Jet-Fighters over Irish Airspace.

by Biggles Sat Jun 01, 2002 00:49

You should record the exact time, and take recordings of sound or video.
How far are you from Baldonnel / Shannon / Knock Airports?

RAF jets (Tornadoes) flew patrols over us in September /October, finished (when?)

Keep an eye out.

Contact those dudes in Shannon if you see anything clearly identifiable.

by Tim Hourigan Sat Jun 01, 2002 00:54

I was out at Shannon today watching the USAF pracise high speed touch and go landings and low level sweeps over Shannon town. Very freaky to watch a pair of C-130s make tight turns 500ft above a civilian town.

I'd like to know where abouts you are and what exactly you have observed.
Get a notebook and some recording gear if you can.
Call your local radio and talk about it, ask if anyone else has seen/heard anything.

If you have any more details send them to me at:
[email protected]

by Dave Fluff Sat Jun 01, 2002 03:21 davefluff at dol dot ie Kildare

I was aged 7 or 8 when the gulf war broke out, I remember watching a desert pink royal airforce jet fly ultra low level over my house in dublin...

About 5 years ago, I have the exact time, date and another witness, i saw a USAF A-10 aircraft flying over where i currently live... the a-10... the one that fires those depleted uranium shells...

Theres nothing new with this stuff, I just wonder are the jets landing here.. the C-130's are enough but are fighters and bombers landing here?

if you heard the jet so plainly, and loud... the only other possibility is a concorde, i somehow doubt it... it must've been fairly low, possibly landing...and if so where are they landing. baldonnel? too obvious? what about knock? its very distrubing that this is all going on right now, and i'm quite sure it has been going on right throughout the cold war, and again, if this is what we are hearing... imagine what we arent. imagine the crap that overflies "neutral" ireland everyday. and the public dont have a clue..

on a related note, i was told during the cold war the russians had one nuke pointed at ireland.. at shannon precisely... obviously they knew what was going on as well.

by Tim Hourigan Sat Jun 01, 2002 12:24

Not sure if it was 5 years ago. But I clearly saw an A-10 thunderbolt over Loch Derg one weekend while out rowing a small boat.
A-10s are very hard to mistake for anything else. They have a distinctive shape.

As for nukes at Shannon, it wouldn't surprise me at all. (worry me, yes,... surprise me, no)
It is a strategic airport, over 2 miles long and at the western edge of Europe. If the UK fell to the USSR, Shannon would have been the primary airport for the US to launch counter attacks.
A source from the airport told me that the tunnels under the runway were primed with explosives and manned by US military staff, with the orders to blow the runway if the USSR ever looked like taking Shannon.
Both the staff and the explosives went back home in the 80s at the end of the cold war. The tunnels are still there though.

by Komsomol Sun Jun 02, 2002 14:55 komsomol at swirve dot com

i was down at baldonnel aerodrome for a week as work experience, the things we learned there is The Irish Air Corps does NOT have any air worthy Jet Fighters... they have about 3 rusting beside the main hanger where berties over 20 million personal jet is parked. While talking to the Radar controller i noticed a squadron of British Jets flying over the Irish sea, i asked him about that and he said they do that all the time, some even fly over irish soil, he said they always get permission and are never refused, why would they?, he also said USAF jets fly over irish soil on a very regualr basis. We all know that though, but i was suprised that RAF jets fly over irish soil..... , the point im making is the jets you heard over westmeath definatly were not Irish

by xandau Tue Jun 04, 2002 00:06

theres an airstrip in anglsea wales called raf valley,they have some small jet trainers and occasionally tornados do training around the island,this base is only 5 mins from where the holyhead boat stops.
as someone who deplores death and violence - weather from jet fighters or not,i think it must be mentioned with fairness to the raf that seaking helicopers (2 in valley i think) have saved more irish sailors than the underfunded aircorps who get no money for adequate search and rescue-i even heard of a man who fell off a cliff in howth being picked up by a helicopter that came all the way from wales
all this at a time when bertie plans to spend €50million more on a new jet
it would be a joke to think our air is free from deathcraft-just look at shannon so im sure that was an raf jet.

by Steve - none Sat Jun 08, 2002 01:55

I saw a Tupelov TU-22M Backfire fly out of Shannon Airport

by biggles - aviator Wed May 26, 2004 12:01 aviator at aviator dot com

Late comment but;

No you didn't...go to Specsavers and buy some new ones...

by biggles Wed May 26, 2004 12:13 aviator at aviator dot com

You lot wouldn't know a Hawk from a DC3 from an Airbus. let alone tell type from sound.

There are 2 privately owned ex RAF trainers (JP's) that regularly fly into Shannon...doubtless fully armed with nuclear bombs and on spy missions from the UK...

Get a life or a planespotters book from Easons...better still lets have some firm evidence of overflights, or does reality upset the pinko, neutrality loving, treehugging, gay rights lobby?

Ireland has been sheltering under the Nato air defence umbrella for 50 years..fact. So get a life, a job and contribute something useful to society instead of taking tea with tellytubbies.

by pat c Wed May 26, 2004 12:16

Jet fighters will be no match for them as the yogis irradiate the pilots with beams of love and peace.

by Ray McInerney Wed May 26, 2004 12:35

I fully agree with you......

by biggles Thu May 27, 2004 18:20 aviator at aviator dot com

Shannon was and probably still is the eastern end of the 'Reforger Airlift' This was (is)?a plan for the US to use hundreds (yes) of cargo aircraft in a massive resupply operation for NATO in the event of war.

Shannon was was the only major European airport out of range of Soviet missiles parked in eastern Europe.

Irish neutrality would be irrelevent in the circumstances given the Soviet intent (stated) to bomb the place. Irish Government wishes would also be irrelevent as US Marines were tasked to seize the airfield in the event of hostilities to ensure its use for NATO.

This is publically available info..there were also less public ones to seize and hold the refinery at Whitegates, Cork and use Cork harbour. Again because the facilities were outside the Soviets immediate range.