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Comment by peteradio | Hacker News Reader

Imagine dogfighting in a Cessna! I imagine the arms to be pilot wielded colt 45s and first officer to be a jug of whiskey.

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One of the last aircraft shot down in the European theater of WWII was a Piper Cub that shot down a Fieseler Storch with a .45 pistol. They landed next to the crashed Storch, captured the pilot, and treated his injuries. Then handed him over to the Russians, who I am sure also treated him in accordance with the provisions of the Geneva convention.

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/that-time-a-usaaf-piper-l-4h...

Perhaps in accordance with the spirit, but the Geneva convention was in 1949, so those provisions didn't exist yet.

There were several Geneva Conventions prior to the 1949 one; the "Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" was signed in 1929.

https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/gc-pow-1929

The current Geneva Convention was in 1949, but the original Geneva Convention dates back to 1864.

Of course, the previous poster is noting that the USSR blithely disregarded the conventions for others' POWs as well as its own: most returning soldiers were considered traitors to the Motherland and summarily executed or sent to the Gulag to die more slowly.

if you like that idea and science fiction, see the second book in the Greatwinter trilogy by Sean McMullen (read them in order, though)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_A-37_Dragonfly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_O-2_Skymaster

https://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/ac-208-combat-c...

Love this description lol

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