Missed by a Nanosecond
by
Robert West

These photos are of one of our 390th TFS F-4D's wings that got holed by a 37mm round at the leading edge slat. I took them within minutes of the planes landing, so they show the damage as it was. The pilot had just gotten out of the cockpit, still visibly shaken. And understandingly so, there are missiles still on the rack. The 37mm round had missed the missile, an AIM-9 Sidewinder, by inches which - given the speed of the aircraft and the speed of the round - translates to a nanosecond of a different scenario.