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Fighter pilot

A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting (close range aerial combat). A fighter pilot with at least five air-to-air kills becomes known as an ace.

For the film, see Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag. For the BBC documentary, see Fighter Pilot (TV series).

Recruitment[edit]

Fighter pilots are one of the most highly regarded and desirable positions of any air force. Selection processes only accept the elite out of all the potential candidates. An individual who possesses an exceptional academic record, physical fitness, healthy well-being, and a strong mental drive will have a higher chance of being selected for pilot training. Candidates are also expected to exhibit strong leadership and teamwork abilities. As such, in nearly all air forces, fighter pilots are commissioned officers. This is also true for pilots of most other aircraft.

Tactics[edit]

Offensive[edit]

Modern medium and long range active radar homing and semi-active radar homing missiles can be fired at targets outside or beyond visual range. However, when a pilot is dogfighting at short-range, his position relative to the opponent is decidedly important. Outperformance of another pilot and that pilot's aircraft is critical to maintain the upper-hand. A common saying for dogfighting is "lose sight, lose fight".


If one pilot had a greater missile range than the other, he would choose to fire his missile first, before being in range of the enemy's missile. Normally, the facts of an enemy's weapon payload is unknown, and are revealed as the fight progresses.


Some air combat maneuvers form the basis for the sport of aerobatics:

 Bulgaria – On 30 October 1912 has become the world's first woman in the world who participated in a military flight on a Voisin aircraft above Edirne during the First Balkan War.[5]

Rayna Kasabova

 France – was a record-breaking balloonist, an aviator, and during World War I she became the first female combat pilot. Marie Marvingt received a pilot's license from the Aéro-Club de France (Aero Club of France) on 8 November 1910.[6] Licensed No. 281, she was the third Frenchwoman to be registered after Raymonde de Laroche (No. 36) and Marthe Niel (No. 226). In her first 900 flights she never "broke wood" in a crash, a record unequaled at that time. Marie flew in a number of air meets, bombed a German airbase twice as an unofficial pilot in World War I, flew on reconnaissance missions in the "pacification" of North Africa, and was the only woman to hold four pilot's licenses simultaneously: balloon, airplane, hydroplane and helicopter. In 1915 Marvingt became the first woman in the world to fly combat missions when she became a volunteer pilot flying bombing missions over German-held territory and she received the Croix de guerre (Military Cross) for her aerial bombing of a German military base in Metz.[7]

Marie Marvingt

 Turkey – In 1936 became world's first female combat pilot while in 1958 Leman Altınçekiç was first female accredited jet pilot in NATO.[3][8]

Sabiha Gökçen

 Soviet Union - was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II.[9] She was the first female fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft, the first of two female fighter pilots who have earned the title of fighter ace and the holder of the record for the greatest number of kills by a female fighter pilot. She was shot down near Orel during the Battle of Kursk as she attacked a formation of German aircraft. She was nicknamed the "White Lily of Stalingrad".

Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak

 Soviet Union - was another fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II and along with Lydia Litvyak, she is often considered one of the world's two female fighter aces credited with five or more aerial victories,[10] She was shot down by either Luftwaffe ace Georg Schwientek of JG 52 or ace Emil Bitsch, of JG 3.

Yekaterina "Katya" Budanova

 Soviet Union - was a Soviet fighter pilot who originally flew with the women's 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment but was later transferred to the 437th Fighter Aviation Regiment with Yekaterina Budanova, Lydia Litvyak, and several other members of the unit in September 1942. She flew over 100 sorties.

Mariya Kuznetsova

 Soviet Union - was one of the first Russian female fighter pilots. She fought alongside Lydia Litvyak and was credited with up to three aerial victories. She died in combat in a crash on 19 July 1943.[11]

Raisa Belyaeva

 Soviet Union - a Soviet flight commander in the 175th Guards Attack Aviation Regiment, and one of the few women to fly the Il-2.

Mariya Tolstova

 Soviet Union - was a Soviet pilot and the commander of the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment during the Second World War.

Tamara Kazarinova

 Soviet Union - was Soviet fighter pilot squadron commander, credited with three shootdowns during World War II who became a test pilot after the war.[12][13] During her postwar aviation career she became the first woman to fly the MiG-19.[14]

Olga Yamshchikova

 Soviet Union - was Ilyushin Il-2 pilot and deputy squadron commander in the Soviet Air Force during the Second World War.

Tamara Konstantinova

 Soviet Union - was one of the few women Ilyushin Il-2 pilots and the only female ground-attack pilot in naval aviation during the Second World War.

Lidiya Shulaykina

Until the early 1990s, women were disqualified from becoming fighter pilots in most of the air forces throughout the world. The exceptions being Turkey where Sabiha Gökçen became the first female fighter pilot in history in 1936 and went on to fly fast jets well into the 1950s,[3] and the USSR during the Second World War 1942–1945 where many women were trained as fighter pilots in the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment including Lilya Litvyak who became the top scoring woman ace of all time with 12 kills and Katya Budanova a close second with 11 kills, although both were killed in combat.[4] During the 1990s, a number of air forces removed the bar on women becoming fighter pilots:


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Fighter aircraft

Flying aces

List of aces of aces

Military aviation

Operation Red Flag

United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program

Ganson, Barbara (February 21, 2015). . Women of Aviation Week. Vancouver, Canada: Institute for Women Of Aviation Worldwide. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.

"U.S. Women of Military Aviation History Since World War I"

Getline, Meryl (March 1, 2005). . USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 2012-05-18.

"Becoming a female pilot: then and now"

Goodpaster, Amy (2007). . Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-99434-1.

Flying for Her Country: the American and Soviet women military pilots of World War II

Gordon, Yefim (2001). Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 : the Soviet Union's long-lived Korean War fighter. Hinckley: Midland Pub.  1-85780-105-9.

ISBN

Milanetti, Gian Piero (2011). (in Italian). Istituto Bibliografico Napoleone, Roma, Italia. ISBN 978-88-7565-100-8.

Le Streghe della Notte: La storia non detta delle eroiche ragazze-pilota dell'Unione Sovietica nella Grande Guerra Patriottica

Skogen, Jenny (2014). . La Jolla, California: Scobre Educational. ISBN 978-1-62920-327-0.

Yes She Did!: Aerospace

Swopes, Brian R. (2015). . Women in Aerospace History. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.

"2 September 1977: Class 77-08"

Turner, Denice (2011). . Costerus New Series 187. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Rodopi. ISBN 978-90-420-3297-2.

Writing the Heavenly Frontier: Metaphor, Geography, and Flight Autobiography in America 1927–1954

Amir, Amos. Brig Gen.Fire in the Sky : Flying in Defence of Israel. Pen & Sword Aviation (2005).  1-84415-156-5

ISBN

Franks, Norman, Bailey, Frank, and Guest, Russell. Above the Lines : A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914–1918. Grub Street (1994).  0-948817-73-9

ISBN

Bell, Ken. 100 Missions North : A Fighter Pilots Story of the Vietnam War. Brassey's, Inc (1993).  1-57488-639-8

ISBN

Sagittarius Rising. Warner Books (1936). ISBN 0-7515-0931-0

Lewis, Cecil

with Coplan, Jeff. Return with Honour. Harper (1995). ISBN 0-06-101147-9

O'Grady, Scott

Olynk, Frank.Stars & Bars : A Tribute to the American Fighter Ace 1920–1973. Grub Street (1995).  1-898697-17-5

ISBN

. Major Gen. Solitary: The Crash, Captivity and Comeback of an Ace Fighter Pilot. Black Irish (2014). ISBN 978-1-936891-28-3

Romm, Giora

Shores, Christopher and Williams, Clive. Aces High : A Tribute to the Most Notable Fighter Pilots of the British and Commonwealth Forces in WWII. Grub Street (1994).  1-898697-00-0

ISBN

Shores, Christopher, Franks, Norman, and Guest, Russell. Above the Trenches : A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920. Grub Street (1990).  0-948817-19-4

ISBN

. Brig Gen. Loud and Clear : The Memoir of an Israeli Fighter Pilot. Zenith Press (2009). ISBN 978-07603-3630-4

Spector, Iftach

Toliver, Raymond F and Constable, Trevor J. Horrido : Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe. Arthur Barker Ltd (1968).  0-213-76381-8

ISBN

Toliver, Raymond F and Constable, Trevor J. The Blonde Knight of Germany : A Biography of . TAB Aero (1970). ISBN 0-8306-8189-2

Erich Hartmann

Jackson, Robert. Fighter : The Story of Air Combat 1936–1945. Arthur Baker Ltd (1979).  0-213-16717-4

ISBN

with Olds, Christina, and Rasimus, Ed. Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds. St Martins Press (2010). ISBN 978-0-312-56023-2

Olds, Robin

Rosenkranz, Keith.Diary of a Gulf War Fighter Pilot. McGraw Hill (2002).  0-07-140040-0

ISBN

Polak, Tomas with Shores, Christopher.Stalins Falcons : The Aces of the Red Star. Grub Street (1999).  1-902304-01-2

ISBN

.Sea Harrier Over the Falklands. Orion (1992). ISBN 1-85797-102-7

Ward, Nigel 'Sharkey'

with Janos, Leo.Yeager : An Autobiography. Century Huitchinson (1985). ISBN 0-7126-9493-5

Yeager, Chuck

Chesire, John Flitetime: A U.S. Navy Fighter Pilot Autobiography, by John Chesire

Air Aces Homepage (A. Magnus)

Air Aces Website (Jan Šafařík)

Air Combat Information Group Website

An Autobiographical Sketch of a U. S. Naval Aviator and Fighter Pilot

Fly like a fighter: Minimum fuel

New Zealand Fighter Pilots Museum