Aerial ramming or air ramming is the

ramming In warfare, ramming is a technique used in air, sea, and land combat. The term originated from battering ram, a siege weapon used to bring down fortifications by hitting it with the force of the ram's momentum, and ultimately from male sheep. Thus, ...

of one

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

with another. It is a last-ditch tactic in

air combat ''Air Combat'' is a 1995 combat flight simulator developed and published for the PlayStation by Namco. Players control an aircraft and are tasked with completing a series of missions, with objectives ranging from destroying formations of enem ...

, sometimes used when all else has failed. Long before the invention of aircraft, ramming tactics in

naval warfare Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...

and

ground warfare Land warfare or ground warfare is the process of military operations eventuating in combat that takes place predominantly on the battlespace land surface of the planet. Land warfare is categorized by the use of large numbers of combat personne ...

were common. The first aerial ramming was performed by Pyotr Nesterov in 1914 during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In the early stages of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the tactic was employed by

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

pilots, who called it ''taran'', the Russian word for "battering ram". A ramming pilot could use the weight of the aircraft as a ram, or they could try to make the enemy lose control of their plane, using the propeller or wing to damage the enemy's tail or a wing. Ramming took place when a pilot ran out of ammunition yet was still intent on destroying an enemy, or when the plane had already been damaged beyond saving. Most rammings occurred when the attacker's aircraft was economically, strategically or tactically less valuable than the enemy's, such as pilots flying obsolescent aircraft against superior ones, or one man risking his life to kill multiple men. Defending forces resorted to ramming more often than the attackers. A ramming attack was not considered suicidal in the same manner as ''

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

'' attacks—the ramming pilot stood a chance of surviving, though it was very risky. Sometimes the ramming aircraft itself could survive to make a controlled landing, though most were lost due to combat damage or the pilot bailing out. Ramming was used in air warfare in the first half of the 20th century, in both

World War A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

s and in the interwar period. With

jet aircraft A jet aircraft (or simply jet) is an aircraft (nearly always a fixed-wing aircraft) propelled by jet engines. Whereas the engines in propeller-powered aircraft generally achieve their maximum efficiency at much lower speeds and altitudes, je ...

, as air combat speeds increased, ramming became disused—the probability of successfully executing (and surviving) a ramming attack approached zero. However, the tactic is still possible in modern warfare.

Technique

Three types of ramming attacks were made: * Using the propeller to go in from behind and chop off the controls in the tail of the enemy aircraft. This was the most difficult to perform, but it had the best chance of survival. * Using the wing to damage the enemy or force a loss of control. Some Soviet aircraft like the

Polikarpov I-16 The Polikarpov I-16 (russian: Поликарпов И-16) is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain ope ...

had wings strengthened for this purpose. * Direct ramming using the whole aircraft. This was the easiest but also the most dangerous option. The first two options were always premeditated but required a high level of piloting skill. The last option might be premeditated or it might be a snap decision made during combat; either way it often killed the attacking pilot.

History

Wilbert Wallace White - 147th Aero Squadron

Early concepts

Presaging the 20th century air warfare ramming actions,

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

imagined an apparent aerial attack made by a heavy flying machine with a prominent ram prow against a nearly defenseless lighter-than-air craft in his science fiction work ''

Robur the Conqueror ''Robur the Conqueror'' (french: link=no, Robur-le-Conquérant) is a science fiction novel by Jules Verne, published in 1886. It is also known as ''The Clipper of the Clouds''. It has a sequel, '' Master of the World'', which was published in 19 ...

'', published in 1886.

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

The Sleeper Awakes ''The Sleeper Awakes'' is a dystopian science fiction novel by English writer H. G. Wells, about a man who sleeps for two hundred and three years, waking up in a completely transformed London in which he has become the richest man in the worl ...

'', has his main character, Graham, rams one of the enemy's aeroplanes with his flying apparatus, causing it to fall out of the sky. A second enemy machine ceases its attack, afraid of being rammed in turn. In 1909, the

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

was imagined as an "aerial battleship" by several observers who wrote about the possibility of using an extended ramming pole to attack other airships, and to swing an anchor or other mass on a cable below the airship as a blunt force attack against ground-based targets such as buildings and smokestacks, and against ship masts.

World War I

The first known instance of ramming in air warfare was made over

Zhovkva Zhovkva ( uk, Жовква ; pl, Żółkiew; yi, זאָלקוואַ, translit=Zolkva; russian: Жо́лква, 1951–1992: ''Nesterov'') is a city in Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast (region) of western Ukraine. Zhovkva hosts the administration of Z ...

by the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

pilot Pyotr Nesterov on 8 September 1914, against an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n plane. That incident was fatal to both parties. The second ramming—and the first successful ramming that was not fatal to the attacker—was performed in 1915 by

Alexander Kazakov Alexander Alexandrovich Kazakov (Kozakov, Kosakoff) (russian: Александр Александрович Казаков) (2 January 1889 – 1 August 1919) (British Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross and the French Légion d'honneu ...

, a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

and the most successful Russian fighter pilot of World War I. Sgt Arturo Dell'Oro of the Italian 83rd Squadron rammed a two-man Br.C.1 of Flik 45 on 1 September 1917.

Wilbert Wallace White Lieutenant Wilbert Wallace White was a World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories. He was recommended for the Medal of Honor for his heroic self-sacrifice. Early life The son of a Protestant minister had graduated from Mercersburg ...

of the 147th Aero Squadron rammed a German plane on 10 October 1918, and was killed — his opponent survived.

Polish-Soviet War

As the advancing Red Army used very few aircraft in Poland, air combat rarely took place (except for interceptions of Bolshevik observation balloons). However, during the course of the war, several pilots, having depleted their ammunition and bombs, attempted to ram Soviet cavalry with their aircraft's undercarriages. This attack would allow an opportunity for an emergency landing, but it almost always ended with the destruction of, or serious damage to, the ramming aircraft.

Spanish Civil War

Ramming was used in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. On the night of 27–28 November 1937, Soviet pilot Evgeny Stepanov, flying a

Polikarpov I-15 The Polikarpov I-15 (russian: И-15) was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed ''Chaika'' (''russian: Чайка'', "Seagull") because of its gulled upper wings,Gunston 1995, p. 299.Green and Swanborough 1979, p. 10. it was o ...

for the

Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...

, shot down one

SM.81 The Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 ''Pipistrello'' (Italian: bat) was the first three-engine bomber/transport aircraft serving in the Italian '' Regia Aeronautica''.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 188. When it appeared in 1935, it represented a real s ...

bomber near Barcelona and emptied the rest of his bullets into another. The second SM.81 continued to fly, so Stepanov resorted to using the left leg of his Chaika's undercarriage to ram the bomber, downing the plane.

World War II

Soviet Union

In World War II, reports of ramming by lone Soviet pilots against the ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'' became widespread, especially in the early days of the hostilities in the war's Eastern Front. In the first year of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

, most available Soviet machines were markedly inferior to the German ones and pilots sometimes perceived a ''taran'' as the only way to guarantee the destruction of the enemy. Early Soviet fighter engines were relatively weak, and the underpowered fighters were either fairly well-armed but too slow, or fast but too lightly armed. Lightly armed fighters often expended their ammunition without bringing down the enemy bomber. Very few fighters had radios installed—the pilots had no way to call for assistance and the military expected them to solve problems alone. Trading a single fighter for a multi-engine bomber was considered economically sound. In some cases, pilots who were heavily wounded or in damaged aircraft decided to perform a suicidal attack against air, ground or naval targets. In this instance, the attack becomes more like an unpremeditated ''

'' attack (see

Nikolai Gastello Captain Nikolai Frantsevich Gastello (russian: Николай Францевич Гастелло, April 23, 1907 – June 26, 1941) was a Russian aviator and a Hero of the Soviet Union. He is one of the best known Soviet war heroes, being the bes ...

). German air tactics early in the war changed in a way that created conditions ripe for ramming attacks. After clearing much of Soviet airpower from their path, the Luftwaffe stopped providing fighter escort for bombing groups, and split their forces into much smaller sorties, including single aircraft making deep penetration flights. One quarter of German aircraft on the Eastern Front had the task of performing strategic or tactical reconnaissance with their '' Aufklärungsgruppe'' units. These reconnaissance or long-range bombing flights were more likely to encounter lone Soviet defenders. Soviet group tactics did not include ''taran'', but Soviet fighters often sortied singly or in pairs rather than in groups. Soviet pilots were prohibited from performing ''taran'' over enemy-held land, but could ram enemy reconnaissance penetrations over the homeland. Nine rammings took place on the very first day of the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

, one within the first hour. At 0425 hours on 22 June 1941, Lieutenant Ivan Ivanov supposedly drove his

into the tail of an invading

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...

. Ivanov did not survive but was posthumously awarded the Gold Star medal,

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

Yekaterina Zelenko Yekaterina Ivanovna Zelenko (russian: Екатерина Ивановна Зеленко, uk, Катерина Іванівна Зеленко; – 12 September 1941) was a Soviet Union, Soviet Su-2 pilot who flew during the Winter War and World ...

on 12 September 1941 supposedly performed a diving ramming attack in her

Su-2 The Sukhoi Su-2 (russian: Сухой Су-2) was a Soviet reconnaissance and light bomber aircraft used in the early stages of World War II. It was the first airplane designed by Pavel Sukhoi. The basic design received an engine and armament up ...

, which tore a

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

in two as the propeller of her plane hit the German aircraft's tail. She remains the only woman ever alleged to have performed an aerial ramming. After 1943 more Soviet fighters had radios installed, and Chief Marshall

Alexander Novikov Alexander Alexandrovich Novikov (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Но́виков; – 3 December 1976) was the chief marshal of aviation for the Soviet Air Force during the Soviet Union's involvement in th ...

developed air-control techniques to coordinate attacks. The fighters had more powerful engines, and in the last year of battle they carried sufficiently heavy armament. As Soviet air-attack options improved, ramming became a rare occurrence. In 1944, future Air Marshall

Alexander Pokryshkin Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

officially discouraged the ''taran'', limiting it to "exceptional instances and as an extreme measure". Lieutenant Boris Kovzan supposedly survived a record four ramming attacks in the war. Aleksei Khlobystov supposedly made three. Seventeen other Soviet pilots were credited with two successful ramming attacks. According to new research, at least 636 successful ''taran'' attacks were made by Soviets between the beginning of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

and the end of the war.Jaśkiewicz, Łukasz; Matus, Yury. ''Tarany powietrzne w wielkiej wojnie ojczyźnianej w drugim okresie wojny'', "Lotnictwo" 7-8/2017 (in Polish), p.93-97 Of these, 227 pilots were killed during the attack or afterwards (35.7%), 233 landed safely, and the rest bailed out. As new Soviet fighter designs went into service, ramming was discouraged. The economics had shifted; now the Soviet fighter was roughly equivalent to the German one. By September 1944, orders describing how and when to initiate the ramming attack were removed from training materials.

United Kingdom and Commonwealth

On 18 August 1940, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

Bruce Hancock of No.6 SFTS from

RAF Windrush Royal Air Force Windrush or more simply RAF Windrush is a former Royal Air Force satellite station near Windrush, Gloucestershire, England. It was opened in 1940 and closed on 12 July 1945. Initially it was a Relief Landing Ground for RAF Chippin ...

used his

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...

aircraft to ram a

P; there were no survivors. On the same day

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

James Eglington Marshall of

No. 85 Squadron RAF ("We hunt by day and night") , colors= , colors_label= Post-1950 aircraft insignia , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , anniversaries= , decorations= , battle_honours= Western Front, 1917–1918; France & Low Countrie ...

used his

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

to ram the tail unit of a

after he had expended the last of his ammunition on it. The Hurricane's starboard wing tip broke off in the attack and the Heinkel was assessed as "probably destroyed". A significant event took place on 15 September 1940, now known as "

Battle of Britain Day Battle of Britain Day, 15 September 1940, is the day on which a large-scale aerial battle in the Battle of Britain took place.Mason 1969, p. 386.Price 1990, p. 128. In June 1940, the '' Wehrmacht'' had conquered most of Western Europe and Sc ...

". Flight Sergeant

Ray Holmes Raymond Towers Holmes (20 August 1914 – 27 June 2005) was a British Royal Air Force fighter pilot during the Second World War who is best known for taking part in the Battle of Britain. He became famous for an apparent notable act of bravery ...

No. 504 Squadron RAF No. 504 (County of Nottingham) Squadron was one of the Special Reserve Squadrons of the Auxiliary Air Force, and today is a reserve force of the RAF Regiment. It was integrated into the AAF proper in 1936. Based at RAF Cottesmore, Rutland, 504 Sq ...

used his

to destroy a

Dornier Do 17 The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Designed in the early 1930s as a ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") intended to be fast enough to outrun opposing a ...

bomber over London by ramming but at the loss of his own aircraft (and almost his own life) in one of the defining moments of the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

. Holmes, making a head-on attack, found his guns inoperative. He flew his plane into the top-side of the German bomber, cutting off the rear tail section with his wing and causing the bomber to dive out of control and crash. Its pilot, Oberleutnant Robert Zehbe, bailed out, only to die later of wounds suffered during the attack, while the injured Holmes bailed out of his plane and survived. Two other crewmen of the Dornier bailed out and survived. As the RAF did not practice ramming as an air combat tactic, this was considered an impromptu manoeuvre, and an act of selfless courage. This event became one of the defining moments of the

and elicited a congratulatory note to the RAF from Queen

Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World War ...

, who had witnessed the event. On 27 September 1940, Flying Officer Percival R. F. Burton (South African) of

No. 249 Squadron RAF No. 249 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron, active in the sea-patrol, fighter and bomber roles during its existence. It was one of the top scoring fighter squadrons of the RAF in World War II. History First formation No. ...

used his

to tear off the tail unit of a

Messerschmitt Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...

of V/LG 1. According to eyewitnesses on the ground, Burton deliberately rammed the Bf 110 after a "wildly manoeuvring" chase at rooftop height over

Hailsham Hailsham is a town, a civil parish and the administrative centre of the Wealden district of East Sussex, England.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Da ...

, England. Burton, Hauptmann Horst Liensberger and Unteroffizier Albert Kopge were all killed when both aircraft crashed just outside town. Burton's Hurricane was found exhausted of ammunition. On 7 October 1940,

Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

Ken W. Mackenzie of

No. 501 Squadron RAF ("Fear nothing") , colors = , colors_label = , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = France & Low Countries, 1940 Battle of Britain, 1940 Home Defen ...

used his

to destroy a

. His Combat Report read:

I attacked the three nearest machines in vic formation from beneath and a fourth enemy aircraft doing rear-guard flew across the line of fire and he developed a leak in the glycol tank... I emptied the rest of my ammunition into him from 200 yards but he still flew on and down to 80, to 100 feet off the sea. I flew around him and signalled him to go down, which had no result. I therefore attempted to ram his tail with my undercarriage but it reduced my speed too low to hit him. So flying alongside I dipped my starboard wing-tip onto his port tail plane. The tail plane came off and I lost the tip of my starboard wing. The enemy aircraft spun into the sea and partially sank.

On 11 November 1940,

Howard Peter Blatchford (Canadian) of

No. 257 Squadron RAF No. 257 Squadron RAF was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force active during the First World War, the Second World War and also the Cold War. It was finally disbanded in December 1963. History In World War I No. 257 Squadron was formed at D ...

used the propeller of his

to attack a

Fiat CR.42 The Fiat CR.42 ''Falco'' ("Falcon", plural: ''Falchi'') is a single-seat sesquiplane fighter developed and produced by Italian aircraft manufacturer Fiat Aviazione. It served primarily in the Italian in the 1930s and during the Second World ...

near

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

, England. Blatchford had used up his ammunition during a mêlée with Italian fighters, and upon returning to base discovered two of his propeller blades missing nine inches. Although he did not see the results of his attack and only claimed the Italian fighter as "damaged", he did report splashes of blood on his damaged propeller. Although technically not ramming, RAF pilots did use an intentional collision of sorts against the

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

. When it was discovered that shooting a V-1 could detonate the warhead and/or fuel tank, thereby endangering the attacking aircraft, pilots would instead fly beside the V-1. Once in position, the pilot would roll to one side, lifting his wingtip to produce an area of high-pressure turbulence beneath the wingtip of the V-1, causing it to roll in the opposite direction. The rudimentary automatic pilot of the V-1 was often not able to compensate, sending it diving into the ground.

Greece

On 2 November 1940,

Hellenic Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 8 November , equipment = , equipment_label ...

pilot

Marinos Mitralexis Marinos Mitralexis ( el, Μαρίνος Μητραλέξης, 1920–1948) was a Greeks, Greek flying ace during World War II credited with 5 aerial victories. He gained fame when he managed to bring down an enemy bomber by Aerial ramming, ramming ...

shot down one Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 bomber; then, out of ammunition, brought another down by smashing its rudder with the propeller of his

PZL P.24 The PZL P.24 was a Polish fighter aircraft, designed during the mid-1930s in the PZL factory in Warsaw. It was developed as a dedicated export version of the PZL P.11, a gull wing all-metal fighter designed by Polish aeronautical engineer Zygmun ...

fighter. Both aircraft were forced into emergency landings, and Mitralexis threatened the bomber's four-man crew into surrender using his pistol. Mitralexis was promoted in rank and awarded medals.

Japan

794th BS Boeing B-29-15-BW Superfortress 42-6390

The Japanese also practised ramming, both by individual initiative and by policy. Individual initiative saw a

Nakajima Ki-43 The Nakajima Ki-43 ''Hayabusa'' (, "Peregrine falcon", "Army Type 1 Fighter" ) is a single-engine land-based tactical fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in World War II. The Allied reporting name was "Oscar", but it was o ...

fighter plane bringing down a lone

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

, ''The Fighting Swede'', on 8 May 1943. After three of the Japanese fighters had each made two attack passes without decisive results, the bomber's pilot, Major Robert N. Keatts, made for the shelter of a nearby rain-squall. Loath to let the bomber escape, Sgt. Tadao Oda executed a head-on ramming attack, known as . Both aircraft crashed with no survivors. Sergeant Oda was posthumously promoted to lieutenant for his sacrifice. On 26 March 1943, Lieutenant Sanae Ishii of the 64th Sentai used the wing of his

to ram the tail of a

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...

, bringing it down over Shwebandaw,

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, killing both Squadron Leader Ivan G. Statham AFC and Pilot Officer Kenneth C. Briffett of 27 Squadron RAF. On 1 May 1943 Sergeant Miyoshi Watanabe of the 64th Sentai knocked out two engines of a

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

piloted by Robert Kavanaugh, killing two of the bombers crew; he then used his

to ram the rear turret of the American bomber after a drawn-out battle over

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

. Sergeant Watanabe survived the attack, as did the remaining B-24 crew. Both planes made a forced landing without further loss of life. The crashed B-24 was photographed and appeared in the December 1943 Japanese aviation magazine ''Koku Asahi''. Only three of Kavanaugh's crew survived the war under harsh conditions as POWs. On 26 October 1943 Corporal Tomio Kamiguchi of the 64th Sentai used his

to ram a B-24J Liberator, when his guns failed to fire during a sustained attack lasting over 50 minutes by Ki-43II and

Kawasaki Ki-45 The Kawasaki Ki-45 ''Toryu'' (屠龍, "Dragonslayer") was a two-seat, twin-engine heavy fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. The army gave it the designation "Type 2 Two-Seat Fighter"; the Allied reporting name was "Nick". ...

s of 21st Sentai. The engagement included approximately 50 two-ship passes on the B-24s after they attacked

. Nearing the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

and already heavily damaged by the other Japanese fighters in the 64th, the bomber, named "Boogie Woogie Bomb Buggy," belonging to the 492nd Bomb Squadron and piloted by 1st Lt. Roy G. Vaughan, crashed in the jungle approaching Gwa Bay. Bombardier 2nd Lt. Gustaf 'Gus' Johnston was the sole survivor of the B-24 and became a POW. Kamiguchi was thrown clear in the impact, parachuted, and also survived. American researcher Matthew Poole notes that Japanese historian Hiroshi Ichimura interviewed 64th Sentai veteran Lt. Naoyuki Ito, who also claimed to have shot down a B-24 of the 492nd BS on 26 October 1943. The B-24 was claimed to have been shot down by two experienced Japanese aces: Lt. Naoyuki Ito and Sgt. Major Takuwa. In addition, Ito stated that 19-year-old green pilot Cpl. Kamiguchi rammed the crippled B-24, and General Major

Shinichi Tanaka is a Japanese ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and oth ...

praised the brave young pilot and intentionally made "Corporal Saw" a legend. Another 64th Sentai veteran, Sgt. Ikezawa, recalled that a sullen Sgt. Major Takuwa said to him "The B-24 was going down. Kamiguchi did not need to ram it!" I. Hata, Y. Izawa, and C. Shores in ''Japanese Army Air Force Fighter Units and Their Aces 1939–1945'' includes the biography of Capt. Ito of the 64th Sentai which states: “He later transferred to the 3rd Chutai, and was to claim eight victories, including a B-24 over Rangoon on 26 October 1943.” According to Ichimura, Sgt. Maj. Takuwa's account was not included in this source, as only aces with nine or more victories were given a biography in the book. On 6 June 1944, having expended his ammunition in an extended dogfight, Sergeant Tomesaku Igarashi of the 50th Sentai used the propeller of his

to bring down a

Lockheed P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

near

Meiktila Meiktila (; ) is a city in central Burma on the banks of Meiktila Lake in the Mandalay Region at the junctions of the Bagan-Taunggyi, Yangon-Mandalay and Meiktila-Myingyan highways. Because of its strategic position, Meiktila is home to Myanmar Ai ...

, Burma. After the pilot bailed out, Igarashi attacked him in his parachute. The P-38 may have belonged to 10-kill ace Captain Walter F. Duke of the 459th Fighter Squadron who went missing in battle that day. Sergeant Shinobu Ikeda of the 25th Dokuritsu Chutai rammed his Ki-45 into Cpt. Roger Parrish's B-29 "Gallopin Goose" (42-6390) on 7 December over

Mukden Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu name Mukden, is a major Chinese sub-provincial city and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. Located in central-north Liaoning, it is the provi ...

.Mann 2009, p. 67. Sgt. Ikeda and all except one crew member of the B-29 perished. Starting in August 1944, several Japanese pilots flying

and other fighters engaging

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...

es found that ramming the very heavy bomber was a practical tactic. From that experience, in November 1944 a "Special Attack Unit" was formed using

Kawasaki Ki-61 The Kawasaki Ki-61 ''Hien'' (飛燕, "flying swallow") is a Japanese World War II fighter aircraft. Used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, it was designated the "Army Type 3 Fighter" (三式戦闘機). Allied intelligence initially b ...

s that had been stripped of most of their weapons and armor so as to quickly achieve high altitude. Three successful surviving ramming pilots were the first recipients of the ''

Bukosho The ("Badge for Military Merit"), commonly called the Bukōshō, was a military decoration of the Empire of Japan, established on 7 December 1944 by Imperial edict. It was awarded by the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) to living soldiers who had pe ...

'', Japan's equivalent to the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

, an award which had been inaugurated on 7 December 1944 as an Imperial Edict by

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

. Membership in the Special Attack Unit was seen as a final assignment; the pilots were expected to perform ramming attacks until death or serious injury stopped their service. The Japanese practice of

may also be viewed as a form of ramming, although the primary mode of destruction was not physical impact force, but rather the explosives carried. Kamikaze was used exclusively against Allied ship targets.

Bulgaria

Two rammings ( bg, Таран , translit=taran) were performed by

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n fighter pilots defending

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

against Allied bombers in 1943 and 1944. The first one was by poruchik (

Senior Lieutenant Senior lieutenant is a military grade between a lieutenant and a captain, often used by countries from the former Eastern Bloc. It is comparable to first lieutenant. Finland ( sv, premiärlöjtnant) is a Finnish military rank above ( sv, löjt ...

)

Dimitar Spisarevski Dimitar Spisarevski ( bg, Димитър Списаревски) (19 July 1916 – 20 December 1943) was a Bulgarian fighter pilot known for taking down an American bomber by ramming it during the bombing of Sofia in World War II. Born in Dobri ...

on 20 December 1943. Flying a Bf 109 G2 fighter, he rammed and destroyed American B-24 Liberator #42-73428 of the 376th Bomb Group, though it is unknown whether the collision was intentional. The Bulgarian military said it was deliberate, and increased his rank posthumously. The second ramming was performed by poruchik Nedelcho Bonchev on 17 April 1944 against an American B-17 Flying Fortress. Bonchev succeeded in bailing out and surviving after the ramming. After the fall of the Third Bulgarian Kingdom 9 September 1944 he went on flying against the Germans. His Bf 109 was shot down during a mission and he was wounded and taken captive. After several months in captivity, he was killed by a female SS guard during a POW march which he could not take, owing to his critical health condition.

Germany

On 22 February 1944 a

rammed B-17 231377 of the

327th Bombardment Squadron The 327th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 4170th Strategic Wing, stationed at Larson Air Force Base, Washington. It was inactivated on 1 February 1963. History World War II Acti ...

.
On 25 May 1944 Oberfähnrich Hubert Heckmann used his

to ram a

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

when his guns malfunctioned, severing the tail and rear fuselage from the American aircraft. Captain Joseph H. Bennett of the 336th Fighter Squadron managed to bail out to captivity, while Heckmann made an immediate belly landing near Botenheim,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. On 7 July 1944 Unteroffizier

Willi Reschke Willi Reschke (3 February 1922 – 5 July 2017) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II, credited with 27 aerial victories in 70 missions. In 1999, Reschke recounted his wartime experiences i ...

used his

to ram a

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

when his guns malfunctioned. The two falling aircraft were locked together, and it was some time before Reschke was able to free himself and bail out near

Malacky Malacky ( German: ''Malatzka'', Hungarian: ''Malacka'') is a town and municipality in western Slovakia around north from capital Bratislava. From the second half of the 10th century until 1918, it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. It is one ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. Late in

, the Luftwaffe used ramming to try to regain control of the air. The plan was to dissuade Allied bomber pilots from conducting bombing raids long enough for the Germans to create a significant number of

Messerschmitt Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the Germa ...

jet fighters to turn the tide of the air war. On 4 April 1945

Heinrich Ehrler Heinrich Ehrler (14 September 1917 – 4 April 1945) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and wing commander during World War II. As a fighter ace, he is credited with 208 enemy aircraft shot down in over 400 combat missions. The majority o ...

rammed a B-24 and was killed. Only a single dedicated unit, '' Sonderkommando Elbe'', was ever formed to the point of being operational, and flew their only mission – only a month before the end of the war in Europe – on 7 April 1945. Although some pilots succeeded in destroying bombers, Allied numbers were not significantly reduced. Perhaps the most famous example of aerial ramming carried out by ''Elbe'' that resulted in the pilot surviving ramming their plane during this mission was that of Heinrich Rosner's Bf 109 vs. B-24 44-49533 "Palace of Dallas", which was leading a formation of B-24s of the

389th Bombardment Group 389th may refer to: * 389th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *389th Fighter Squadron The 389th Fighter Squadron is part of the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. It operates McDonnell Dougl ...

at the time. Rosner's plane sliced through the cockpit of "Palace of Dallas" with its wing, destroying the bomber and crippling the Bf-109, which then collided with an additional unidentified B-24. Rosner was able to successfully bail out and parachute to safety. Projects of aircraft such as the

Zeppelin Rammer The Zeppelin Rammer (german: Rammjäger) was a design proposal by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin intended to use aerial ramming against the allied bombers attacking Nazi Germany during World War II. Description A rocket-powered small aircraft with strai ...

were intended to use the ramming technique.

France

On 3 August 1944, Captain Jean Maridor of

No. 91 Squadron RAF No 91 (Nigeria) Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force but is no longer operational. The name acknowledges the contribution made by Nigeria to the cost of the squadron's aeroplanes. World War I A 91 squadron was initially formed in Se ...

used his

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

to ram a

, killing himself when the warhead detonated. Capitaine Maridor had previously damaged the V-1 with his cannon fire, and seeing it begin to dive onto a military field hospital in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, chose to deliberately ram the bomb.

United States

On 25 October 1942 over

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

, Marine First Lieutenant

Jack E. Conger Jack Eugene Conger (April 6, 1921 – April 22, 2006) was a highly decorated United States Marine Corps officer. He was a flying ace credited with shooting down 10 enemy aircraft and was awarded the Navy Cross during World War II. Early life J ...

VMF-212 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 212 (VMFA-212) was a United States Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet squadron. Most recently known as the "Lancers", the squadron was last based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan and fell under the command of Mar ...

shot down three Misubishi A6M Zeros. Pursuing a fourth Zero, Conger ran out of ammunition and decided to use his propeller to chop the tail rudder off. However, Conger misjudged the distance between his plane and the Zero and struck the plane halfway between the cockpit and the tail, tearing the entire tail off. Both Conger and the Zero pilot, Shiro Ishikawa, bailed out of their planes and were picked up by a rescue boat. For his actions, Conger was awarded the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

. During the battle of the Coral Sea, SBD pilot Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa was attacked by three A6M2 "Zero" fighters; he shot down two of them and cut off the wing of the third in a head-on pass with his wingtip. On 10 May 1945 over

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, Marine First Lieutenant Robert R. Klingman and three other pilots of VMF-312 climbed to intercept an aircraft they identified as a

''Toryu'' ("Nick") twin-engined heavy fighter flying reconnaissance at , but the "Nick" began climbing higher. Two of the FG-1D Corsairs ceased their pursuit at , but Marine Captain Kenneth Reusser and his wingman Klingman continued to , expending most of their .50 caliber ammunition to lighten their aircraft. Reusser scored hits on the "Nick's" port engine, but ran out of ammunition, and was under fire from the Japanese rear gunner. Klingman lined up for a shot at a distance of when his guns jammed due to the extreme cold. He approached the "Nick" three times to damage it with his propeller, chopping away at his opponent's rudder, rear cockpit, and right stabilizer. The ''Toryu'' spun down to where its wings came off. Despite missing five inches (13 cm) from the ends of his propeller blades, running out of fuel and having an aircraft dented and punctured by debris and bullets, Klingman safely guided his Corsair to a

deadstick landing A deadstick landing, also called a dead-stick landing, is a type of forced landing when an aircraft loses all of its propulsive power and is forced to land. The "stick" does not refer to the flight controls, which in most aircraft are either ful ...

. He was awarded the

Cold War

In the

1960 U-2 incident On 1 May 1960, a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defence Forces while conducting photographic aerial reconnaissance deep inside Soviet territory. The single-seat aircraft, flown by American pilot Francis Gary Power ...

, Soviet pilot Igor Mentyukov was scrambled with orders to ram the intruding

Lockheed U-2 The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "''Dragon Lady''", is an American single-jet engine, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides day ...

, using his unarmed

Sukhoi Su-9 The Sukhoi Su-9 (NATO reporting name: Fishpot) was a single-engine, all-weather, missile-armed interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union. Development The Su-9 emerged from aerodynamic studies by TsAGI, the Soviet aerodynamic center, ...

which had been modified for higher altitude flight. In 1996, Mentyukov claimed that contact with his aircraft's slipstream downed

Gary Powers Francis Gary Powers (August 17, 1929 – August 1, 1977) was an American pilot whose Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Lockheed U-2 spy plane was shot down while flying a reconnaissance mission in Soviet Union airspace, causing the 1960 U-2 i ...

; however,

Sergei Khrushchev Sergei Nikitich Khrushchev (russian: Сергей Никитич Хрущёв; 2 July 1935 – 18 June 2020) was a Russian engineer and the second son of the Cold War-era Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev with his wife Nina Petrovna Khrushcheva. ...

asserted in 2000 that Mentyukov failed even to gain visual contact. On 7 September 1965, during the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War, a Pakistani Lockheed F-104A Starfighter (Serial No. 56-877) from the No. 9 Squadron "Griffins" which was piloted by Flight Lieutenant Amjad Hussain Khan intercepted 6 Indian Mystere IVs which were attacking the

Sargodha Airbase PAF Base Mushaf (formerly PAF Base Sargodha), ), is a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) airbase situated at Sargodha in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is designated as a "Major Operational Base" or "MOB" by the PAF.dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

, a Mystere flown by Squadron Leader Devaiah forced Amjad's F-104 into low-speed dogfighting (something which the F-104 performs badly in due to its poor manuveribility in reduced speeds). Though Amjad scored several hits on Devaiah's Mystere with his M-61 Vulcan and even fired a

GAR-8 The AIM-9 Sidewinder (where "AIM" stands for "Air Intercept Missile") is a short-range air-to-air missile which entered service with the US Navy in 1956 and subsequently was adopted by the US Air Force in 1964. Since then the Sidewinder has prove ...

at it (which missed), the Mystere was still flying after which Amjad ultimately made the first jet to jet ramming attack against the Indian warplane. This led to both pilots losing control of their aircraft over Kot Nakka, while the Indian pilot perished with his warplane, Amjad managed to eject safely & got rescued by Pakistani villagers who were spectating the intense dogfight. On 28 November 1973, during the CIA's

Project Dark Gene Project Dark Gene was an aerial reconnaissance program run by the Central Intelligence Agency and Imperial Iranian Air Force from bases inside Iran against the Soviet Union. The program was run in conjunction with Project Ibex, which was a more tra ...

, Captain Gennadii N. Eliseev, flying a

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...

, made a ramming attack against an

RF-4C The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II variants were numerous versions and designations of the F-4 and are described below. Production numbers for major versions asterisk indicates converted from other version Variants ;XF4H-1 :Two prototype ...

reconnaissance aircraft piloted by

IIAF The history of the Iranian Air Force, currently known as the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, can be divided into two phases—before the Islamic Revolution, and after it. Imperial era The Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) was a branch ...

Major Shokouhnia and backseater USAF Colonel John Saunders over Soviet airspace. After both his K-13 air to air missiles failed to down the RF-4C and his gun jammed, he struck the RF-4C's tail assembly with his wing. While the MiG pilot died, the RF-4C crew ejected successfully. On 18 July 1981 Captain V.A. Kulyapin reportedly used his

Su-15 The Sukhoi Su-15 (NATO reporting name: Flagon) is a twinjet supersonic interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union. It entered service in 1965 and remained one of the front-line designs into the 1990s. The Su-15 was designed to replace t ...

to ram a chartered Argentine CL-44 during the 1981 Armenia mid-air collision, although Western experts believed this likely to have been a self-serving interpretation of an accidental collision. A 1986

RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...

study concluded that the ramming attack was still a viable option for modern jets defending their airspace from long-range bombers if those bombers were carrying atomic weapons. The study posited that defending fighters might expend their weapons without downing the enemy bomber, and the pilots would then be faced with the final choice of ramming—almost certainly trading their lives to save the thousands who might be killed by a successful nuclear attack.

After 1990

During the

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

attacks in 2001, fighter jets were dispatched to intercept the hijacked

United Airlines Flight 93 United Airlines Flight 93 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda attackers aboard the plane on the morning of September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The plane eventually crashed in Som ...

, believed to be heading to Washington. However, there was no time for the combat jets to be armed with missiles. The pilots understood that they would be ramming the aircraft. The plane had already crashed due to an internal struggle by the time the jets arrived.

Russo-Ukrainian War

A Russian DJI Mavic Pro Drone was destroyed in an aerial ramming with a Ukrainian drone on 3 October 2022.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Allen Durkota; Thomas Darcy; Victor Kulikov. ''The Imperial Russian Air Service: Famous Pilots and Aircraft and World War I.'' Flying Machines Press, 1995. , 9780963711021. * * Sakaida, Henry. ''Japanese Army Air Force Aces 1937–45''. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 1997. . * Sherrod, Robert. ''History of Marine Corps Aviation in World War II''. Washington, D.C.: Combat Forces Press, 1952. * Takaki, Koji and Sakaida, Henry. ''B-29 Hunters of the JAAF''. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2001. . * Tillman, Barrett. ''Corsair''. United States Naval Institute, 1979. . * * * {{cite book , last=Birdsall , first=Steve , year=1980 , title=Saga of the Superfortress: The Dramatic Story of the B-29 and the Twentieth Air Force , location=New York City , publisher=Doubleday , isbn=978-0385136686 Military doctrines Aerial maneuvers

Technique

History

Early concepts

World War I

Polish-Soviet War

Spanish Civil War

World War II

Soviet Union

United Kingdom and Commonwealth

Greece

Japan

Bulgaria

Germany

France

United States

Cold War

After 1990

Russo-Ukrainian War

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography