The Shocking 1982 RAF Phantom vs. Jaguar Incident. Cold War Chaos in the Skies!

Uncover the intense and shocking 1982 incident when an RAF Phantom accidentally shot down an RAF Jaguar in the skies over West Germany.

Join us on a journey back to the Cold War era as we explore the constant state of readiness the Royal Air Force maintained for a potential conflict with the Soviet Union. On May 25, 1982, routine training turned into a harrowing experience for two RAF Jaguar GR1 pilots of 14 Squadron recovering to their base at RAF Bruggen.

In this gripping video, witness the events unfold as one Jaguar pilot finds himself targeted by an unknown aircraft during pre-landing preparations. Within moments, he's forced to eject from his disintegrating aircraft, landing in a farmer's field. To his shock, the adversary making a low pass overhead was not a Soviet Mig but an RAF F4 Phantom from 92 Squadron, armed and on a chaotic scramble.

Delve into the details of the exercise at RAF Wildenrath, where a routine training session resulted in a disastrous engagement between friendly NATO aircraft – a fully armed F4M Phantom FGR2 of no. 92 Squadron RAF and a pair of Sepecat Jaguar GR1 aircraft of No 14 Squadron RAF.

In this video, we break down the circumstances leading to the accidental shootdown, providing insights into the challenges faced by military aviators during training exercises. Discover the aftermath and the lessons learned from this tragic incident.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:02 Background
02:31 Wildenrath Exercise
06:00 Jag Spotted
07:37 Shoot Down
09:54 Investigation
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Credits & Attributions

[maciek_k.cichon]

I love when an accurate machine is shown when talked about, not just a random stock footage. And these few freeze-frames just made it feel a period piece documentary. Good show!

[HollyandSandy]

I was one of the guys sent to guard this actual crash site. What it doesn't mention is, there were a lot of overhead power cables in the area, and the parachuting pilot miraculously missed all of them. Apart from the back injury he sustained during the ejection process (which is fairly normal), he made a full recovery. The farmer who's field the Jaguar crashed in, was more than financially reimbursed for his loss of potential earnings and the clear up operation.

[nikshmenga]

A Farmer's daughter - a most welcome sight under any condition.

[BeachTypeZaku]

I loves me some F4 Phantom! Its visually appealing. No matter what angle you view it from, it catches the eye. My dad was the head of the afterburner shop in Rammstein, Germany in the early-mid 70s and this was the #1 plane they serviced. It's probably the most iconic cold war American plane.

He ran a tight shop though when my mom asked him what he did, he said he mostly spent his time in the latrine doing crossword puzzles.😂

[Ttelmis]

My claim to fame is that I was the Combat Operations Officer who scrambled the pair of F4s on that mission.

[deltavee]

Funny, for no reason at all the word SEPECAT entered my mind yesterday. Just the word, came and went right away. Haven't even thought of the word for literally decades and here today I randomly come across a video with SEPECAT Jaguars in it *!* Interesting universe we live in.... I'm an R.C.A.F. brat born and raised 22 yrs. and I knew of SEPECAT but as I said, haven't thought of it in decades. For the curious:
"SEPECAT (French: Société Européenne de Production de l'avion Ecole de Combat et d'Appui Tactique) was an Anglo-French aircraft manufacturer. " It was set up specifically for the Jaguar, an attack and training aircraft. Started in 1966 about four years after we left four years in Paris at S.H.A.P.E. H.Q. for a radar base North of Toronto. Culture shock is real.

[chrisaskin]

Ahh sweet memories! This incident happened a few months after I'd left Brüggen, I was on 20 Sqn Jaguars as an armourer from Feb 79 to Aug 81, and before that Apr 75 to Oct 77 in the Station Armoury - also at Brüggen. Two of the best times in the RAF.

[JohnChristiansen-nw]

My claim to fame is that Roy Lawrence and his family lived around the corner from us a couple of years later (I went to school with his son). In his hallway was a photo of the Jaguar, signed by Steve Griggs.

[johnp]

Not long arrived from Scampton and only been in the role bay at Brüggen for few weeks. This was in the days when armourers serviced pylons. I think it was late morning on a Thursday or Friday? A Sgt from one of the other bays grabbed me and off we went to Wesel to try and disarm it! Steve Griggs and the farmer were very lucky. Most of the aircraft came down in an empty field between a power station, the farm buildings and an autobahn. The back end, that was cut off, dropped into the river Lippe, I think, as they couldn't find it at the time? Don't know where Steve landed but his seat came down in a copse about a quarter of a mile away.
Steve came back to the Armoury at Brüggen a few months later with some more beer and a tape recording of his 2nd ejection over Scotland. I believe it was taken by a USAF F111 during the exercise?

[Retirement_Life]

Excellent video. Never heard about this before, despite being in the RAF at the time! 😱

[gazza]

Yes indeed. Thank goodness
Mr Martin and Mr Baker got it right.
Interesting video.
👍

[paullacey]

I dont know what was worse, being blasted out your wrecked plane or being the other lad who let off the missile from his aircraft.Scary stuff!

[GregPodster]

Just working my way through your back catalogue. New Subscriber here 👍

[david_uk]

Fascinating story well told. Thanks for sharing.

[MisterIvyMike]

As that happened I was 15 years old and very hardly addicted in watching fighter jets. I live 50km west of Grafenwöhr in southern Germany and at that time we had a few jet traffic every day, so between 4 or 6 jets on bad days and 20 on better days at 450ft. (But that was nothing like the situation at our nearby low flying area at the Hesselberg 😍, where on normal days 50-80 jets where common at 200ft and at excercisses 200 or more!)
We where so many days on the hills to watch them, at the Hesselberg often below us. But in the late 80ies everything changed. After the Ramstein accident and the german reunion the gouvernement decided that we need no low level sorties anymore.
And nowadays?
This year I have seen in six months 2 F-16 at high altitude coming from Grafenwöhr and thats it. The years before I had years without a single jet. Not a single one, neither high or at low level, meaning 1000ft.
Oh man, I miss these old days... 😔

[bobbralee]

I'm a former Phantom Armourer and I know the guy who taped up the white cross over the Master Arm switch, I know this guy and I'll tell you he says it was taped up. Even if it wasn't the pilot should have Noticed on his pre flight check. This is 100% Aircrew error and doesn't surprise me they are trying to deflect the blame elsewhere.

[smitbar]

The Jaguar and Buccaneers both served above expectations in the Gulf War

[mtkoslowski]

05:34
By this point I knew what had gone seriously wrong. Nice presentation and very good narration.

[garrybaldy]

Great video, Dec. Give my regards to Ant.

[awritenthat]

Enjoyable presentation, many thanks for your effort and hard work .