How many F117s are left??

[h34race]

Hello all I was wondering how many 117s are left flying I count that we are down 3 planes 2 crashed 1 was shot down any clues?? thanks all.

[Bob]

Re: How many F117s are left??

when and how was a F-117 shot down?

[race9]

Re: How many F117s are left??

A lucky shot by some Serb during the Kosovo war. He parked a bunch of AA guns and sams where he figured an 117 would fly over and when he heard it just shot wildly into the sky.

[flyingjibus]

Re: How many F117s are left??

we had 52 originally.

One F-117 has been lost in combat, to Serbian forces. On 27 March 1999, during the Kosovo War, the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Missile Brigade under the command of Colonel Zoltan Dani, equipped with the Isayev S-125 'Neve' (NATO designation SA-3 'Goa') anti-aircraft missile system, downed a F-117A callsign "Vega 31," serial number 82-806 with a Serbian improved Neva-M missile.[28][29] According to NATO Commander Wesley Clark and other NATO generals, Serb air defenses found that they could detect F-117s with their radars operating on unusually long wavelengths. This made them visible on radar screens for short times.

Reportedly several SA-3s were launched, one of which detonated in close proximity to the F-117A, forcing the pilot to eject. According to an interview, Zoltán Dani was able to keep most of his missile sites intact and had a number of spotters spread out looking for F-117s and other NATO aircraft. The commanders and crews of the SAMs guessed the flight paths of earlier F-117A strikes from rare radar spottings and positioned their SAM launchers and spotters accordingly. It is believed that the SA-3 crews and spotters were able to locate and track F-117A 82-806 visually, probably with the help of infra-red and night vision systems. He also claimed that his battery shot down an F-16 as well.

The F-117 pilot survived and was later rescued by U.S. Air Force Pararescue personnel. However, the wreckage of the F-117 was not promptly bombed, due to possible media fallout from news footage of civilians around the wreckage. The Serbs are believed to have invited Russian personnel to inspect the remains, inevitably compromising the then 25-year old U.S. stealth technology.[30] Since the United States did not destroy the wreckage, the remains can still be seen today at the Museum of Aviation in Belgrade close to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. An error of assumption was made by many as to the identity of the pilot. While the name "Capt Ken 'Wiz' Dwelle" was painted on the canopy, it was made public in 2007 that the actual pilot was Lt Col. Dale Zelko, USAF.

Some American sources acknowledge that a second F-117A was also damaged during a raid in the same campaign, and although it made it back to its base, it supposedly never flew again.

[rmudbugs]

Re: How many F117s are left??

One was lost at an Air Show when one of the tails came off but I don't recall the details. Anyone remember where and when?

[SCEPTER]

Re: How many F117s are left??

"Capt Ken 'Wiz' Dwelle" was painted on the canopy

Is that our Ken Dwelle?

[Leo]

Re: How many F117s are left??

I think we talked about it being his old aircraft awhile ago.
Always thought it was extremely cool that with all the junk thrown up over Bagdad in the first Gulf War that none of them were hit. I know it was un-aimed, but the law of averages alone would seem to dictate that someone would fly into something!

[Randy Haskin]

Re: How many F117s are left??

It also helps when the classified ATO is leaked to the enemy.

Not too difficult for SAMs to locate allied aircraft when you know where they'll be and when they'll be there.

[Lance]

Re: How many F117s are left??

Is that our Ken Dwelle?

The story I heard was that his name was on the aircraft but he had been out of the Air Force for a few months when that happened.

[FENCELINER]

Re: How many F117s are left??

Fifty-nine F-117s were made; 10 were retired in December 2006 and 27 since then, the Air Force said. Seven of the planes have crashed, one in Serbia in 1999.

[B52Hfan]

Re: How many F117s are left??

The last 4 active ships left AF Plant 42, last week, for storage. Some ships have been sent to museums for display. They had a BIG shin-dig with alot of Program luminaries; both AF and Lockheed.

[Randy Haskin]

Re: How many F117s are left??

The story I heard was that his name was on the aircraft but he had been out of the Air Force for a few months when that happened.

He's posted here before on the topic. He was an IP in the training squadron at the time.

I'm still perplexed that the general public seems to think that because a guy's name is on the side of a jet, that he's the one flying the jet all the time.

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: How many F117s are left??

I'm still perplexed that the general public seems to think that because a guy's name is on the side of a jet, that he's the one flying the jet all the time.

Randy, don't be perplexed by the general public's ignorance of facts.. We see what we see and then "assume" a lot..

I don't know that a lot of WWII followers know that, though a guy's name was painted on airplane, he was not always the guy to be flying it.

We rely on you guys who are there to inform us, let us know how it really is..



BTW.. have I thanked you lately for protecting my way of life??

If not..

THANK YOU!

[Apteryx]

Re: How many F117s are left??

BTW.. have I thanked you lately for protecting my way of life??
If not..
THANK YOU!

He's been buying you beer?

[Low-n-Slow]

Re: How many F117s are left??

I think a great many of us would buy Randy a beer, even those of us who aren't citizens of the USA. Maybe especially those of us who aren't from the States, as we don't say thank you often enough. So thank you Randy, and all servicemen.

cheers
Low