheburashka and had a good laugh.
@@bodyno3158 Every Westerner, Americans specifically, should search for Cheburashka at least once.
I just googled "Cheburashka" and instantly see why the Soviets named the A-10 after it hahaha
🐭🤣😂🤣
I just showed my GF Cheburashka and now she wants a stuffed toy of it.
I sincerely love the comical jabs at the Soviet era military mentality. Makes this so much better, plus the accent just makes it that much better. It's like having a Russian uncle telling us about the stuff they did back in the day. Again congrats on the channel. Bravo. 👏🎩
Wow, your dad was a MiG pilot? that's awesome! Thanks for the new vid and happy Christmas
Dude's got a fuckin lucky childhood, even managed to get into the cockpit of some aircraft to play in!
not as rare as you might think. Ex-soviet republics and other asian countries used many Migs. Both my grandfathers and one grandmother worked on and flew on Mig23, mig27 and mig29
My dad is a general in the syrian army I got to see the t90,72 and t55
And my grandfather is a general in AA division all I can say is
Shilca is F*** LOUD
@Slovenski Slav did your Uncle fight in 1990s ?
As syria is doing poorly israel boomed the port in latacka and my house is right next to the port so I woke up at the middle of the night to that
But at least we got rid of the free syria army and ISIS
And because my grandfather was general in AA in the 1980s and 70s
He served in Lebanon and every time I show him a israel prpganda video about a Israel ACE who shot down 120 syria planes he laughed 🤣 and told me " we F*** there whole air force down " 🤣
@Slovenski Slav that is so cool meeting someone like him
And I m guss that you are from sloveina?
Stuff like this is why I find Soviet-Era creations so fascinating.
It’s just a shame the killed so many people by putting them in forced Labour camps
@@PibrochPonder they don't even have to go to gulag to die. Stalin had the NKVD purged around 700000 people before he died
@@jackalbo4966 the numbers are astonishing
@@PibrochPonder Yeah, and equipped, financed and supported by the US. Despicable.
@@PibrochPonder Who is "they"? You realize that the early Boshevik government consisted of over 80% people who hated ethnic Russians and Christian? That's when tens of millions died. Late Soviet Union was completely different and focused on nation building.
Hello Paper Skies! I really enjoy your content and enthusiasm for combat aircraft. I am a former U.S. Air Force F-16 crew chief, so I share your passion of military aviation. I would like to point out one fact concerning integrally mounted M61 Vulcan cannons on American fighters like the F-16. They are driven by a hydraulic motor rather than an electric one. Although this doesn’t really save much weight, it does help with torque loads and to accelerate barrel rotation as it operates under pressure at 3,000 psi. Thanks for the videos!
Thanks for that ! I love these kind of details, have a great new year. 8)
hello, thanks for the details! i am curious, do you have any interesting stories from your time as a f-16 pilot?
@@strangelove9608 Thank you, I really appreciate that!
@@diverr69 Hi there and thank you for the interest in my post! Just to clarify, I was a crew chief rather than a pilot. I troubleshot problems and helped keep the aircraft flying, although I have flown in the back seat of a two-seat F-16 on two occasions. There are a couple of interesting stories (especially when I worked in flight testing) that I probably shouldn’t get into. But perhaps the most impressive thing I’ve encountered happened after I got out of the Air Force. I rarely tell this story because I know few people would believe it (I know I wouldn’t). But a few years back I honestly saw a UAP making right angle turns, instantaneous acceleration/deceleration and other seemingly impossible maneuvers at or near orbital altitudes and velocities. I don’t believe they were little green men; it’s more likely an unmanned technology from an unknown flight test program demonstrating radically different technologies from those we are familiar with. Sadly, I have no idea which country this aerospace vehicle originated from either. Nothing is immune to the laws of physics, however there are “theoretical shortcuts” that would not violate any physical laws (especially the laws of thermodynamics). I’m not entirely sure what I saw early in that summer morning sky, but I’m entirely sure what it was not. It was no aircraft, rocket, satellite, balloon or drone. It was something new and amazing and I’m glad that the United States government finally officially admits that they’ve seen it too. Keep looking up, you may be surprised at what you find!
@@KPX-nl4nt thank you for the story!
I never knew your childhood backstory. Growing up in the Cold War with the Soviet Union is an interesting side we don't really hear about. Especially when the parent was in the military let alone flew a MIG. I bet you have a lot of cool stories!
22:26 'firing range technician Comrade Morgunov', that right there is a fine example of nominative determinism!
It had a GSH-30-6 gun, which sometimes will lower the airspeed and produce a ton of smoke when fired . But this aircraft was also also fairly advanced for the time, it could fire GROM guided anti tank missiles, and can defend itself in an A2A engagement. It's like a villain's aircraft - has a massive gun, it's fast, variable geometry sweep wings. One of the most unique aircraft of the 20th century.
There are many anecdotes about how the Mig 23 was a poor plane, the engine was short lived and none fly now whereas its predecessor the Mig 21 is still in active duty...that being said I agree. The 23/27 was an amazingly advanced plane that I always had a liking for.
@@Rich77UK Exactly.
@@Rich77UK if you re-engined them they would still be pretty capable, the last variant carried the same radar as mig-29s
In the anime Scharzesmarken, it makes an appearance as the main villain's mount (albeit as a mecha).
@@spirz4557 Area 88 has MiG-23s in the antagonist's squadron in the remake, in the OG its MiG-27s
The original plane of the MiG-27, the MiG-23 has this interesting story where it flew 900km without a pilot and crashed at a farmhouse in Belgium
Was that the laws of Physics or a Political Education?
@@myparceltape1169 its real
Quizás se trató de un MiG-23 L,versión a control remoto del MiG-23 utilizada para prácticas de disparo
@@leotellotandaital8615 No. The Pilot had ejected somewhere in Romania (I guess) and the plane continued flying until it ran out of fuel and crashed.
@@myparceltape1169 pilot morale😊
Very great video, I appreciated learning about something I have never really come across here in the US.
Also, that colored pencil animation used was incredibly striking, I loved it! The sky was just so dynamic! It was fantastic to see!
Could do the next one without the blue stripes though, they were flashy enough to make a zen monk go epileptic.
It reminded me of an 80s music video.
@@richardmartin8998 Peter Gabriel - Sledge Hammer
The A-10 was a very different design and built to a different purpose. The rounds per minute may have been slower, but the muzzle velocity was far higher. Being built as it was, the A-10 has a much higher ammo load - ~1100 vs ~200 rounds. Different battle strategy, different philosophy. Far different support & infrastructure.
Thank you for presenting this.
Ну скорость не намного а немного больше и то за счёт электропривода пушки в то время как у ГШ-6-30 пушка работает на отводе пороховых газов. Тактика вас СССР одна атака. 200 снарядов достаточно. Тактика А-10 расстрел неприкрытых ПВО войск что позволяет выполнять множество заходов для атаки.
@@АлександрШершнёв-р6с Yeah and dont forget the A10 doesnt broke in pieces after a 30 round burst. I think its the main difference.
@@som9134 ну его же делал выходец из России Александр Картвелли😂😂😂 он знал толк в самолётах!
@@АлександрШершнёв-р6с Kartvelli was Georgian not Russian, typical Russian ethnic assimlation, Russian are Russian, dont speak like every slav people are Russian. He was from a noble Georgian family, what does Russia have to do here ? He even chose France and then America as soon as he could to make his career, cuz no slav country could have helped him become what he became.
And he didn’t make the A10 alone, really not.
But yeah, he knew a lot in how a plane works.
@@som9134 да Картвелли этнический грузин .но он воспитанник русской инженерной школы. Грузия входила в состав Российской империи почти 200 лет. Естественно что самолёт конструируют осень много людей.но он был главным конструктором. К стати в СССР был главным конструктором летающих лодок ещё один грузин по фамилии Бериев. Это к тому кто что и где мог добиться.😂😂😂.
I just wanted to say, your content in amazing!! Thank you!
Flamu, a WoWS content creator, shared one of your vids on his twitch stream and I was hooked.
Amazing work!
Fascinating! It's interesting, the parallels that are flipped mirror images: the A10 was designed around its gun. The MiG-27's gun was designed around the aircraft. The M61 Vulcan was utilized later as an AA/CIWS weapon; the GSh began life as an AA/CIWS weapon. Also of note, the USAF, who have notably hated the A10 since its inception, tried to replace the A10 with a specialized F16 designated A16, and fit a podded GAU-7a with 5 barrels and a lower ROF to it...and it did exactly what the GSh did to the MiG-27! The A16 experiment was a failure and they've stuck with the A10.
they have replaced the a10 with the f16 in fact many other aircraft are doing the a10 job, its only being kept alive by lobbyist.
@@mitri5389 no one wants the a10 to retired
@@alqaeda7040 who is this no one? is it only the ignorant and those who profit from keeping it alive?
@@mitri5389 the brrrrrrt is legendary, just ask anyone. Everyone loves the a10
@@mitri5389 Those "no one" are the soldiers who are working or worked under it's CAS. F-16 is a light fighter jet first of all. Yes, it's better for ground strikes but CAS has it's own nuances.
Fantastic work, as usual! It's cool your dad was a MiG pilot. I remember growing up, near where a squadron of Mig-23s was stationed, i watched them taking off, and landing, whenever i had the opportunity to.
In Poland?
where did you grow up?
@@just_one_opinion Yes
That's so cool
Same here.
I grew up just next to 28plm.
Migs roar climbing up at full accel was a music to my ears 🥰
An exclent video, thanks! As a tanker in the US Army during the 80's I am honestly very happy to not have ever had to face such a devastating weapon. I'm glad the cold war never went hot.
Eh, the 30mm cannon as a tank buster has proven to be a bust for both the Soviets and the USA. The overwhelming # tank kills from the A10 are missle kills, and as a close air support weapon, it's garbage, with a friendly fire rate so bad the British and other allies have requested to have the A10 withdrawn from their areas.
@@ivanthemadvandal8435 Allow me to clarify, I was in the 82nd airborne we were using the M551A1 Sheridan light tank. It had an aluminum hull and turret. A beer can on tracks. :P So I'm still glad we didn't get to face that gun, or in my case any gun. Hooray for serving during peacetime.
@@ivanthemadvandal8435
It seems you have not seen the hundreds of air support videos of the A-10 that prove you are very wrong.
@@wilsonrawlin8547 They we’re air support videos with little to no enemy ground anti-air
@@m1a1abramstank49
That is what the A-10 does well for pinned down units.
I love how you strike the perfect line between military technology and a humanfriendly mindset. Even the way you embed the political context in a considerate way without letting it overwhelm the actual storry is unpresedented. Well done for sharing sucha topic in a way a pacifist can watch it with pleasure and without beeing disgusted.
Admittedly the Mig-27 was a uniquely beautiful plane. Gotta love the wide stance rear landing gear too.
This is great stuff, Paper... very little of this information is available in the US, and as someone who grew up in the 1980s in an aviation family, your videos are an absolute treasure. And what a great way to grow up, with your father as a fighter pilot. I'm sure it was a magical time, and I hope all is well with you and your family. Thanks for all your hard work!
*Important!* For those interested in watching additional content from Paper Skies, the first episode of "Big Guns in the Soviet Air Force" will be released on Nebula on December 23. I indicated the release date in the video, but I want to be sure there’s no confusion here, since in the video, I say "available now". Based on the performance of my previous videos, at best RUclips will show this video to the majority of my subscribers a week or so after Dec. 23) . In the meantime, I don't want the most loyal part of my viewers, who are among the first to watch my videos and who might be interested in some extra content from Paper Skies, to miss this crazy Christmas sale from Curiosity/Nebula, which ends on Dec. 24. curiositystream.com/paperskies
To answer the question, "Why are those episodes only going to be on Nebula?" ... considering that RUclips after a human review marked my previous video about Louis-Emile Train as "18+ only", I don't feel 100% confident that my 2 episodes about the USSR, which include Stalin’s repressions (executions and people being shot) will avoid “flags” from sensitive RUclips. Not to mention that even the topic "guns" itself is always a potentially dangerous one because of the existing RUclips "Firearms and Violence" policy.
Do you get the 18+ flag because of what is being said in the video or because of the footage?
@@skyisthelimit9887 They don't provide any explanation, which is the worst. In the past, they told me which policy exactly my video is violating. Now it was just an all of a sudden demonetization with a description "after human review ...". And nothing more.
@@skyisthelimit9887 I sent appeal but I'm still waiting for response.
А вы можете озвучивать эти видео и для русского ютуба, у вас очень интересные ролики были. Спасибо
@@Максим-е7с9м Я думаю, что начну делать это в конце зимы может быть. Это не так легко на самом деле, как может показаться. По крайней мере, для меня это было несколько неожиданно. Перевести текст на русский, затем наложить его на видео, из-за несовпадений по времени (между англ. и рус. словами) приходится менять видеоряд, затем все таблицы, тексты в видео и т.д.. По времени, конечно, это не новое видео делать, но занимает много времени. А с учетом того, что доход от русского видео будет в районе $200-300, заниматься этим в ущерб англоязычному каналу, я пока позволить себе не могу. Но надеюсь, что всё же сделаю это.
Правда к этому моменту мои видео уже могуть быть на русском языке на других каналах. Недавно узнал, что один из рус каналов взял мой текст и часть видео про "Адмиралов" и просто сделал свое :)
Soviet Chiefs of Staff: Should we install naval AA gun or field artillery piece in a fighter-bomber?
Soviet military industry complex: Yes
My favorite aviation channel was Sandbox News with Alex Hollings and it still is my go to source for modern military aircraft but if l just want to be entertained with fascinating and often hilarious stories of Soviet era planes nothing even comes close to Paper Skies. Well written and narrated, lots of great film footage and just funny as he'll. You sir just do a fantastic job at giving us the true and hilarious story of what happened behind the iron curtain. From 1976 until 1982 l was a photo analyst for a government agency so these tales relate to my past
9:44 thanks for that easter egg. I appreciate, especially because you spent a lot of time editing this detail.
How to make a ground attacker
1. get an interceptor
2.give it bombs or a big cannon
3. The "widowmaker" and "MIG-27" incident
Tbf it worked for the lightning, yak9s and p61
Well, MiG-23 was the most bloodthirsty plane in history. During one incident Soviet pilot left the plane, but plane don't just crush. After pilot used catapult machine decided to kill someone, flew trough border and crashed to farmer house.
@@PyromaN93 and killed the guy lol
@@kajmak64bit76 yep. That plane hated capitalists so much...
@@PyromaN93 xd
The balance between humor and information is, once again, amazing. These videos never get stale
You dad was a MiG pilot… that explains sooo much. And that’s also sooo freaking cool. I always look forward to learning more about life in the Soviet Union, and generally been throughly entertained and learned with every video you’ve produced. Keep it up!
Pure smekalka in motion, thanks for sharing!
I like the way you tell your stories. They are sequential and easy to follow, and very interesting. I had to smile when you showed the instrument panel dislodging from the vibration of the gunfire. I was flying in an EF-10B (the Drut! which is turd spelled backwards) in 1969 at MCAS El Toro, CA, preparing to go overseas to WestPac. This is an old Korean War night fighter that the Marines converted to Electronic Warfare at the beginning of the Vietnam War because our assets were so few. As we rolled down the runway and rotated for takeoff, as the nose lifted, the instrument panel fell off its mounts and back toward the pilot. It hit the stick and we pitched up. He reached up and pushed it off the stick and then we held it up with our feet! I always carried a folding knife that had a locking screwdriver blade so that I could undo and refasten panels during the preflight walkaround. We got the panel reattached and flew the mission.
What a story. I'm glad you guys managed to handle it well.
“We’re communists. We’ll figure out something.”
Sounds like a tagline they always live up to that ends up with them stumbling.
it's a tiny reference to an old Soviet anecdote, when during the extensive fight the machine gunner told his commander that he can't hold his position anymore, because he is out of ammo. "Aren't you a communist?" - asked the commander. ... and the machine gun started firing again.
@@PaperSkiesAviation whoa, that's really interesting
Vastly smaller budgets but same or higher requirements than those in the West.
And these guys built NK 33 engine
@@PaperSkiesAviation лучше, чем турецкая тюрьма
This is perhaps one of the best channels I've subscribed to, better than TV documentary quality.
You're like a David Attenborough of planes, your accent makes it better somehow.
You should also check Mustard. Paper skies + Mustards make my internal historian happy every time.
@@WarpGhost92 the trifecta with Bismarck of Military Aviation History
@@wtice4632 I have no idea who you talking about
@@WarpGhost92 Neither does he.
For those of you who might want to know - the cartoon character Gena the crocodile had a full time job in a zoo as a crocodile, actually.
Instructor: "How's your stall recovery training?"
New Pilot: "perfect score, why?"
Instructor "You'll see."
Your father was a MIG pilot; that explains why you know so many intimate details of the USSR''s Air Force. I hope you are living safely outside of the Russian Federation; embarrassing your former comrades can be deadly. Your manner of presentation is very entertaining. Thank you.
He's Ukrainian.
Sir. THAT was about the best produced and presented aviation video I have ever watched !
I am enthralled by all the wonderful footage that you found. As a child in the seventies I was plane mad.
I had all the books. But all the Soviet aircraft were just code names and blurry photos. There were good air to air shots of the Bear sneaking around British coasts and keeping the RAF happy. Awesome and beautiful aircraft, and I longed to see more . Now you are showing them off. Thanks for that. It is a testament to good design for battle that the Crocodile got home with critical parts of it shaken or blown off. Great piloting too to stay with the plane and get it home...even if just for spares. That is how wars get won. Hats off to Soviet designers who managed to keep things going in spite of the military helping...
@6:21 "I present to you comrades the MiG 7-Eleven, our most convenient design"
This comment wins
@@mysticstarlight1 hahaha ty :)
But as it turned out the MiG 7-Eleven wasn't our most convenient design
Your production value on this episode was very good. And once again, the information provided was excellent.
Also, it is very refreshing seeing a documentary about Russian aircraft, that is not tainted by western misconceptions motivated by whatever excuse they had.
I find these video very well produced and very entertaining
The only misconception is your assumption that there had to be an 'excuse', like we were somehow 'bad' for wanting to know what the Soviets were building, just like they wanted to know what we had. Please! I hope we can move forward from placing any blame based on past history. The fact is is that the communist way instilled a forced 'will' upon it's people that did not allow true freedom. And without that true freedom, there is no self determination of it's people or dynamic growth of it's country. People of the 'free' world long knew that many people of the Soviet society suffered dearly being very poor and not having goods and services and machinery technology that were as good as those in 'free' societies, and that the 'will' of the common person was truly restricted. Please don't think bad of us for wanting people to be free.Peace to all.
@@tomyost6330 How free is Julian Assange? We Americans are free to suck down the propaganda of CNN or the Washington Post. But not to hear about the crimes our government commits. No, there are no gulags for you and me. But that’s only because they aren’t needed in a society where the sheep police their own thoughts.
3:23 Bro damnn that guy in the middle looks fine af
I wish I had kid’s books like that when young! But I was still obsessed with aviation at an early age, still am. Both the Mig 21,23, and 27 were quite beautiful in their own way. Superb video! Subscribed.
It's truly amazing that a guy from Argentina like me can learn from first hand accounts about Soviet airplanes from a channel like this!!
Thank you for learning English and taking the time to make these videos!
I agree
This reminds me of Chico the Gunfighter. Chico was the callsign for F4E Phantoms used in 1972 during the later stages of the Vietnam War, and were armed with the standard 20mm Gatling gun under the nose and an additional 20mm Gatling pod under each wing. The planes could also be configured to carry CBU's or rockets under the wings depending on the mission. The planes were sent on free roaming strike and recce missions and used their guns to strafe ground targets with devastating effect.
3 x 20 mm guns are not impressions any one
I learned from Chuck Yeager's Air Combat (EA, 1991) that the Phantom wasn't designed with a gun in mind at all and didn't get one until a few years into its life. They had so much faith in its speed, climb capability and newly designed IR guided missiles that it wouldn't ever need to dogfight.
That was, of course, false for a number of reasons. Bad missile reliability, a need for visual identification of target making confrontations too close for them anyway, etc etc.
@@computer_toucher That's why US Army Phantoms early on used gunpods and for the later versions of the Phantom used an internal Vulcan instead.
"They'll figure something out."
The most Soviet thing I have heard this month xD
One of my favorite statements in Russian Literature: "Gena the crocodile worked in the zoo. As a crocodile." Flawless.
Amazing editing skills. From a person who works in filmmaking: you are really good with using stock footage moments to illustrate the narration.
I'm glad to see this comment here. I know it feels simple and natural, but it's not when you have to do the editing yourself. I enjoy the editing in these videos as well.
I'm only 3 minutes into the video but I must say, I had no idea that was your background, being able to sit in state of the art cockpits of modern planes, you where a very lucky child.
5:45 I had a 100rd magazine for my AR-15 rifle. It was called a *'C-Mag'* ('C' being the Roman numeral for 100). It was produced right in Atlanta where I worked at that time. It was admirably lightweight, being made from ABS plastic, but when loaded with ammo it became became a bit tubby.
How well does a mag with a spring that long feed?
@@redvirknight9430 It's not a spring. It's a pulley system.
@@Matt_from_Florida Ah I had assumed it was like the ak mag
c-mags have an unfortunate tendency to jam at the most inopportune moments, which worked out for the victims of the Aurora theater shooting. some of the malfunctions that happen with that mag system require experience in resolving which the shooter was ignorant of. stick to 30 rnd mag's
@@thomasrussell7135 I'll take your word for it. I went through an entire magazine exactly one time (at the range).
I watch a lot of aviation history videos… let me tell you, you are good. This piece is well researched, is humorous, and does neither glorify or bash Soviet engineering. No matter who they work for, engineers are doing amazing work and it’s nice to see their work being appreciated.
They were Communist, they sorted something out :P
@@thhseeking you meant to say: they were engineers; so, they sorted something out.
@@hammadsheikh6032 no they are communist
38kg in a 1 second burst? Yikes! 😲 I'm used to seeing the rate of fire for guns; but the 1-Second Burst Mass is a real eye-opener for me.
That's 38kg of freedom per second.
@@apollo5261 5,000 hot, liberating, seeds of communism per minute
@@apollo5261 communism*
@@SirCabooseCCCP I think he means "freedom: from life".
About 80 years ago it was a 2 second burst.
love your story! my father was an Officer for State Security (STASI) in the German Democratic Republic, but never took me to the office (He was just checking Letters, not directly Spying). He actually had a bit to do with Putins regiment, although he never met him.
So, you got into aviation because of your father? Just like how I got into railroading because of my father. When I was a toddler, my father would take me to see restored steam locomotive, which were the biggest and loudest and therefore the most impressive things I'd ever seen. And having had the chance to see many of them, ride behind others, and even drive one of them, was definitely a fun thing.
"Something more powerful than the laws of physics - Soviet Engineers"
-Sun Tzu art of war
It sounds like the recoil from the gun exposed a lot of problems with construction in the rest of the aircraft. But, the recoil forces were INSANE...
I wonder though, can modern science alleviate gas operated gatling problem?
@@dimasakbar7668 yes , by not choosing a platform such as a mig 27
Nah, in therms of recoil it is little baby. True BEAST is GSh-6-23. 5 tonns of recoil force and 9000 rpm.
"It sounds like the recoil from the gun exposed a lot of problems with construction in the rest of the aircraft." Yes, in much the same way that GIs in the Pacific War firing captured Japanese Type 89 grenade launchers with the baseplate braced against their legs (instead of the ground, like it was supposed to be) exposed problems with construction of their thigh bones. :)
Given that the gun was meant to be mounted on a ship the size of a missile corvette (absolute minimum, and caused problems on those despite the shock absorbing mounts) or larger rather than on a fighter jet I doubt we can fault the aircraft too much.
This is an extremely well-done examination of this aircraft as well as the 'get it done' philosophy of Soviet engineers. Well done, Paper Skies. Fires the gun and the dash falls in his lap. There's an inflight emergency for you.
Your videos are among my very favorite of any I have seen anywhere. Thanks.
Man, the start of your video with the comments about the book sent me all the way back to my childhood. Now, I live on the other side of the world in South America and none of my family were pilots, but I can definitely share the sentiment of being so fascinated with aviation at a young age I'd be baffled when I saw a drawing I knew (or, rather, thought I knew!) was wrong - only goes to show that the love for aviation transcends geographical boundaries.
For what it's worth, I must say I've been greatly appreciating your work of presenting these often lesser-known stories in such a concise and entertaining format, and particularly the insight into the Soviet aviation world. Seeing the notification of a Paper Skies video is always good news, so keep it up!
PLEASE more Cold War jet stories. I simply adore them so much. And your videos are so well designed, we truly see the immense effort put into every single one of them. Truly one of the best channels on YT !
The old soviet era aviation is a fascinating; often un-heard of out here in the west. Keep making these videos mate; your doing an fantastic job; the footage is incredible and its not the typical dumbed down crap that is often found on youtube. Congratulations on the good work; you make great videos; really professional but causal enough to be enjoyable; a great balance. I really hope it pays off for you; and keep going, ill be watching. Thanks.
Denounce the Muscovite invasion of Ukraine or close down your channel. Now!
Sir, greetings from Brazil! Your stories are really cool!! And the quality of the video is outstanding.
You have the way to tell stories!!! I can't even noticed how 24 min passed so quick😊
I've noticed a pattern with Soviet aircraft development.
They develop some perfectly fine aircraft, someone gets the bright idea od modifying it to do something it wasn't designed to do, they do the idea, the aircraft self destructs itself thanks to the modifications, Soviets approve the concept, and it goes into production, proceeds to continue self-destructing, and eventually gets pulled from service when enough tragedies happen.
Paper Skies, I LOVE your videos. Not only are so incredibly knowledgeable on Soviet military history, your wry sense of humor (as evidenced in the Tupelov video, "Of course it would not be the Soviet Union if, after discovering these design defects, it was put into production anyway"). Nobody has a better sense of humor about the shortcomings of communism than those who have lived under it. Now that I know that your father was a fighter pilot and you actually sat in a MiG 23 cockpit as a child, your authority on this subject matter makes sense. What amazing experiences you must have had!
When I get a successful RUclips channel going, one of the things I plan on doing is a video on my favorite RUclips channels. I definitely want to share your channel with others. You really do fantastic work. Wishing you a blessed holiday season and (if appropriate) Merry Christmas.
Thank you Christopher G! Merry Christmas!
Years ago, visiting areas outside Watertown, New York, I was lucky enough one day to see A-10 Warthogs doing practice maneuvers over the base area. Even several miles away there was no mistaking the fact that I just heard very loud brrrrrr sounds occasionally. Used to watch them fly around the Syracuse area a lot years ago also, and very low to see them well. Was always a thrill.
At an airshow the A-10s snap onto target out of a tight turn was truly awesome.
I saw the A-10 at an airshow. They did an on-target run (no firing), pulled up and did a complete loop, and ended the loop in a second on-target run. They also made quite an entrance, flying in just above the ground and the plane was nearly on top of you before you even saw it or heard it. Such a cool plane.
Early versions of the Japanese Hayabusa fighters also shot themselves down with depressing regularity when their 20mm rounds exploded before leaving the barrel. Other important parts like, for example, the wings would also sometimes depart the aircraft during high-speed dives. Fortunately for their pilots, and unfortunately for their enemies, these problems were eventually solved and the Hayabusa went on to be come almost as famous and as feared as the Zero.
That reminds me of the test flights of the grumman f-11 tiger in 1956. They were test firing a new gun, the plane ran into something and the plane crashed just short of the runway having lost power. They thought it was a bird strike until they found rounds of the gun lodged in the plane. That explained a prior test flight where the plane picked up some mysterious scratches. Test flights are a good thing.
Another one to add to my list of aircraft that shot themselves down, and perhaps the best example seeing as the problem was never fixed.
There is also the MD Phantom that overtook the missile it has just fired and the early Hawker Hunters that ejected spent shell casings into the engine air intake.
Once I stop laughing I will still imagine a Hunter throwing brass into its engine.
Did you hear about the Hunter that was landed where there was no Engine Start?
Another Hunter landed there but kept his engine running. Then they were lined up nose to tail and he got a blow-start.
If this is true, well it might be, but I didn't see it happen.
This was fascinating, had no clue they tried this! 👍
Cue the mandatory: In Soviet Russia, cannon carries plane!
In America, plane built around gun!
Well put, comrade!!
In Soviet Russia plane shoots itself
@@texasforever7887 in western usa thoo 🤣🤣🤣
@@SephirothRyu Tovarishch, that is not the same as strapping an existing plane to a mighty cannon! It might be the better way to do it, but it is not the same. 😌
In 1999 Kargil war, an IAF Mig27 pilot fired his guns at high altitude in the himalayas even though he was advised not to. His engine flamed out and he parachuted in enemy territory. Another Mig27 went looking for him and was shot down with a stinger missile. The bodies of both pilots we returned to India in highly mutilated form. The plane was named "Bahadur" meaning Courageous in IAF. It was retired couple of years back.
See that's why they designed the plane around the gun in the A-10 and not the opposite way around. And even then from what I understand the A-10 needs lots of maintenance or it will start to Shake itself apart over time from firing the main gun. Love your content and channel.
It has variable fire rate and it's almost always at "low" (3000 rpm iirc)
@@TocTeplv interesting, I did not know that.
Whether it's your top-shelf production values, the dry wit or the topics you choose - each and every one of your videos is fantastic to watch 👌
Honestly, the MiG-27 seems like it could have been a very powerful and effective aircraft if it had been designed with the larger 30mm cannon in mind from the start, since it could have been made a bit larger and critical points could have been better reinforced to handle the recoil.
It could have been a very interesting counterpart to the American A-10, showcasing an opposite approach to ground attack and tank busting: The MiG-27 was about 2.5 times faster than the A-10 and could operate in areas where there were still some active air defenses, but could carry half as many munitions (by weight), while the A-10 was less than half as fast as the MiG-27 and was very vulnerable to air defenses, but could carry twice as many munitions.
It seems to sort of reflect that same difference in attitudes between Soviets and Americans when it came to fighting at that time: Americans with the attitude of "We will have air superiority," and Soviets with the attitude of "We don't need air superiority." You can see this reflected in the designs of fighters at the time too; American fighters had very sophisticated electronics, low caliber, fast-firing cannons, and good rearward visibility so they could react if they became defensive, while Soviet fighters had less sophisticated (though still advanced) electronics, high caliber, slow-firing cannons, and very poor rearward visibility because they would avoid becoming defensive.
I don't know what all this means; I just know that if there was ever such a threat that it forced American and Soviet pilots to fight together, the combined air force would have been unstoppable.
I saw them firing the naval version of the Gsh-6-30 a few times. I never saw the Mig-27, but I've seen first-hand what it's capable of. It's an amazing yet fearful burst heavy-duty anti armor machine-gun. It shreds everything.
If I had a dollar for every nation that has shot itself down from being faster than its own bullets, I'd have 2 dollars, which isn't much but it's strange that it's happened twice
To be honest, only 1. Mig 27 may shot itself regardless of speed.
@@WarpGhost92 a us jet did it, but any jet that is fast enough can do it
@@WarpGhost92 USAF F-11
@@BichaelStevens f-11 literally shot itself (damage himself with bullets). MIG just break itself (which is far more casual thing to happen)
@@WarpGhost92 🤦♂️
USAF pilot here, the MiG 27 is such a fascinating aircraft. Amazing design. Thanks for the video!!
I've always been a fan of the MiG-23. It's a very pleasing shape.
Oh "comrade", I love your work! Your personal story of this plane was a surprise, too, but something I sort of expected.. Thanks @Paper Skies, just brilliant, as always. You tell a side of aviation history not often seen, rarely heard about and that should be known. The sense of humour is great, too.
Just ran across this video and I found it very interesting! My professor for introduction to aircraft design this semester was on the team at Fairchild Republic who designed the A-10 in the 70's. He had some really interesting stories about the requirements the military had for the aircraft and how they came up with solutions to meet them.
Hayden, Did your 'prof' go on into the A-9's design and point their being short of meet'g the AF's requested areas of specifications thru the fly-offs? Goes to prove again, the old-timers (30-44) should be seated N the back of weekly design reviews, progress charts. Not a good idea to bring old habits to a new shoot-out.
Your English is wonderful. Your channel is quite interesting, and this coverage of yet another wild and woolly Soviet solution to an actual problem/requirement illustrates the enormous pressures put upon aircraft and weapon systems designers by the Soviet state. This was my first exposure to this most interesting weapon system. The GSh-6-30 was an incredible weapon, but it really should have had an airframe better designed for it. That would have allowed it to reach its full potential.
Much respect from the U.S.A., and a subscription to boot.
That’s actually so cool that your dad was a MiG-23 pilot it’s one of my all time favorite aircraft.
You have earned my subscription sir, I literally just rewatched this video three times to make sure I catch every detail
That your dad was a mig pilot is pretty awesome
My dad was only a mechanic for the sk60 but he did however refuel viggens and arm them
"Thanks to the pilot's excellent moral and political training, he managed to land without significant damage to the plane. 17:38 LOL
The aircraft that changed the fate of Kargil war ! In India we know her as बहादुर or Bahadur meaning Valiant or Fearless due to its service to the nation in Kargil !
Brrrrrrt for Eternity !
We retired the beauty in 2019
Thank you Bahadur for your service to India you will never be Forgotten!
BTW a good detailed video 👌
I thank your father for his service to his motherland 🙏
Merry Christmas and Happy New year !
Cool video.
Just a note on the disadvantages of a gas operated Gatling, why the US and others didn’t use them. Gas operated designs don’t achieve their rate of fire nearly as quickly as electric or hydraulic cannons. The first few shots have to speed up the rotation of the barrels so for the first 1/2 second or so the ROF is inconsistent.
Gas operated designs also require rounds to be left in the hot cannon barrel chambers in order for firing to resume. The Vulcan and other designs avoid this by clearing the gun of all unfired rounds and not loading more until it was ready to shoot again.
So basically the Vulcan was the better design, safer and better first hit probability.
Excellent story. I am from the U.S. and have a very similar childhood experience. My father was an Aeronautical Engineer with Grumman Aircraft. Later number 2 for Grumman on Apollo. Like yourself I understood aircraft and their systems at a young age. By age 5, I knew how to fly, in my mind, of course. By age 10 I got the opportunity to fly a light plane. I leveraged that into becoming a Fighter Pilot flying the F4E Phantom II in the early 1970's. Great and wonderful fun. No doubt, Aerial Combat is exciting.
"How big a gun do you want to mount?"
Russia: *да!*
_The soviet union wouldn't be the soviet union without_ (insert Fuck up here) _"_
"We" like to call it the Warthog. (A-10) You give great insight into Soviet era aviation. Keeps people coming back. 🤙
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@@yoinks9907 did something confuse you lol
Thank you for this fascinating and informative channel
Man that gun was a beast! Great video, loved all the details! Also thanks for a video about the MIG-27, I always liked the MIG-23 and 27 growing up, cool looking airplanes! :)
I would thank your dad for his awesome service and the fact that he inspired you to be a fan of aviation!!!!
I agree, the mig-23 is still a good looking aircraft. It was one of the first models I built some 30 years ago. I recently bought the academy version for nostalgia and rekindled my admiration for it.
Trumpeter makes beautiful one in 1/48 scale
Russians: ok, so 30x165 is the limit
Americans: I'm going to pretend I didn't see that
[ *uses 30x173* ]
(A cartridge developed by Oerlikon in Switzerland, just for the record.)
Good details on a past tech history .
21:58 that red nice designed numbers of NVA, love them.
“You see Ivan, to keep our pilots on their toes we make gun that can destroy their plane just as much as the target”
Wow it must have been pretty amazing having a MIG pilot for a dad. My father flew a commercial Cessena in my younger years, which was impressive as hell to me and my friends as a kid, but lets face it , a fighter plane is way cooler. I hope your dad is doing well! Give the old boy a high five for me!.
Also, I think the "design bureau" idea the soviets had was a brilliant idea. It got the competitive impulse western capitalists had as an advantage, and turned it into something compatible with the soviet idea. A *lot* of good ideas came from those things (and a few madcap ideas, but its not like the US didnt have a few nutty ideas too)
Probably good for cost savings tbh lol.
As always with outside contractors vs in house lol
(Or something I'm not a business person)
Absolutely fascinating. I LOVE these military stories from the cold War.
MiG 27: Big Gun on a small plane
A10: Small plane on a big gun.
Your satirical storytelling and kinda rough but smooth accent makes a really interesting combo.
I look forward for your future videos.
Your English is fine. I've heard native speakers who could barley speak a complete sentence.