In 1987, a state-of-the-art Lancer strategic bomber of the U.S. Military, flying at a speed of 1100 kilometers per hour, was suddenly hit by a white light and crashed, losing as much as $220 million
In 1970, when the Cold War entered a white-hot phase, the Soviet Union developed the "King of Speed" MiG-25 fighter and SAM-5 anti-aircraft missiles, both of which reached an operational altitude of 25,000 meters and a staggering speed of 3,700 kilometers per hour (Mach 3).
This means that the existing strategic bombers in the United States will no longer be able to break through the Soviet Union's interception fire net, and the strategic balance will be reversed. So the Air Force invested heavily in developing strategic bombers that could penetrate at "low altitude and high speed."
It took a decade for the Rockwell Company to finally develop it
The B-1B, nicknamed the "Lancer", this strategic bomber has a maximum speed of 1. Mach 25, longest voyage 1. 20,000 kilometers, can carry out intercontinental strategic bombing missions.
Thanks to the use of "variable swept wing" technology, the high wing body fusion layout makes the aircraft look very sci-fi, and it can also take into account the perfect switch between low altitude high speed and high altitude subsonic speed!
The most exaggerated thing is that the B-1B bomb load reached a terrifying 60 tons! To know the famous Tu-160 bomber, the bomb load is only 40 tons. Although the body is extremely large, the B-1B can carry out low-altitude penetration at a low altitude of 50 meters and at a speed of 1100 kilometers per hour, and its attack power is very amazing.
Such superior performance is naturally money thrown out, so after the B-1B bomber entered service in 1985, the cost of a single aircraft was 220 million US dollars, plus the development cost, each aircraft was worth 2 billion US dollars! It was a real gold-devouring behemoth, and the wealthy U.S. Air Force only ordered 100 aircraft. However, such a precious baby bump was shot down in an unexpected way...
On September 28, 1987, a brand-new B-1B strategic bomber was put into operation with four members: commander, co-pilot, attack system operator, and defense system operator. After a 2-hour flight, the bomber successfully reached the skies over the Colorado River, which has flat terrain on both sides of the river, which is very suitable for the B-1B for a low-altitude penetration drill, but there is also a large amount of primary forest nearby, where many birds inhabit.
Soon, the commander lowered the flight altitude to 190 meters, the speed increased to 1100 kilometers per hour, B-1B began the most excellent "low-altitude high-speed breakthrough", just as the bomber skimmed through a forest, a white light suddenly flashed, and at the same time there was a loud "boo" sound, and the 4 crew members stared at each other with wide eyes and a confused face.
Before they could figure out what was going on, the cabin shook violently, the fault alarm lights began to flash wildly, the commander turned his head to see that the two engines on the left flank were billowing black smoke, and the plane quickly tilted to the left, at this time the altitude was only 180 meters, and the plane would crash into the forest in ten seconds.
The commander hurriedly raised the altitude, and at the same time opened the hydraulic system, so that the B-1B wings were expanded to the maximum stretch, which allowed the aircraft to obtain greater lift, after hard rescue, the B-1B slowly climbed to an altitude of 2600 meters, but the fuselage was still like a stroke, shaking, and the flight attitude could not be controlled.
Immediately after, the fuselage suddenly tilted sharply to the left, entered a "stall tail rotation" state, fell sharply from a height of 2600 meters, and a few minutes later, the B-1B slammed heavily on the river bank and exploded, and the 2 crew members ejected slightly slower and died on the spot.
The accident caused an uproar at the time, because the B-1B had only been in service for two years and was the most advanced bomber in the United States, and as a result, it was shot down by a white light in its own country! Dozens of aviation experts immediately launched an investigation.
After studying the wreckage of the plane, they found that the killer was a 15-pound white pelican, a water bird that haunts the Colorado River all year round, and although it is bulky, it can fly at an altitude of 500 meters. On that day, the flash of white light was a white pelican, which crashed head-on into the high-speed B-1B bomber.
According to the momentum theorem, a one-pound bird colliding with an aircraft with a speed of 800 kilometers per hour can produce an impact force of 160 kilograms; a 15-pound bird crashing into an aircraft with a speed of 1100 kilometers per hour will have an impact force of an astonishing 140 tons! It is equivalent to an aircraft being hit by a shell.
And this fat bird, just crashed into the connection between the wing and the fuselage, where there are oil pipelines and a large number of sensing lines, the impact not only ignited the engine, but also destroyed the flight control system, causing the aircraft to fall at a high speed after losing control!
As a result, this white fat 15-pound white pelican shot down the high-tech, 90-ton "lancers". It was also the only time the B-1B bomber had been shot down by a flying object.
While the fat bird set a record, it also caused more than $220 million in damage to the U.S. military, and the remaining Lancers were forced to return to the factory for overhaul and reinstall anti-collision parts.
It is worth mentioning that the B-1B's encounter was not the most tragic - on June 10, 1995, an E-3B "Watchtower" early warning aircraft of the US military was flying over Alaska, with an altitude of 800 meters and a speed of 700 kilometers per hour. When the AWACS aircraft first entered the skies over the Chuchiga Forest, it was immediately "attacked" by 5 Canadian black geese, which were sucked in by the aircraft engine, and the black geese were crushed at the same time, which also destroyed the fan blades, which led to the engine explosion.
The world's most advanced "Watchtower" early warning aircraft quickly lost control and finally crashed into the forest, killing all 24 crew members on board, with losses of up to $300 million! This is also the only time so far that a US early warning aircraft has been shot down.
Since 1995, the U.S. Air Force has suffered 105,000 bird attacks, lost 28 fighter jets, and killed 37 pilots, with cumulative losses exceeding $800 million. Although the US military, which "talks about the discoloration of birds", has studied many anti-bird equipment to drive them away, it is still unable to eradicate this source of danger.
In the coming period, the competition between birds and warplanes will continue...
