"Keith Willshaw" wrote...

ISTR that expert machine gunners in the USN had a hell of
a job shooting down small fragile Japanese aircraft flying
right over their heads after dropping torpedoes.

More over lots of highly motivated soldiers from WW1 onwards
have fire their rifles at aircraft attacking them without much
success for the most part

Forgive me if I'm a little sceptical about the idea of snipers shooting
down 747's


The discussion was regarding hitting the target, not shooting down the airplane.
However...

What is the purpose of terrorism? Maybe to instill widespread terror in the
public?

First, the 747 is significantly larger than a WWII torpedo bomber. Second,
immediately after takeoff or on the landing approach it is flying a predictable
path at a relatively slow speed. Third, the terrorists, who will likely be just
as expert and motivated as the WWII gunners, will not be under attack when they
try something like this. Finally, they will have the luxuries of a prolonged
planning period and of picking the time, place, and aspect angle for the attack.

The probability of hitting a 747 under those conditions is significantly higher
than that of hitting a torpedo bomber. Further, they need not "shoot down" the
airliner to accomplish their purpose, but "only" cause enough visible damage so
that their presence is made known.