Jaguar on the motorway

[ShredderXLE]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cgkg0xnvn11o

Not sure if already posted - Interesting clip, the motorway looks seriously narrow between the barriers when seen with the track width of an aircraft!

And the four "missiles" on take off. Look like bombs to me.

[FourWheelDrift]

"Archive video footage of a military jet coming in to land on a newly built Lancashire motorway before later taking off again has been released after half a century."

Except it's been around for years in many camera angles on youtube.

[ShredderXLE]

Was also nice to see a stretch of motorway without a forest of overhanging speed limit signs and average speed cameras and a smooth enough surface. Doubt anywhere like that exists now.

[trashbat]

Footage of this has been around for years and years; not sure what's new about this one, maybe an official archive release. The text is correct. Here's some more footage of it:

https://youtu.be/VeBZ3xbgN_M?si=PUpUs8r_-ib-evFF

They still do this, although not in the UK - the RAF landed a Typhoon on a road in Finland not so long ago where this is normal operational training:

https://youtu.be/PP_nyxvAN-E?si=wtC3eom0ISlrD1Gz

[hidetheelephants]

TBH it's a bit pointless, investing in hardware for filling in holes and a big pile of type 1 is more sensible than buggering around pretending a motorway can be a runway.

[Yertis]

hidetheelephants said:

TBH it's a bit pointless, investing in hardware for filling in holes and a big pile of type 1 is more sensible than buggering around pretending a motorway can be a runway.

Not pointless if all your runways are bombed is it?

[LotusOmega375D]

It would look more impressive with some bends in the road.

[Mabbs9]

Yertis said:

Not pointless if all your runways are bombed is it?

I think the airbase in Singapore had the option of the highway for emergency use. The central reservation was a big line of large pots. Presumably that can be bulldozed away.

[Simpo Two]

Mabbs9 said:

Yertis said:

Not pointless if all your runways are bombed is it?

I think the airbase in Singapore had the option of the highway for emergency use. The central reservation was a big line of large pots. Presumably that can be bulldozed away.

Don't the Swiss plan to use roads for runways in an emergency? (mostly because most of the rest of the country is mountain)

[LotusOmega375D]

When did anyone last attack Switzerland? Genuine question.

[eharding]

Mabbs9 said:

Yertis said:

Not pointless if all your runways are bombed is it?

I think the airbase in Singapore had the option of the highway for emergency use. The central reservation was a big line of large pots. Presumably that can be bulldozed away.

Likewise, there are 5km stretches of the A1 and A5 motorways in Cyprus designed to be converted to runway use at short notice - you can see the concrete Operational Readiness Platform aprons alongside the carriageways at suitable points.

[trashbat]

LotusOmega375D said:

When did anyone last attack Switzerland? Genuine question.

Officially, 1798 (foreign attack) or 1847 (civil war).

I think you could fairly argue that the Swiss military is a deterrent that might have something to do with that answer, though.

[LotusOmega375D]

Thanks

[ferret50]

trashbat said:

Footage of this has been around for years and years; not sure what's new about this one, maybe an official archive release. The text is correct. Here's some more footage of it:

https://youtu.be/VeBZ3xbgN_M?si=PUpUs8r_-ib-evFF

They still do this, although not in the UK - the RAF landed a Typhoon on a road in Finland not so long ago where this is normal operational training:

https://youtu.be/PP_nyxvAN-E?si=wtC3eom0ISlrD1Gz

One assumes that in the first clip plod were present to book the pilot for exccesive speed.

[Eric Mc]

I remember photos of this were front page of "Aviation News" within a week of the event.

[havoc]

Simpo Two said:

Don't the Swiss plan to use roads for runways in an emergency? (mostly because most of the rest of the country is mountain)

Sweden definitely did - the Viggen had that capability, if that's who you were thinking of?

Switzerland operated the F5 as their primary interceptor for much of the cold war - not sure that would have had much off-runway capability given the wing-loading.

Might be different now with the F/A18s...

[48k]

LotusOmega375D said:

When did anyone last attack Switzerland? Genuine question.

Fair question. I don't think Switzerland has much going for it, although it's flag is a big plus.

[bergclimber34]

When you consider how little grunt a Jag had dry, to even get off the ground in time with bombs attached was well done, though they were probably empty duds

[48k]

bergclimber34 said:

When you consider how little grunt a Jag had dry, to even get off the ground in time with bombs attached was well done, though they were probably empty duds

The M55 is 12 miles long - just how little grunt did a Jaguar have???

[Rockatansky]

48k said:

LotusOmega375D said:

When did anyone last attack Switzerland? Genuine question.

Fair question. I don't think Switzerland has much going for it, although it's flag is a big plus.