The Little World

A cynical phrase, but perfectly true – if you are talking about kamikaze planes, nuclear bombers, or interceptors.

The occasions upon which they are used to fulfil their dire fates are such that they only need to work the one time – but that needs to be done with a degree of success. No kamikaze circles the cruiser it intends to sink, looking for the most picturesque aspect. In they go, and if the 5″ guns let them get there, they were a success. They didn’t expect a dinner and a medal.

A nuclear strike mission from the USA to Russia or vice versa, would always have been a fantasy construction for the crews. The USAF pilots had to know they were not going back to FAIRCHILD and the VVS ones had to realise that they would not be landing in Havana. It was a one-way trip, and not likely to be much celebrated by the survivors.

Ditto the interceptors sent to stymie their efforts. All they had to do was stop the bombers by any means possible, and if they came back it was an unexpected bonus. No one in the Cold War expected a long repeated assault; or would have welcomed it. There must have been secondary defences and other interceptors, but they would have been the reserve bench.