The Hilarious Story of How a Soviet Bomber Got Lost

[@PaperSkiesAviation]

Subscribe to Brilliant for a 30-day free trial AND 20% off an annual subscription: brilliant.org/PaperSkies/

[@andreimihailov671]

Im not sure if you love tu-22 or Mari more naw tell us the story about the lost tu-22 movie and ho it was about to be movie star by the way your channel is the best English speaking channel about soviet/Russian aviation

[@PilotPianoGuy]

I dont understand your channel, like you only have 192K subs. You deserve millions! The production quality, the time and effort that is put into your videos and the information are all absolutely top tier. Hope you and your loved ones are staying safe! Slava Ukraini, Heroyam Slava!! 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦 (Also thanks for introducing Brilliant, its great for understanding calculus!)

[@Deltasayan]

Hi there, I love your videos, and I wanted to use the type of music you use from epidemic sounds in my videos. Would you mind sharing the playlist of the type of music you use?

[@cv990a4]

There's a great joke, the punch line of which is "but you f*** one goat..." about how you can do all these various fantastic things in life - build magnificent houses, scale mountains, rescue people from burning buildings - but none of these matters, because if you "f*** one goat" you will forever be known as the "goat-f***er" - and not the house-builder, the mountain climber, the fire rescuer... Same thing here.

[@metaxa715]

Hey. One thing to correct- at the beggining you say it is Danzig. That is partially correct. It original name is Gdansk. Danzig is german wordfor that city.

[@epitosu6461]

The entire sequence of events is so crazy that two fighters, who took off from the same airfield, chasing each other thinking they're enemies ended up being a footnote

[@squalosus223]

That seems to be standard operating procedure for Russia. Look at their aerial friendly fire numbers for the war in Ukraine.

[@Charlesputnam-bn9zy]

@@squalosus223 & the twice self-bombed Belgorod.

[@spyran5839]

@@squalosus223 I would still differentiate between Russia and the Soviet Union, while there were a lot of cases of gross negligence and stupidity during Soviet times, but they still operated a much more functioning military than Russia does today.

[@thepigmaster8193]

@@spyran5839 How would you know? Most of the soviet exercises were highly scripted to have a positive outcome

[@FrontSideBus]

I bet multiple instanced of Bylat! were uttered!

[@JadeFoxAlpha]

I love that the Soviets had a word for that thing you do when your boss walks by your desk.

[@yourwifesboyfriend6081]

We had one in the US Military, “sham”.

[@ConnorRK-nk8rg]

​@@yourwifesboyfriend6081We all love the E-4 Mafia

[@wes11bravo]

​@@ConnorRK-nk8rg- I carried the lessons I learned as a member of the E4 Mafia 20+ years ago into my current career!

[@cambridgemart2075]

In the 80's, some computer games had a Bosskey, it brought up a simulated spreadsheet when you hit it!

[@Minotaur-ey2lg]

@@cambridgemart2075That’s awesome.

[@MrEMeat-kk9tc]

5:05 Dude is literally waving a too-large wrench around that nut, accomplishing no work at all while appearing to be very busy. Someone give this man a medal and promote him immediately!

[@wokewokerman5280]

...the fact that paper skies found that video was incredible....too funny - during the cold war, there were so many screw up on both sides that it's no wonder we all did not get blown to smithereens...

[@Sommerchan]

😃😃

[@Molten_Slugger]

bro really spent two and a half hours on that nut, give em' a promotion

[@Cancun771]

@@wokewokerman5280 Well, it might still yet happen.

[@bradlemmond]

My coworker, who was in the US Army, says to walk around with a broom or a clipboard.

[@nathanaellanham3613]

As a historian and content creator, your transition of this unit’s history into the memory of the unit… what they’re remembered for… is absolutely superb!

[@AriaAzari]

As an Iranian I must mentioned 3 points: 1- on 25 march 1983, about 14:30 (middle of the day) we have an small earthquake near Tehran, 5.4 magnitude, that killed 30 peoples, so the earthquake not related to this incident 2-last week of March is our national holiday for the new year (Nowruz) so the readiness were low 3- I heard many years ago that Tehran air defence system that consist first generation MIM-23 hawks tried to get a radar locked but it's jammed then the tu-22 turned to East toward Afghanistan (which in those days actually considered as Soviet land) so Iranian control do nothing and guessed it is a Soviet commercial/transport aircraft that got lost, the tu-22 never exceed mach 1 at all time and simply we not know it's a bomber with kh-22 on it.

[@Houthiandtheblowfish]

@@carkawalakhatulistiwa they were on good terms not like what west makes up to be

[@saberebr1348]

@@carkawalakhatulistiwa heard they attacked on soviet ships during iran iraq war.

[@Tony-gq8pi]

​@@carkawalakhatulistiwa 7:41

[@PaperSkiesAviation]

@Aria Azari Thank you for the correction. While gathering all the information, at least 2 accounts indeed mentioned the "holiday" (not Nowruz but Ramadan) as a possible cause. General Alexander Tarakanov, the commander of the 46th Air Army, specifically mentioned it. However, all those accounts referred as a holiday to Ramadan and as ... ... hard to explain ... as if they wanted to throw in Ramadan not as an actual reason but as something that everybody would know about Islamic culture. On top of that according to my research, in 1983 Ramadan was in June. All in all, Ramadan didn't seem convincing, so I decided to exclude the holiday as a reason. Thank you again for the correction.

[@lwilton]

@@PaperSkiesAviation Please note that Ramadan and Nowruz are not the same holiday. Nowruz is the Iranian or Persian New Year celebrated by various ethnicities worldwide. It is a festival based on the Iranian Solar Hijri calendar, on the spring equinox-on or around 21 March on the Gregorian calendar.

[@billrousseau324]

Paul Crickmore is recognized as the world authority on the SR-71. He is remembered for his observation that, "You've never been lost until you've been lost at mach 3 at 80,000 feet.

[@natehill8069]

Kind of like our Astronaut who was on the Mir space station for a year(?) He said "you have never heard silence until you have been on a space station that is having a total power failure".

[@railworksamerica]

@@natehill8069That must be absolutely terrifying. I’d shit my pants and prepare to meet my maker.

[@Raptor747]

Of course the USSR would lie and punish the guy ordered out of the control tower by a general by accusing him of ordering the general out of the control tower. I just...wow. Everything about this incident is just mind-blowing, including the USSR's ability to take a miraculously happy ending to a potential catastrophe and make it tragic and needlessly cruel regardless.

[@jaymouton9165]

Comrade, your videos always ensure great entertainment. Thank you for the awesome content!

[@flexairz]

@@jaymouton9165 Wrong comrade..

[@thedungeondelver]

Making things needlessly cruel was all the USSR was good for, and at. And yet tankies still praise the USSR like it was some glorious thing.

[@hirisk761]

the soviet union wouldn't be the soviet union if....

[@crabofchaos7881]

@@thedungeondelver wdym Chernobil wasn't glorious? The cleanup was a huge success! Glory to comrade Gorbachov!

[@patlab555]

This crew was so lucky on each and every single phase of the event, that's truly funny, this story deserves to be a movie and the two airplanes taking off from the same airbase chasing each other would be the icing on the cake. 🤣 Incredible story! thanks a lot for sharing it.

[@bigmotter001]

Movie could be titled "Top Fun" with maybe Tom Cruise starring in it!

[@traviswalker8933]

​@@bigmotter001 in the role of the Soviet Navigator.

[@Khiswow]

Maybe he sucked at aerial navigation, but he was pretty good at political navigation. And I think we can all agree that it's an important skill to master

[@zlatkovujevic7348]

We here have a old saying for that : Rectal Alpinist.

[@ignaciolillorazeto45]

Or maybe it’s the Dilbert principle in practice

[@jerryle379]

Haha remind me of bush he also suck as flying but have political connection.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

"political navigation" VERY, very popular all over in 2023+ Sry' WORLD - it ANI'T just Russia 😞

[@dallesamllhals9161]

@@jerryle379 OLD BUSH?

[@H_Eli]

The bomber deploying jammers right when they were being locked on by actual fighters is a priceless coincidence, if it was the captain who pressed the button it explains why he run out of luck.

[@bcdubs2177]

I've spent much of my life pretending to look busy in front of important people. I'm glad this exists across times across nations.

[@bcdubs2177]

@PerilOS That's a far more detailed response than I deserve. I really hope that your job has improved, or you've found something better. Life is far too short for 12 hours of nonsense per day. Also the German spirit of efficiency and skill made me laugh because those are exactly the values I was raised on.

[@bcdubs2177]

@PerilOS Oh man, I'm in the legal field, and I could apply that expression to the kind of work I do. "One draft, one sip". But hold on to that hope. It's all we've got sometimes.

[@schaddenkorp6977]

In the Army we call it “shamming”. It’s an art form.

[@lc1138]

​​​@PerilOS Don't ever give up your ideas nor your dreams. I you feel like creating your own business, please go for it. It will be tough, but at least you should be able to create and maintain the environment you seek, where personal commitment is valued. (If I understood well) Just remember to not put all your hopes on anyone all at once, people are all different and some differences might disappoint you ;p Every person can shine if put in the right place, and encouraged to. (And I'm not talking only for you but for myself too. I find it hard to renounce the comfort of a part-time salary job where I bore out, but with which I have the time to work on half of my projects. The other half implying that I quit the damn part-time job. So... I need courage.)

[@largol33t1]

I find it amusing that the Swiss also do this! Source: I work in a huge warehouse owned by a Swiss company.

[@jocelynstclair3901]

This story is so comical that you couldn't make it up. A comedy of errors wonderfully narrated in a lovely sardonic and self-deprecating way. I love your videos and your narration and you are gifted story teller. Thank you.

[@SereBronx]

Especially about 2 soviet jets chasing each other after taking off from the same airbase, I lost it there 😅😅😅

[@livethefuture2492]

Thank you for sharing all these fascinating stories from behind the iron curtain, which most of us otherwise may never have heard of.

[@NeverlandSystemAngel]

That navigation system sounds INCREDIBLY convoluted. Changing 0 from real north to "our target = north" sounds like it'll just add a TON of room for error and confusion.

[@BufusTurbo92]

General: "the US carrier group has been spotted... in the Caspian sea" Flight commander: "AND HOW IN THE NAME OF LENIN DID THEY GET THERE"

[@MsZeeZed]

Submarine carrier 🤫 lil trick we learnt from the IJN in WWII

[@IAmTheAce5]

‘Chronosphere ready’

[@Nekudza]

Teleported probably ;)

[@Zappina]

Or they were never there to BEGIN WITH!!!!!!!!😲😧😱

[@lashlarue7924]

😂 yes, that was also a bit of absurdity...

[@cestnima]

I was a kid during the Iran-Iraq war, so this story is really interesting for me-thank you! A couple of notes: I remember Iraqi bomb raids that started those years, and remember hearing once about red alarm going off in Mashhad with no air strike, which made a lot of people wonder 1) how could Iraqis reach that far and 2) why on earth they would target a holy city (which they themselves declared as sacred and off limit). Not sure if there is a connection between these stories. Also, the Iranian air defence those day was virtually nonexistent according to documentaries on the topic. They did have stronger presence with the F14s near the west, but an aircraft coming from the soviet airspace could easily fly through. Anyway, awesome video!

[@alirezamohsenpour4648]

جالب بود... احتمالا همین بمبر بوده

[@florentk6447]

The fact that this story would barely make it as a B-movie plot, and yet happened in the CCCP is both amazing and appalling. What is truly excellent is your story telling and where you apply it :) Keep it up !!

[@stewieatb]

"Fiction has to be believable. Reality has no such constraints"

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

That as a political thriller. With lots of scenes of generals in command room on the telephone looking stressed.

[@MyRegardsToTheDodo]

If you want to know of the US version of this pilot, just google for "Wrong Way Corrigan". In the 1930s he started near New York City and was supposed to fly to the US west coast, and somehow ended up near Dublin, Ireland.

[@EdMcF1]

In WW2, there was an RAF bomber returning from a mission deep into Germany from England who set off east after dropping his bombs, and it was around 20 minutes before one of the gunners noticed that they were still heading east. They got back, eventually.

[@semajniomet981]

Thank goodness!

[@volo870]

You seem to have found my stash of stories! 😅 The funny thing is that controllers requesting takeoffs in the opposite direction was so common, that Tu-22 navigation computer had a special "correct course 180°" switch, that would mirror the route automatically. The only thing that Lt. Drozdetsky had to do is TO FLIP A SINGLE SWITCH!

[@belacickekl7579]

Holy crap, that's somehow even worse! Thank you very much for sharing! Did you used to work on or fly the Tu-22?

[@volo870]

No, I'm too young for that. My friend was a Soviet Strategic Aviation engineer. He told me a LOT of these stories.

[@TheMemeDynamics]

​@@volo870 Did he ever steal the alcohol for the Tu-22's AC system?

[@volo870]

@@TheMemeDynamics He worked on Tu-95. I don't know why he was in Baranavichy for some time. He said that drinking gets boring quickly. Nevertheless, every member of ground engineering personnel had a 10L canister of pure ethanol, "just in case".

[@barsoff]

TO FLIP A SINGLE SWITCH along with dozens of other switches, buttons, and other controls.

[@gregorovich]

As a russian myself i laughed out loud at "ибд". Its such an accurate description that i wouldnt do it better

[@bdleo300]

I'm sure it exists everywhere in the world, not just in military... when your boss is somewhere near you, you will definitely pretend to do something important even if you don't 😃

[@belacickekl7579]

I lost it at the part where they accidentally evaded interception as part of their pre-programmed maneuvers hahaha

[@Bomkz]

I assume that the flight plan said that somewhere around that area they'd get locked up by radar and would have to evade interception of a fake missile. Which would make sense, but also when getting locked up by radar, the RWR will scream bloody hell at you to warn you're being locked. so my guess is the crew knew somewhere in that point they'd get locked, which they did, but for different reason, but they were none the wiser to these reasons, and just deployed CMS as expected.

[@MaggieKeizai]

I did too. That's the point when it turned into Mr. Magoo or the pink panther or even inspector clousseau obliviously avoiding all the attempts to thwart him by pure accident. The musical choice really punched up the comedy factor, too.

[@Lightning_Mike]

That was the absolute highlight of the event. The whole thing felt like a mix between an Adam Sandler and a Leslie Nielsen movie.

[@charlesc.9012]

I am still surprised that there was no warning issued over the radio

[@royalzak2670]

its literally like watching a soviet comedy movie. the chain of coincidences are too funny

[@petergregorypottery5476]

It is interesting how many small mistakes and co-incidences can compound together to become something major! Thank you for a fascinating story really well told!

[@shorttimer874]

When I was in the US Army in the seventies, 'looking busy' was a required skill. Also during a Reforger exercise, my section of 2 M114s were doing a relocation movement. The E6 section leader wasn't the brightest guy in the platoon, but it was a simple maneuver so the TC of my track decided to get a nap, there is nearly the same floor space as the M113 and we ran with 2 or 3 man crews, and gave me a chance to run the track for a while. After going around some woods we turned left instead of right as briefed. I had my driver go off road to get along side of the other track to try and get their attention, we were on radio silence, but I could not get the attention of either the section leader or his driver, normally the company commander's jeep driver, to stop. Not knowing what else to do I fell in line behind him until we ran into an opposing tank battalion and got swatted while crossing an open field. Sat there for several hours waiting for the platoon Sgt to come pick us up. Since we were in such an open area a passing jet took the opportunity to use us for a bombing run. I never got any grief for this, everyone knew the section leader's capabilities, but it was quite a while before I had a chance to TC again.

[@jonvro4022]

Lmao, looking busy is still required in the Army 🤣

[@92HazelMocha]

It's funny how universal it is. Like 60's soviet aircrew had similar experiences to US army grunts today lol

[@evilleader1991]

​@@baronvonslambert same in healthcare dude, boss gets mad if he sees me sit but doesnt see that ive been running forr hours nonstop working my ass off

[@NefariousKoel]

@@baronvonslambert - Ah, yes. It was the constant threat of getting your own job done early, then being forced to do some other slacker's job for them just because you got yours done in good time. Gotta learn to be scarce or, at worst, look busy when discovered. Otherwise they'll start expecting you to always be done early and start shifting more work onto you. Which, in turn, could make you appear to be an underachiever after being appointed with more to do.

[@largol33t1]

@@baronvonslambert I work in a warehouse too. I understand your predicament PERFECTLY. Have the same mentality from my bosses: they will rope me and some other poor bastard in my section into extra work if they catch me just standing still...

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

THIS is the sort of content that keeps KZbin viable: the narration is perfectly delivered, informative and entertaining. The visuals and graphics are *superb* and of course the improbable, incredible story... BRAVO Paper Skies! Subscribed.

[@kommandantgalileo]

I have never felt so sad about the death of a captain, may his soul rest in peace.

[@bradleyfried5157]

Yes that hit me as well. Those were infamously difficult planes to fly by all accounts and he was apparently a brilliant pilot. His blind spot was trusting his navigator.

[@travian821]

@@bradleyfried5157 The navigator probably was under pressure too, if he told that something was off he would have been reprimanded, and in the soviet system i wouldn't blame him. The navigator was reassured when the pilot told him that he was indeed seeing the "expected" cities. The whole incident is the escalation of small mistakes that normally would have been corrected quite easy.

[@exidy-yt]

Wow! This video is not only extremely well written and narrated, it was amazingly well animated to boot! Top notch work, and an entertaining, interesting story as well! Much impressed.

[@legoeasycompany]

Man with the amount of coincidences of that flight it's amazing they didn't actually end up defecting. Also I do feel the pain of having to do dull math over and over again while learning how to take apart rifles.

[@heisenheisen9483]

You dont defect to theocratic Iran

[@nightshine84]

There ia a long list of countries that would make sense to defect to as a Soviet pilot, but the post revolutionary Islamic republic of Iran, ruled by brutal mullahs, in the middle of a long war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, is not at top of that list, lol.

[@n4gix]

@@heisenheisen9483 It wasn't "theocratic" then. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was still in power.

[@tsumugikotobuki0131]

@@n4gix This happened in 1983, the Shah was overthrown in 1979. It also says the Iran-Iraq war was going on while the plane flew over.

[@99bimmer]

I'm surprised they weren't taken prisoner and forced to help Iran counter all the Soviet planes that Iraq had at the time

[@markgouthro7375]

My favorite part of this video is the SEAMLESS shift from narration to the Brilliant sales pitch. Kudos.

[@SRFriso94]

"In the olden days, if an agent did something _that_ embarrassing, he'd have the good sense to defect. Christ, I miss the Cold War." -M, _Casino Royale_

[@crash_gordon]

This reminds me of a story my grandfather told me. When he was learning to pilot the B-24 during WW2, he got a new navigator who had never flown in that particular plane before. In this plane, the navigator sat facing the tail instead of the nose like his previous ones. In their first training exercise, the navigator immediately sent them in the complete opposite direction they were supposed to, and their entire 12 ship formation got lost for a while. The navigator had no idea where they were and neither did the instructor, but fortunately grandpa knew the area well and was able to bring the everyone home using visual references.

[@MikePasqqsaPekiM]

These stories, especially this one in particular, bring me hope that, as often as I make colossal mistakes, I am not creating international incidents when I do so. It could always be worse! The truth is stranger than fiction!

[@ea5yliver]

4:48 - I feel that. My schoolhouse barracks was so crowded with guys waiting for school, we could clean the entire building in an hour...which was bad because we had to clean it for 8. At first, I found a group who ""cleaned"" the laundry room every day and we established 30 minute duty rotations for cleaning the hallway window. If duty happened to notice someone important coming he'd very kindly remind all of us to "hey, don't forget to check the lint traps" because we-uh...we were so forgetful in cleaning out those lint traps 25 times a day. When they got us, we disbanded and I found a single spot at a convenient sitting height on a particular door that would never come off and scrubbed it for the whole day every day for weeks.

[@a1lebedev]

This whole story is just crazy. Amount of coincidences is mind boggling. Thank you! Graphics and illustrations are also top notch

[@nbn461]

I've said this before and i'll say it again, this channel is CRIMINALY underrated.

[@doszymona81]

Hell of a story. 😂 Looking forward to hear your story about pilotless Mig-23 that took off from Poland and crashed in Belgium.

[@hubert9841]

kiedy to było?

[@jtgd]

MiG-23 takes off Air traffic control : “You are not cleared to take off” *Pilot busts into the control room* Air traffic controllers: 👁️ 👄 👁️

[@basilb4733]

Excellent.

[@doszymona81]

@@hubert9841 4 lipiec 1989

[@serial_designation_victoria]

He should cover it

[@petesheppard1709]

As a pilot who has experienced similar navigational confusion at night, this story is a bit painful to listen to...😵‍💫

[@Axemantitan]

A backpacker is traveling through Ireland when it starts to rain. He decides to wait out the storm in a nearby pub. The only other person at the bar is an older man staring at his drink. After a few moments of silence the man turns to the backpacker and says in a thick Irish accent: "You see this bar? I built this bar with my own bare hands. I cut down every tree and made the lumber myself. I toiled away through the wind and cold, but do they call me McGreggor the bar builder? No." He continued "Do you see that stone wall out there? I built that wall with my own bare hands. I found every stone and placed them just right through the rain and the mud, but do they call me McGreggor the wall builder? No." "Do ya see that pier out there on the lake? I built that pier with my own bare hands, driving each piling deep into ground so that it would last a lifetime. Do they call me McGreggor the pier builder? No." "But ya fuck one goat.."

[@LeCharles07]

🤣

[@ZoomStranger]

an oldie but a goodie

[@phoenixrivenus9270]

What do women and the mafia have in common? One slip of the tongue and you're in deep shit!

[@phoenixrivenus9270]

What do women and the mafia have in common? One slip of the tongue and you're in deep shit!

[@phoenixrivenus9270]

What do women and the mafia have in common? One slip of the tongue and you're in deep shit!

[@mystikmind2005]

Even in western countries it is always the same problem - Bosses do not care how hard you work, they only care about how hard you 'appear' to work. Because heaven forbid any boss take the time to understand what is actually going on beyond the passing glance.

[@markevans2294]

It turns out that office workers actually do about two to three hours productive work in a day. Which is a major factor in the "back to the office" idea is when "working from home" is that most people will just do their work and not bother with about five hours of pretending to work. (Those who were spending the entire day pretending to work may have no idea how to pretend to work.)

[@mystikmind2005]

@@markevans2294 Working from home would make it harder to pretend to work because bosses will be forced to find more tangible ways of figuring out how much work you are doing.... But that would require actually understanding the work that your staff are doing, and no boss wants to do that, so "back to the office" becomes very desirable.

[@ecpgieicg]

The animation this episode is god tier. Appreciate it.

[@Gate0r]

Such a fun story. Thanks for sharing

[@easy_eight2810]

203rd heavy bomber regiment of the USSR: "We messed up by flying into the completely wrong direction" 7th Bomb Wing of the USAF: "Well at least you didn't accidentally dropped a nuke on yourself"

[@theq4602]

twice once in south carolina another time in new mexico

[@MsZeeZed]

@@theq4602 that’s beyond accidental 😹

[@pauldietrich6790]

"Comrade! Hold my vodka......"

[@SmackcrackIV]

That’s the problem though. We learned about the American accidental nuke drops decades after it happened because the documents were declassified. However, according to the few declassified ussr documents that exist, no accidental nuke drops ever happened. Which is massively suspect. No way is that possible when you hear about the number and insanity of shenanigans that happened in the ussr’s air force, which somehow beats the ridiculousness of the us air force

[@92HazelMocha]

​@@SmackcrackIV To be fair air deployable nuclear weapons are a much much larger part of the US triad than the soviet one. We had a few incidents, but we flew probably 10x more than the soviets did, at least when it comes to nuclear arms.

[@FrontSideBus]

Another fun one that could be done was that RN Sea Harrier which was on an exercise to find an "enemy" carrier under combat conditions. The pilot got lost on the way back and was running low on fuel so decided to land on a passing cargo ship!

[@SuperchargedSupercharged]

Love your sense of humor, and how you present the story.

[@ryanvargas4889]

This was such a great video. I can’t think of many other creators who’s videos I rewatched so many times in one day.

[@vauqueIin]

it may not be related to aviation, but a video on what a classical soviet school was like would be REALLY interesting

[@kennan6176]

Pretty interesting to hear about what he thought about his time in elementary and high school as well. I'm not exactly sure how old he was when the soviet union fell though

[@ronenfefer6162]

@@kennan6176 he is old enough I would tell you that!

[@amykathleen2]

I am pretty sure he was joking about the NATO tanks, but I can’t quite decide if he was serious about the AK-47s…

[@amykathleen2]

@@TinLeadHammer I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it. I just can’t tell if he was serious about learning it in school, that’s all.

[@p_serdiuk]

​@@amykathleen2 We still learned rifle shooting in the 00's in Ukraine. Holdover from the Soviet times, now with an entirely new meaning behind it.

[@David_Bernstein]

As a child raised in the USSR in the 80s, I related so much to the build up to Brilliant (math classes and Soviet shenanigans at school). Made me laugh so much, thank you. Your channel is amazing - very rich in information delivered in a perfect mix of humor and attention to details. I enjoy your videos very much - thank you and keep it up!

[@danielescobar7618]

If i only had a shred of the confidence of this guy... He thought he was not only so good at it, but that everyone else turning the other direction were wrong.

[@jt2473]

The black & white animation and explanation of what happened is FANTASTIC! In 1968, I was flying a helicopter in South Vietnam in broad daylight. We got disorientated for about 15 minutes. When I saw two mountain peaks I recognized on my map, I realized we were about 2 miles inside Cambodia. I yelled to the crew.... We're The Fukarwi !

[@nextworld9176]

Great F Troop reference. Thx

[@smallfoot5689]

i would die for a book that has all these fascinating stories of soviet military mishaps

[@andrewthomson]

It would be a library, not a book lol

[@ManiaMac1613]

And these are just the incidents we know about; there's probably countless more even worse incidents that remain classified to this day.

[@rjmun580]

No need to die for it - that would be the Russian way. Simply Google "Russian military accidents" and Wiki will provide.

[@ivanstrydom8417]

What a superb video. No idiotic click bait what so ever and a highly informative and well delivered video. You have a new subscriber sir.

[@mikedrop4421]

No matter how powerful and scary a military is it will always be staffed with human beings doing human things. Deep down we are all the same, knuckleheads. Glad you're safe. Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦 🇺🇲 💛 💙 💛 💙

[@naamadossantossilva4736]

Yeah,but western armies are better at correcting this.

[@rebel6301]

We're all a little stupid. It makes us connected.

[@AndreiDorofeev]

@@xogeneral1512 who the fuck cares, no he does know

[@sirkermitthefirstoffrogeth9622]

@@xogeneral1512 And the same guy that doesn't know the realities of the war.

[@mikedrop4421]

@@xogeneral1512 says the guy commenting on a Ukrainian youtube channel thus helping his engagement. Keep insulting me I'm fine with it.

[@krautyvonlederhosen]

The three stooges join the Air Force.

[@yungcaco1443]

This is the most Soviet story I’ve ever heard lol. Thanks for making this 👌🏻

[@TehCheezMan]

This is amazing and one of my all time favorite videos you have shared. It's incredible; both the inventions of mankind, and mankind's tenancy to improperly use those inventions.

[@janomomo153]

I love how casually it was mentioned that they missiled some random-ass boat in the black sea

[@090giver090]

It was a simulated attack during an exercise. So dudes on whatever barge they were "attacking" may not even notice they have been "sunk" (as ASM launches are usually conducted from stand-off distances)

[@kenspencer9895]

Quite funny indeed. And I have a story, too. Back in the mid '70s, I was stationed at Ft. Campbell, KY. Our company was doing a Survival, Escape and Evasion exercise. The group I was with got hot and tired (it was summer) and did not want to evade -- just go to towards the rally point and see if they make it. Chason and I got a map and a Lensatic compass from the team as we wanted to run the exercise realistically. Well, there was mostly forest with small patches of open terrain and the compass wasn't working, so we eventually navigated by map. We saw some hills to our right, and a graveyard to the left with a little dirt road running by it. We looked at the map and, yes! We knew where we were and headed out towards the rally point. After walking a LONG ways, I decided to put a stick in the ground and see what direction the shadow indicated. We had been walking 90 degrees off from what we should have been. Looking at the corner of the map, it showed a printing date of 1950 . . .Obviously we had seen some other graveyard and hills. After going in the correct direction, we got to the rally point. We were almost the last to arrive. True story.

[@serial_designation_victoria]

It’s always a good day when paper skies uploads

[@wills.9807]

Along with this amazing story - that was one of the best seques into an ad for Brilliant I've ever heard. They should flip you a bonus for quality work!

[@firstletterofthealphabet7308]

With all the stories that I’ve been, I’d had the impression that the Tu-22 was immediately thrown into the garbage, paving way for the Tu-22M, but apparently not as it would seem.

[@MsZeeZed]

Tu-22 has to have an extra letter because otherwise its an 60 year old aircraft, not the sprightly 55 year old aircraft it is.

[@andreimihailov671]

@@MsZeeZed tu-22 and tu-22m are two different aircraft and no its not 55 m3 is 40 y/o and is a newly build air frame m3m is 3 y/o aircraft and is moded m3 the whole story of th 22m and how it comes to existence is very interesting and some of it is because of kruschev ICBMs love and I quote " ICBMs would render the bomber obsolete " why do you think that tu-22/22m are rocket carrier's

[@cmendla]

Your narration is simply brilliant

[@Mike-dh5ur]

I was like: "They probably got lost somewhere above Caspian Sea and wound up in Iran instead of Uzbekistan or something" Video: "(...) instead of Belarus" Me: "Soviet Russia wouldn't be the Soviet Russia if it was understandable error"

[@u.v.s.5583]

The Belorussians have overnight turned muslim!

[@090giver090]

@@u.v.s.5583 And grew mountains by the sheer willpower of the people.

[@u.v.s.5583]

@@090giver090 All hail the willpower of the socialistic proletariat!

[@robinjuhl6808]

I realize we all hate the need for an advertisement. But the segue from math for navigators to math & other courses was just so smooth & painless... Well done!😀

[@soham6649]

23:46 That has to be one of longest seque into brilliant I've ever watched.

[@John514s]

4:26 - My country has mandatory military service. The same phenomenon happens here: Every time a high ranking officer was scheduled to visit, we would pretend to be busy maintaining our equipment and vehicles. There was times where I applied oil to the same vehicle for over 20 minutes, a job that normally takes around 2 minutes, just to look busy. The best one was when the 3rd highest in command of the army visited us. We sat down to eat but were not allowed to start eating until he arrived, just so we would be busy eating when he saw us. However it seems like the guy knew the trick and was purposely for almost 1.5 hours. Seeing as the time was getting late, it would be suspicious if we were still eating, so we were allowed to eat and then went back to pretending to be busy with maintenance.

[@alloutlife88]

I'm always looking forward to watching your videos, very high quality and very entertaining! You're doing an excellent job :)

[@Chef1077]

This video is so good I’m currently watching it for the second time a couple of months after first viewing. You do such a great job of making the telling of this story really engaging and entertaining. Love you work.

[@apollodash5912]

Hindsight is always 20/20 and harsh. As someone who grew up flying archaic nav systems and is now spoiled by GPS/INS systems flying heavy cargo all over the world I completely feel for this crew! The whole comedy of errors in this event is just uncanny though!

[@bhamou]

What an exceptional story... And how well it was narrated. Thank you very much!

[@thejudgmentalcat]

Just discovered this channel 👍 "imitation of restless activity" perfectly describes how I did some of my previous jobs 😂

[@chinmaylimaye4427]

I must say this was an amazing narration of a hilariously serious incident. Loved it.

[@superbob1001]

I’m absolutely loving your channel. I also grew up in the last decade of the USSR in Ukraine and my father, and his friends, also served in the Air Force (far East Long Range Aviation). Your narrative is wonderful, it is as if I’m hearing these stories around a dinner table with “stopochki” of vodka with my dad.

[@FJVP74]

What a great story to tell to all of our grandchildren. The amount of coincidences is staggering. In the end, after the ordeal was over and both plane and crew were safely back in the USSR, the most important fact is that there weren't any fatalities. Unfortunately, the fact of being so close to the magnetic north was a everyday thing, military officials didn't really learned that lesson and the shooting down of a Korean commercial flight that was out of route by some degrees, did not have such a happy ending, leading to the death of all the passengers and crew. If all of the money spent by the world governments in weapons and war could be applied to end famine and give education, the world would be a better place. Thanks for sharing!!

[@frbe0101]

I really love that slow build to the ad at the end, really a great sales pitch there.

[@burchtylerm]

This is altogether one of the best KZbin videos I’ve seen in a long time. Your content just gets better and better, and the combination of your presentation, editing, research, and the fact that you bring stories that the west would otherwise never hear makes me click immediately whenever I see a new video. I’ve got to hop on your patreon, because consuming this for free feels like a crime!

[@keb785]

In 1983, after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, many officers in the Iranian air defense were replaced by a new crew that did not have enough knowledge of how to operate radar. There have been many reports that, since the new crew was not familiar with the equipment, they caused catastrophic mistakes by targeting Iranian-owned aircraft. The problem still exists, as recently, a crew of a Russian-made Tor air defense system mistakenly downed an Iranian F14 in southern Iran. Additionally, another Russian-made Tor system downed a Ukrainian passenger aircraft over Tehran. In both incidents, it is reported that the air defense officers made mistakes in defining target altitude, the flight path, and many other errors.

[@autopathos]

It really is a feat of humankind to be so damned good at relatively efficient mediocrity, controlled negligence and other oxymorons I can't be bothered to come up with as the Soviet Armed Forces in general and the Soviet military aviation in particular. Great content!

[@petercarter9034]

Great videos, really interesting, professional and informative

[@danko6582]

Thanks! This was original and super funny. I can't wait for the next.

[@karm42yn]

This story would make for a good comedy film. Thoroughly enjoyed your presentation and I giggled like a kid throughout.

[@SebSN-y3f]

Thank you very much! It's a great story. When you think about what can go wrong... Hopefully not on a more serious matter. Thank you also for the beautiful conclusion. Good old Soviet culture.... I think it's great that it's looked at in such a detached way and with humour, because that's how you can learn something from it. Madness and mistakes happen everywhere. But where obedience replaces thinking... Why do so many inventions come from areas where freer thinking and more open communication is possible? I myself grew up under Stalinism in East Germany and I think I know what you mean. One thing always impressed me: While in the GDR there was also the stupid Prussian stupor, the military system of the Soviet armed forces was much more efficient. With us, all the plans were always neatly fulfilled and yet at least two armoured personnel carriers were left behind on every exercise. With our Soviet brothers in arms, some things looked improvised but worked. I was present at a roll call of a Red Army unit for the 70th anniversary of the October Revolution. While we German soldiers had to follow a very precise pattern when we stepped out to receive a certificate, so that everything looked neat and tidy, the Soviets simply pushed their way through quickly. And their eyes practically fell out at this "disorder". Even when the teams were chatting and joking at the parade, which was strictly forbidden in our country. But when the Soviets then marched past their flag and their superiors, which they did so exactly, my mouth fell open in amazement. In the Red Army, too, everyone had to greet only their direct superiors and not everyone else. It was completely different in the GDR army, where everyone and everything of higher rank had to be saluted. Thank you very much for this cool video. And all the best to you, your family and your friends! PS: another difference was that in the German army non-commissioned officers stood between the soldiers and officers. So it happened that as a non-commissioned officer I was taken along as an interpreter by a senior officer when he met with his Soviet colleagues (after the roll call mentioned above). The Red Army officers were visibly uncomfortable that a rank like me was allowed to sit at the table. Perhaps also because there was alcohol? In any case, it was the only time I was officially drunk on duty: with beer. When the vodka came, I was asked to leave (but then everyone was very friendly). And we know: vodka replaces every dictionary... :) PPS: PPS: what is also funny: When there were already the first calculators, our math teacher always preached to us that it would always remain necessary to be able to use the slide rule (NL ka). This would never be replaced by calculators. And although this is probably a typical example of professional blindness, he was our most popular teacher. Always super correct and with a very fine sense of humor. In Germany they also say: Humor is when you laugh anyway. That's definitely better than destructive anger. By the way, I once found one of the first pilot textbooks of the USSR on the Internet. Maybe you know it: the one with a boy in many funny drawings. Super well explained. Well, it's not for nothing that you always had such great pilots! :) (Many in the West are unaware of the long history of Russian aviation and space travel. And why the Soviets, unlike others, resent being so associated with the V2. For one thing, most knowledge is with von Braun went to the Western Allies and on the other hand the SU had already successfully launched liquid fuel rockets before the war.That was before Korolev, like other talented scientists and technicians, was sent to one of these special gulags.Where he first got out to the German To be able to inspect rocket technology. And: the father of Chinese space travel, Qian Xuesen, was a scholar at a US university at the time of end ww2 and therefore also interrogated von Braun and colleagues as an expert.)

[@simonmcowan6874]

Brilliant, stumbled across this, love the animation, well done, love the "look busy, the boss is here".😅

[@Humongous_Pig_Benis]

Never explain by incompetence what can be explained by _sovietness._

[@ZGryphon]

_A Series of Unfortunate Events,_ Soviet aviation edition, Volume XVI. I love this channel. :)

[@Tyrs_Finox]

This is the most amazing series of minor screw ups and huge coincidences! Really fun story thanks for bringing it to us. Also, great segue into the ad.

[@Lightning613]

How does the old saying go? “It’s better to be lucky than good.”

[@stanleylaham8932]

I have to say that this incredible event is the perfect confirmation of the old adage that truth can be way stranger than fiction. 😊❤

[@johnecoapollo7]

They should make a Hot Shots!-style comedy satire about the shenanigans of the 203rd, it would be glorious

[@jwalantSinghChouhan]

Amazing content brother! Wonderfull story telling 👌👌

[@whitemouse2460]

Thanks a lot for that thumbnail. My four babushkas accidentally saw it and gave me a two-hour talk about swear words being bad.

[@alanjameson8664]

Boy, that really puts Wrong Way Corrigan in the shade!

[@mattshellback9258]

Absolute masterpiece, What a well edited video and gripping story. Bravo Zulu!

[@jeffreybaker4399]

I love this man's videos, information and humor, but I must admit the way he ties into his sponsor may be the best I've ever seen.

[@LostShipMate]

You should really do a video on your experiences in Soviet schools, it sounds interesting.

[@aslamstudio558]

Its always worth seeing a new Paper Skies video uploaded

[@alastairward2774]

The earthquake was the most incredible of all those coincidences.

[@LiamDennehy]

This is HILARIOUS! Thanks, for telling the story, and clearly you've done your research. Well done!

[@ActionPanda-g5n]

Such an amazing story and so very well told. You have an excellent grasp of English, comrade.

[@queasylagumo-s7j]

One of the smoothest transitions from the subject at hand to the product commercial.

[@thomaslove6494]

I love this channel so damn much.... The best part was the plane accidentally using electronic jamming on the friendly fighters trying to shoot them😅

[@JonHuhnMedical]

The animated pages looked fantastic! Whoever did that work for you has a keen eye for subtle movement.