Redneck Tale # 59 - Is this a missile attack?

Our comrade in writing, "CajunRooster," presented us with a very interesting article about that mysterious contrail spotted in California. CR says that the contrail was that produced when a Navy Hellfire missile was shot off, more or less in error, during a class session of Navy guys learning all about those missiles. He contends that the firing was unintentional, and that he has inside information about the deal.

Having spent lots of time in the military myself, I would certainly grant "CajunRooster" a lot more than the benefit of my belief that he is more than likely correct in his reporting. My goodness, just a few of my own observations of recruits on the rifle range, of military police shooting themselves in the foot, of unconscious guard dogs guarding the flightline, and of JATO bottles so tightly secured to aircraft that the planes to which they were "temporarily attached" came close to crashing - well, after a time someone like me comes to an understanding that half of the GI's with whom I was surrounded could have killed me had I given them an unobserved chance at me.

No matter my confidence that "CajunRooster" knew what he knew, I propose that "his" contrail (see the first photo which came from his article) and my own contrails (in the second photo) have many similarities. All are single bore,that is, none were produced by multi-engine aircraft or by rockets having side by side thrusters.

In the first photograph, it can be seen that the view is of a retreating object. Whatever the object was, it was going away from us and its place of origin was behind and below us. Supposedly the photo was made from a helicopter that just happened to be in the area.

Are 3 missiles (known) better than 1 missile (unidentified)?

Conversely, my photo showing multiple contrails is a view of contrail sources that are advancing toward the camera. They, too, are ascending in the dawn sky. How do I know that? I watched them as they advanced. What may be another of the contrails is quite low - almost horizontal, but it may also be only a cloud.

One difference in those photos is not clear from just looking at the pictures. It is that "Cajun Rooster's" photo was just recently produced. I made my Arizona contrails picture way back on February 7, 1997 when I was on the road heading toward Parker in the early dawn.

Yet another difference is that I was the person who made the second photo. I really do know what produced "my" contrails. All were from the single jet engines of military fighter aircraft taking off from distant Luke Air Force Base which is located just to the west of Phoenix, Arizona.

None the less - my envy is that "Cajun Rooster" had insider information, so he mentioned, and that the release of a missile when it was not supposed to be released would not surprise me in the least. Click on "Cajun Rooster's" name under the first photo to get to his article on Hubpages.