There was a reformed neonazi on tv today.

He trained in the military. "Give me a .50 rifle and I will knock a 747 out of the sky with one shot." I didn't see his name,he was terrified by the rightwing neo bunch. Also said no one from the FBI etc has ever talked to him.

i'd like to see someone do that :sarcasm:

You know...a tall tale, a fabrication, a lie.

The 50 caliber weapons in question are accurate up to 1.5 miles. They can also potentially be used to "take out" oil refineries, etc. Ammo with nuclear content is available for then, according to the Army Digest (?). Check out the Gun Guys.

A .50 slug (non-incendiary) will likely not make an airplane explode, even if the shooter makes a one in a million shot, and actually connects.

Meet the .50 Barrett.


One incendiary round (.50 heavy machine gun armor piercing) into a 747 wing tank?

BOOM.

He turned on his compadres when he realised these guys were serious.

Planes have actually been shot down with one shot.Usually by an extremely lucky shot that hits something vital.

if a rifleman hit the pilot of an old biplane. but you ain't gonna take out no 747 with one rifle shot!

A friend in flight school was stampeding cattle with the plane when a pissed off rancher started shooting at him.One shot took out an oil cooler line,forcing him down when the engine siezed up.
Needless to say he was thrown out of school.
Admittedly, a 747 is a lot bigger aircraft but one bullet in the wrong place can do a surprising amount of damage.

if that rancher can hit a 747 moving Mach 0.8 at an altitude of 6 miles, i'd be one impressed girl. and i'm not easy to impress.

But on takeoff or landing it could be done.It would be low and slow enough then.It would still be one hell of a lucky shot though.

Or knock off the nose gear. One half inch of flying steel will do it.

...the Barrett .50 was/is standard issue for many units, especially those tasked to take out aircraft.

(Usually on the ground, but think how long a commercial airliner sits full of people and fuel on the tarmac waiting in line to depart.)

I'm sure that's what the braggart was referring to. And they are surprisingly accurate and easy to fire; I've fired one. A bit of a heavy recoil, though.... ;)

Maybe NBC or CBS morning stuff.

I wonder if he has any idea how far away that is? I doubt it.

Plus, when you figure in a cruising speed of 500-600 mph, AND weather conditions/wind that you can't judge from the ground, the idiot's boastful fantasy is not possible.

Additionally, a .50 rifle has an effective range of +/- 7,000 feet, and that is in a prone position, with a stationary target. There's also the fact that a bullet hole in a 747 at altitude, will most likely NOT cause the jet to crash. It probably would cause a gradual decompression, the O2 masks would drop, and the pilot would have plenty of time to land.

Put your crosshairs on the wingtip two seconds before it lands----splat.

A bullet hole in the wing would probably not cause any major difficulties if the plane was two seconds from landing. The slug is not incendiary.

Crumpling landing structure, wingspars, even tires. Surely you cannot discout this.

i say you have to prove your theory 'cuz i'm a physicist and i don't buy it! :)

Any rivers near by?

They are pulled from de-milled military stocks and sold to anyone.

No shit. :(

They aren't cheap, but they are really that expensive, either.

Components to manufacture .50BMG rounds are common. RCBS makes a press, dies and other equipment to assemble/reload them. Surplus brass dealers have the cases and usually the bullets too, even API. Powder dealers have surplus military powders and new manufactured powders are also available as the .50BMG is popular as a ultra-long-range target rifle.

None of the above is cheap- a new Barrett semi-auto .50BMG rifle will set you back as much as a decent used car.

:yoiks:

to get us into a discussion on the possible ways it might happen.

Sounds like this guy is proud to be a-Murkin! :nuke:

...except it was a peasant with a flintlock shooting down an American jet fighter?

I could be wrong- it's been a long time since I watched it... :shrug:

I don't think it was a fighter... a transport maybe.

Now all Junior has to do is convince some judge that DU is a training ground for terrorists.

Besides the technical impossibilities of striking an aircraft moving through 3-dimensional space at over 180 mph (rotation speed), a half-inch projectile will do absolutely jack shit to a 800-THOUSAND pound aircraft.

Here's a picture of a birdstrike COMPLETELY DESTROYING an engine:



"September 2004
A major US airline flight departing Chicago O’Hare Airport with over one hundred passengers on board experienced a forced emergency landing, likely the result of a “bird-strike” encounter with geese. After takeoff, the aircraft began experiencing critical engine problems almost immediately. Several callers phoned to report seeing flames as well as an explosion. A spokesperson for the airline reported that along with an engine fire and its ensuing damage, missing pieces from the engine may have fallen in the surrounding communities. Fortunately, no injuries or damages have been reported from the ground. The 107 passengers left the plane unharmed."

Here's another birdstrike, resulting in a hole MUCH LARGER than anything a .50 caliber rifle can produce.



Once again, all passengers left the plane unharmed.

.. yeah, and monkeys will fly out of my ass :eyes:

i think that's a better way of stating what i said in my first post on this thread.

The bullet strikes at a downward angle after being fired from the ground, strikes the pilot in the back, exits the pilots throat just below the Adam's Apple, pauses for 1.5 seconds in mid-air, then makes two right turns, hits the co-pilot in the back, exiting from his chest just below his right nipple, strikes his right wrist, shattering it in 6 places, then lodges in his left thigh.

Here's the bullet after it does all that:



Ask Arlen Specter, he'll tell ya.

:rofl:


On Edit: In real life.......a .50 cal round taking out a Jumbo jet is about as likely.