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• The s on of a w artime B·24 navigator , ROBERT R ' B OOM' POWELL grew up on Lon g Island , New York. ...
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• The s on of a w artime B·24 navigator , ROBERT R ' B OOM' POWELL grew up on Lon g Island , New York. He h ims e lf saw c om bat i n the A-4 an d the RA-5C Vi gilant e over Vietnam, an d rema ined a frontli n e p ilot into t he 1970 s. Po w ell 's fi na l flying post in the Navy w a s as an a d versary pilot with a s qu ad r on b a sed at NA$ Oc e ana. Follow ing retiremen t w it h the rank of com man der, Powell has fl own both busine s s j ets and com mercial a i r liners. He h a s h ad numerous artic les p u b l ished i n aviation magazine s, and his first b o ok was a b iography of Must ang ace Ben Drew , Be n Drew - the Katzenjammer Ace. Po w e ll lives with h is wife and two large poodl e s i n Virgin ia B ea ch, Vir g in ia.
J IM LAURIER is a n ative of New England , gr o w ing up i n New Hampshire an d M a s s ac hus e tts. He has b e en d r awing since he cou ld hold a pencil, and throughout h i s life he h a s w orked i n m any m ediums, c rea t i ng a rtwork on a variety of SUbjec ts. J im prefers to paint with oils o n linen or c an vas, an d also u s e s a c om p uter to c reate digital illu strations o f aircra ft and armoured f ighting vehicle s. He c om b ines h is love of history with h i s flying experienc e s to c reate some of the m o st real ist ic an d historic ally acc u rate a viat ion p aintings seen toda y. •
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OSPREY
COMBAT AIRCRAFT· 51
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RA-5C VIGILANTE UNITS IN COMBAT
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SERIES ED ITOR : TONY HOLME S
OSPREY
COMBAT
AIRCRAFT • 51
-----.....! ROBERT R'BOOM' POWELL
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Front cover On 1 March 1971 , It Cd r Barry Gast rock a nd It Emy Conrad , crewing a n RA·5C Vigilante of RVAH -6, took a rema rkable phot ograph by accident w hile perfo rm ing a reconnais s ance mis sion over No rth Vietnam from USS Kitty Haw k (CVA-63). Their planned rout e cros s ed over itself so as to a llow t he crew to get co m prehensive ph otogra ph ic coverage of t he Song Ca Rive r. This a rea was well ins id e th e S AM envelopes a ro und t he city of Vi nh. Head ing south, th e Vigila nte appea red back over t he rive r juncture at Hung Nghia les s t han four mi nutes after crossing th e s a m e village in a westerly di rectio n. AAA had been s pora dic on t he jet's first pass over the a rea, a nd there had been no mi s sile wa rnings w hen Lt Conrad s a w a fl ash in his viewfinder, heard a 'w hum pf' a nd was thrown aga inst his seat -st ra ps. The coast was not far away, a nd the crew s oo n went 'fee t wet' a nd s ubseq ue nt ly ca rried o ut a routine landing back a boa rd Kitty Hawk. A s ho rt w hile later in the s hip's intellig ence ce nt re, a photointerpreter cranked the s ix inch-wide film from one ma s sive s pool to an other acros s the light-table and st o pped in s urprise. Perfectly framed by the Vigilante' s vertical camera w as an SA -2 s urface-a ir-m iss ile (S AM) st ill under boost. The cre w was called in t o see the near miss. Since there was no t errain visible in the fram e, th ey assumed the S AM pas sed beside t he RA-5C as Lt Cdr Gastrock banked hard t o head for home . Knowing the foc al length of th e ca mera a nd the s ize of an SA-2, the photog ra m meters com put ed that t he m is s ile had pas s ed just 104 ft away from the Vigilante's belly. No one knows w hy it did not detonate (Co ver artwork b y M ark Postlethw aite)
First publ ished in G reat Britain in 2004 by O sprey Pu blishi ng l sr Floo r Elms CO LI n, C hapel W o
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T he deployment did not begin well. with three A-6s being lost due to fa ulty bomb fusing in the fi rst month. The maps used to programme the Int ruder's IN S were also discovered to be erro neous, so the RA-5Cs were given the task of photo-map ping North Vietnam to update the system. RVAH - l lost irs com mand ing officer on 20 Jul y. Retu rn ing from a reconn aissance mission over North Vietnam , the crew successfullv , landed back aboard ship. o nly to d iscover that the arresting gear had been set incorrectly and the wire broke. RA-5C BuNo 15 16 19 ran off the deck and into the water. T here was no time to eject, and the pilot . Cd r Valent in Matula, and RAN , Lr C arl Gro nqu ist, were killed on impact. Because of the ai rcraft's size and weight . arresting gear and catapults worked at maximum lim its when operating with the Vigilante, and incorrect se tti ngs remained a problem throughout the jet's caree r. Joh n Smittle was an ensign RAN in RVAH - l on this cruise (after anot her deployment as a RAN , Smittle went th rough pilot training, deployed in Skyhawks and was then a 'Vigi' pilot in RVAH -6), and he remembers fl ying into Ta n Son N hur air base, in South Vietnam , with the squadron XO ro co nfe r at the USAF reconnaissance cent re - the Air Force were operat ing RF-l 0 1 Voodoos. USAF centralised cont rol of intelligence assets would beco me a sore Spot for th e Na vy, as the cen tre's information was usually o ut of date, while on-the-spot intelligence from Vigilantes and IO IC was not co nsidered 'official'. Blue Tree became the designation for reconnaissance m issio ns int o North Vietnam, a nd a new target was added to the Vigilante's list. SA·2 'G uideline' SAM sites had been un der co nstruct ion, a nd in J uly, 196 5 they began launching m issiles against US aircraft. f ilm from the RA-5C 's array of cameras was scru tinised fo r th e d istinctive six-sided SAM sites, while the PEC M located ' Fan Song' guidance radars electronically. The first Vigilante to be shot down in Vietnam , on 16 October 1965, had been search ing for 5A-2 sites when, near Hon Gay, doing G50 knots, BuNo 15 16 15 was h it in the tail by either AAA o r a SAM . After the fl ight cont rols failed the crew, pilot Lr Cdr James Bell and RAN Lr Cdr ' D uffy' H un a n ejec ted and landed near one of the small islands ofT the coast. T hey bot h climbed into their su rvival rafts, but were picked up by fisherme n in sampans and captu red. After repatriation in 1973, Bell to ld of being tied to the sampan's mast , which struck h im as ironic as the night before he had watched the 1946 movie Two YraN Biforr the Mast'. T he next day. th ree F-4 Phanto m lIs from Independencev....ere lost on an Alpha strike against the Thai Nguyen bridge north of H anoi. T he RA-5C
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RVAH ·7 RA-5C BuNo 151629 has its tanks t opped off by a buddy st o reequi pped A-4C of VA-76 durin g CVW-9's com bat deployment aboard Enterpris e i n 1965-66 (M ers k y)
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covering the at rack return ed [Q the carrier unharmed. RVAH -l had taken six aircraft o n th e deploym ent, and their losses we re not replaced. T he sq uad ro n had used flasher pods at nigh t, but gave these lip d ue to sign ifi cant MA. RVAH · l also used both three- and eigh teen-inch pan o ram ic cameras [Q get so me stand-off d istance as the No rt h Vietnamese air defences grew stro nger. Enterprise had been hom e-ported in Norfolk, Virgin ia, across the J ames River from New port N ews Shipb uild ing C orpo ratio n, whe re the first nuclear- powered carrier had been built. In anticipat ion of the gro wing co nfl ict in So uth-e ast As ia, the vessel was transferred to the Pacific Fleet, and it wou ld he based in Alameda, Ca liforn ia. T he carrier cha nged ports via t he war zone , and it did not reach Alameda for nin e mo nths. Fo r the ship's crew , and the m en of C VW-9 , wh ich included RVAH -7, t his meant a long voyage east aro und Africa, across t he Indian O cean and thro ug h the St raits of M alacca to the naval air statio n at C ubi Point , in the Ph il ippines. T im e in pan was sho rt, and when supplies and am m un itio n had bee n loaded , Enterprise headed fo r the T o nkin G ulf, and the newly designated spo t in the ocea n called Yankee Station. T he •Peacemakers' were fa m iliar with Enterprise. havi ng made the fi rst • Vigilante deployment aboard the vessel as VAH -7 flyingA3Js - that 196 2 cru ise to the M editerranean was also th e first for C VAN -6 S and for the F4 H Phantom II. After an interruption of six mont hs for t he C uban Missile C risis, VAH -7 went back o n board once the carrier retu rned to the M ed iterranean , and t hen part icipated in the aro und-t he-wo rld nuclear-powered dem on strat io n voyage. Upo n return ing to NAS Sanford after Operat ion Sea Orbit, the un it rransiri on ed to the RA-SC and was redes ignated RVAH -7 . On Yan kee Station, Enterprise and Independence steam ed side by side for a turno ver of special eq uipment . unexpended ord na nce and, m ost importantly, lessons learned. RVAH -I passed o n its hard-won
knowl edge to IW AH -7.
LANDING ON THE SHIP T he following descriptio n ofl anding o n an aircraft carrier provides a look at wha t Vigilante pilots fa ced at the end of every missio n; ' Usually, the V igilanre fli es into the break alo ne - and fast. Downwind , lower th e flaps to a full 50 degrees, lower the gear and have the RAN check by TV wha t t he indi cato r is saying. T he heavy. A-frame tailhook is
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aga in whe n t h e N o r t h Ko r ea n s sh o t d own an u n ar m ed US N avy
Ee - 12 l su rveillance aircraft o n 15 April 1969 , and RVAH -6 was sent to the Sea of Japan for a second crisis. RVAH -9 aboard Ranger (the ca rr ie r t h e ' P leu rs' h ad b ee n on
du r in g t h e Pueblo c ri s is) joi n ed
The CO of RVAH ·6, Cd r Ed Feeks cong rat ulates It Cdr AI Best (o n the ladde r) after the unit's final flight of th e 1969 WestPac deployment on Enterprise as part of CVW-9. On 16 June 1969, BuNo 15084 1 (se e n here) fl ew three mis sions a nd pas sed 2000 hours flight t im e since its accept a nce by t he Navy - the firs t Vigilante t o d o s o. The black-edged rectangle fo rward of the la dde r w as w here the m ai nte na nce c hief w rote the airc raft 's weig ht fo r the catapu lt crew to com put e t he ir s e ttings ( Wefls) •
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t h em . Th e ' H o o t ers' h ad b een successfully operat ing off Vietnam since the end of November. W hen the cris is over the downin g of the Ee - 12 l subsided Ranger headed home. transferri ng one o f its Vigilantes to RVAH -6 [Q replace the jet lost over Laos . In the To nkin G ul f, meanw hile, RVAH - I I and C YA-63 again played a lone ha nd , being extend ed at sea. W h ile rhe period ofTKo rea began bad ly d ue ro main tenance p roblems, RVAH -6 recovered and ga thered valuable intelligence, before return ing to Vietnam fo r a short seco nd, and last line, period. Six Vigilantes were assigned to t he un it, b u r rhe ship allowed o nly four [0 be on board , and one of these had ro be str uck d own in t he hanga r d eck. T h is was an ea rly indi cation o f the size reduction RVAH un its wou ld suffer in ch c fut ure. T here were two reaso ns w hy fiv e, then four and , towards the end , only th ree RA-5C s were assigned to a sq uad ro n. T he size o f the aero plane (7 6 ft long and a 53·ft wingspan) mad e the Vigilante u npopular on carrier fli gh r d ecks, w he re space was at a p remium . Ad d itionally, m any types o f m aintenan ce req uired rhat the in ternal fuel cans be removed . Because the latter were designed as pan of rhe A-5 weapo ns delivery syste m, they were m ou nted o n rails so that they co uld slid e out w hen released (t he mechanics had a .cree per' o n wheels they co uld rol l back and forth wh ile work ing) . Although easy to d o o n land , such a syste m was impractical o n a ship. w here the jet had to have its tai l, plus the length o f the can and space to wo rk , o ver the deck. Since mos t carrier-based aircra ft are parked wi th their aft end s sticking o ut over the water an d (he ir main w heels at t he edge o f the d eck, removing the cans fro m a Vigilante took over a large piece o f fl igh t d eck real estate. The seco nd reaso n was a lack of RA-5C s. e RAW - I co ns ta ntly had to swap aeroplanes am o ng the sq uad ro ns in an effo rt to balance d eploym en t needs, m aintenan ce and overhaul req uiremen ts. Since t he jet had proven itself a valuable asset as the war in Sou th-cast Asia expanded , NAA buil t 36 new RA· 5C s at irs C o lu m bus plan r. Even these were no t eno ugh to meet all the requirements, and every 'Vig i' lost in co m bat, or otherw ise. mad e the situa tio n mo re diffi cult .
Enterprise returned (Q Yankee Station, It Cdr D eb oxtel After
had a misadven ture. H e recalls; 'T he sh ip left, and 'T iny" (I t W ayne Mu lho lland ) and I stayed in Cu bi to fl y o ne of our jets, which was having its engines cha nged. We went to the a -club on top ofthe h ill and played bingo after di nner. D arned , if we did n' t win a boule of C h ivas Regal - a gallon bottle! \Vhen the aeroplane was read y, we wrapped up the Scotch really well (Q take back to the ship. Illegal or not, no way we were leavi ng it beh ind. 'O n the way, "T iny's" navigation system "d umped" and then our T ACAN fa iled. Solid und ercast below us. We started having oxygen problems, so I d ropped through a hole in the cloud deck. We were over H ain an Island! O ver the radio, I heard a broken call abou t M iG s laun ching. I looked and could see the silver shapes lifting off. I [limed fas t, lit the bu rners, pushed over and got to 1.3 mach on the way sout h. A coup le of Navy f -4s from Enterprise passed us going the oth er way. ' f ortunately, other than a good scare , nothi ng came ofit - unlike some of the other poor guys that fl ew over that C h inese island by mista ke. And, yes, the C h ivas tasted grea t.' Life in the Vigil ante squad rons did not always run smoothly. Uni ts are, after all, not just aeroplanes, but people roo . RVAH -7 had fi nished a de ployment to the M ed iterranean (losing BuN o 147854 along the way) and"was on its rum -a rou nd cycle at NAS Alban y when the XO tried to loop a Vigilam c -.« diffi cult manoeuvre, which required plenty o f al tit ude and a supersonic emry speed. T he Vigilante (Bulc o 149287) departed controlled fl ight a nd the crew ejected. The errant execut ive officer was swiftly replaced . Normally, a new Executive O fficer wo uld be foun d , but at [he same time the co m ma nd ing officer quit fl ying, citing severe personal problems. T he unit also had other problems, and deployment on Constellation was less than two months away. Lr C dr Art Skelly (of the inverted over H aiphong adven tu re] became the senior officer. Cd r Bob Do naldson had recently retur ned from Wes/Pac, where he had been the CO of RVAH - 13 for the cr uise on America. H e had a reputat ion as a good leader, and the reco nnaissance wing commodore (C RAW- I) drafted him to take over and straighten out RVAH -7 . As a co nd ition, C d r D onald son wok along II Cd r D an Rowley, who had been in A3Js, a nd was [hen a RA N instructo r in RVAH-3. T heir adven tu re began when all their gear coul d no r be ta ken to San D iego in time. O nce underway, and he had had a chance to lea rn who was do ing what , Do naldson d uly replaced the Ma intenance Officer and [he XO.
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became a three-star admiral after directing the N ay)' T est C enter at Patuxent River.
For some of th e 'Vigi' n uggets their fi rst mi ssio ns wo uld be over
North Vietnam during Linebacker. O ne such individual was Lrfjg) Paul Habel (a q uasi-nugget. he had spent a year insrrucring in the same training un it that he had grad uated fro m) , who recalled his first m issio n
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with RVAH -l l; 'It was to Mu G ia Pass, way lip the back side of North Vietnam one of the upper starts of the Ho C hi Minh T rail. So down we go from 15,000 Ft! I' m thin king "Into the valley of da rkness ro d e the 6 00" , Bur it was blue skies and really p rett y scenery - looked like the Smokey Mou ntains. All I kn ew was that I wanted to go as fast as that "Vigi" would carry me. I put my left foor lip o n the th rottles to push them beyo nd max burner - put a permanent bend in the th rottle levers. Well, nor literally, but that's what I was th in king. ' Now remember o ur " H eavy T h ree" trai ni ng - "yo u have to ge t a visua l recce fo r the d eb rief ' - even tho ug h we had 4 0 0 cameras running, pointing in every di rection. So I no ted the valley floo r- it had ten mi llion pock-marks. Light brown bomb crate rs - everyt hing else was lush ju ngle green. This was the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and US forces had dropped 200 bill io n Mk 80 series bombs on it. I'd have bet the iro n content there was greate r than in the M asabi Range in M in nesota. T here was no fl ak - o r I d id n't see any - or t he gunners weren't calibrated for the Vigi's speed, o r so I had been bri efed - t his was my first co mba t hop - and our "defe nsive" eyes, rhe fi ghter esco rt, d idn 't call any. By co m ba t standards it was, after th e fact, a mi lk run .' RVA H -1 3 's t r(jg) Russ Ca m pbell went to Vinh on his firs t co m bat fli gh t. H e had the volume o n his ALQ warn ing syste m set so high , a nd so many f ire-control radars emitted, that he d id nor hear any rad io calls while over the beach . Back on Enterprise, w hen he learned th is, C am pbell worried that he may have missed so me verbal warn ings. Erni e Ch ristensen, a former BlueA ngeb d emonstrat ion pilot wh o had been his esco rt in a Phantom II , said, ' D o n' t worry, kid , they could n't have hit yo u, you were all ove r the sky'. D urin g his fi rst tr ip near heavily d efend ed H aiphon g, RVA H ~ G ' s Lt(j g) W es R utl ed ge had the esco rt ing F-4 pilo t ca ll, "Field Goal" flight , cease burner so I can keep up'. Rutledge rapidly repl ied , ' N o-no, not now'. On 7 M ay 197 2, two days before Linebacker officially began , Cdr Ron l'olfer and Lt(jg) Joe Kernan were in the first Vigilante to be lost due to ene my act ion since March 19 69. Cdr Po lfer had comp leted two tou rs and 20 0 m issio ns as a Phantom II pilo t, before becom ing the XO o f RVAH -7 on Kitty Hawk. T heir m issio n was BDA o n a t ruck park alongside th e D rago n's Jaw Bridge near Thanh H oa. Flying at 600 knots and 4 500 fr, they were hit by heavy AM and ejected from their flamin g RA-5C (BuNo 15 1618). Both men were cap tured and released with the
RVAH·11 Vigila ntes pe rform s o me c lose form ation wo rk w it h F-4Js fro m VF-92 . Flyin g off Constellation o n 10 Ma y 1972, VF· 92 a nd VF·96 s ho t down s e ve n MiGs between them . The le ad RA·5 C in this s hot , Ru No 156609, lo st it s fue l cans d uring a ca t s hot fro m e VA-64 o n 21 Ma y 1973 a nd the RVAH·12 crew had t o eje ct afte r losing cont rol of the jet. The s e co nd Vi gilant e in th e formation, Ru No 15661 0, was s t ricke n in Rot a, Spain, o n 3 1 Oct o be r 1978 pres uma bly a ft e r a he avy landing . It w as deployed w it h RVAH-1 2 aboa rd Sa ratoga at th e t ime, the unit co nd uct ing th e Vig ila nt e 's very la st Medit e rran e an c ruise (EBAL)
last group of PoWs eight months later. Cdr Polfer resu med his career as the CO of RVAH-6. and Joe Kernan later became Mayor of South Bend Ind iana, and then the Lieutenant Governor of l ndiana. June 1972 saw a massive pullout of US troops from South Viet nam. In the North , the air war continued hot and heavy. Fl ying with the 'S moking T igers' of RVAH -I from Saratoga , the tactical crew of LCDR C huck Smith and Lt(jg) Larry Ku nz became the pen ult imate Vigilante A view of the notorious Thanh Hoa to be lost in South-cast Asia. O n an earlier mission over North Vietnam , bridge being bombed . During their Smith had looked down at his IN S readouts o nly to see the steering bar debriefs , attack pilots w o uld pegged to the side and distance at over 200 miles, instead of the next normally s a y that th e target w as rarger. " Kooner'", he asked on the interco m, 'where am I?' Kurtz' reply obscured in s moke a nd d ust . And the smoke and dust was the re ason became a classic. 'Well, yo u' re eight feet in from of me, going faster than w hy Vigilante pilots had to wait ten hell . . . and I'm working on the rest' . t o fifteen minutes befo re goi ng in t o The sailors in the maintenance department added the nicknames th ey carry out post-strike photog ra phy had for this colourful pilot/RAN combinat ion below their normal names I Wattayl on the side ofHuNo 15661 6. Smith became ' Srnilin' Jack', after the old co mic book hero pilot, and Kunz, ' BD T'. H e claimed it was taken from the sq uadron's insi gnia, and stood for ' Big D ead ly T iger' , bur in reality it It Cdr Chuck Smith had both his stood for ' Big Dum b T exan '. name and his nickn am e - ' S m ilin' Jack', after the old co m ic book hero T heir next adventure was not a happy one. O n 7 J une, during a - applied beneath the forward reconnaissance of the ancho rages in th e island s where foreign merchant cockpit of BuN o 156616. He and his ships moored to offload their cargo into li gh ters for tra nsfer into RAN, It(jg llarry Kunz, nicknamed H ai phong, their RA -5C was skewered by a SAM. C oming in at 200 ft and ' BOT' were serving with RVAH-1 on Saratoga at the time. On 7 J une high speed over the To nkin Gu lf, Smi th had just popped up to 3000 ft for 1972, their 'Vigi' w as literall y -rhe photo run when the ALQ gear warned of a missile launch . Evasive s kew e re d by a SAM a nd the y w ere manoeuvres left and right were to no avail, and the SA-2 went into and forced to e ject over Ha iphong Harbour (Sm i t h ) through the fuselage. The missile did not explode or, as Smith states, ' I would not be here telling the story. ' T he starboard eng ine lost power immediately. Smith turned for deep water, and as he lit the afterbu rner on the other engine it also fla med out. Elect rical power went and the fli ght controls froze. T he crew ejected a half-m ile southeast of the city and land ed 200 hund red yards apart in (he water between th e \.l \\1\ \ \\ \ " .~ '!.\l\l\\ islands. Their F-4 escort (fl own by a Slll\.1J. H t l USA F pilot on exchange d uty) reported (hem down, and the A-7 E Co rsair II ResCA P from VA-37 • G/fOSS 1fT ' Bulls' began bomb ing and strafi ng the shore gunners. T wo SH -3 Sea
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Kin gs of H e -? (call-signs ' Big Mother 66' and '67') arrived and snatched Smi th fro m th e wa ter. The SH-3's mini-gun was fi ring inches fro m his face as he hung in the hoist. A para- rescue swim mer leaped ro assi st K u n z , b u t h e jum p ed fro m too gr e a t a h ei g h t a n d co lla psed a lun g 0 11 im pact with th e wat er. Ku n z swa m o ver a nd hel ped h is ' rescuer' into the sling, before he roo was hoisted aboard.
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The gunfi re from bot h sides d id not stop until the SH-3s left the area 50 mi nures after the eject io ns. RVAH-11 's RA-5C BuNo 156605 departs Co nstella t ion's bow ca t o ne
on 25 April 1972. The unit, a lo ng w it h the re st of CVW.g. w a s participat ing in Operation Fr eedom Train at the tim e, w hich w as in turn r epla ced b y Linebacker 1o n 9 M ay (M er sky)
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T he following day when Ku nz learned a not her RA N in the squad ron had turned in his wings, he angrily sa id to Smith , ' H ey, wasn't it you and me t hat got shot down?' By O ctober th e air war against t he Nort h was won. Mun itions were nor gcn ing inro the country. M iG s had been down ed in record n umbers (eight o n 10 May alo ne), and the survivors were doing little fl ying because of a lack of fuel. Pilots going over H aiphong and H anoi repo rted virtually no oppos ition - the enemy was Out of am m unition an d out ofSM 1s. But then the politicians and d iplomats took over. Ln one ofthose moves fightin g men cannot understand , President N ixon o rdered a bombing halt to show th e N orth Vietna mese negotiators in Paris 'good fa ith '. As with previous halts, the No rth Vietnamese pretended to honour the settlement , while all t he while restock ing and rearmi ng. T he int ransigence of the leaders in H an oi forced the US ro resum e the bom bing - and resume it with a vengeance. B-52s att acked military targets throughout the coumry. includi ng some inside the H anoi an d H aiphong city limi ts. T he II days of the 'C hristmas Ca m paign' were the fiercest period of air fighting in histo ry. Fifteen of the giant, eightcngined bombers were down ed by SAM s. but by the new year any wo rthwhi le target had been destroyed . T he weathe r rwo days befo re C hristmas was poor, and a stri ke group from America d iverted to the south wh ile the RVAH -6 Vigilante an d its escortin g F-4J fro m VM FA-333 went north along the coas tal islands on its seco ndary missi on . I ZA ~ 5 C BuN o 156623, call-sign ' Ficldgoal 603 ' , was flown by un it C O , Cd r Jim Thom pson, with RAN Lr Em y Co nrad. VM FA-333 'T riple T rey' was the on ly Phanto m ll -equipped US M ar ine C orps squad ron to dep loy to Vietnam aboa rd a carrier, and ' Fieldgoal 603 's' esco rt was 'Sham roc k 2 10' flown by un it C O Lr Col Jo hn K Cochran and his RIO M aj H S Ca rr. H eading east at 2900 ft and 48 0 knots near the island of Danh D o La. Cd r T hompson saw the Phantom II take a direct hit from an 85 mm AM shell. T he F-4 p itched straight down as the crew ejected , and at that speed and alt itude, both men were in the water in seconds . Coc hran and Carr were alive, although badly battered by the ejection. T he gun ners on shore imm ediately open ed fi re on the survivors, so the Vigilante began maki ng low passes in an effort to draw the gunners'
atren rio n away from the men in the water. As Conrad descri bed it; 'O n so me passes I co u ld sec the face o f th e gu n ne r on th e quad 23 mm as he was trying (0 track us. W e were so close and m oving so fa st that the gu n was ab o ut 45 d egrees beh ind h is eyes. C o ntact was at tem p ted o n guard channel w ith the d owned crew. No voice was h eard, but we did h ear an emergency beeper. I kept tell ing them (0 swim so uth , and that help was co m ing. T he fl ak, large and small was heavy. I co u ld also see sm all arms firin g along th e beach.' H earing all the ch at ter on guard, a C o rsair II from VA-86 abo ard Saratoga arri ved . Alt ho ugh the jet was rigged as a tanker, and t he p ilot had on ly his ca n no n, he made strafi ng run s o n the beach where the small arm s fi re was comin g from . Anoth er A-7 wit h a load o f Rockeye bombs was vecto red in , and the pilot checked in with ' Fieldgo al 603' , who was the o n -scene SA R co m mander. As theA-7 silenced th e heaviest gu n with its d evastating cl uster bombs, rescue h elico pter ' Big Mother 63 ' checked in . Its pilo t said, 'I've no co m ms with the su rvivo rs, and I'm not permitted to go in without talking (0 them ' . • C dr T hom pso n h ad barely escaped cap ture after his ejectio n in 19 66 , and he knew how d esperate Cochran and Ca rr wo uld be. 'You get in an d p ick th em u p righ t now or I'll drag my rail hook thro ugh you r roto r b lad es and see if •\ 'O U have co m ms when •yo u're in th e wa ter with them ' . The ' Big Mother' SH -3 went in and picked u p both su rvivo rs, although it go t five bullet holes in it for its trouble, incl udi ng one th rough the m ain roto r from the st ill active 3 7 m m gun on rhe w csr pe ninsula. T h e rwo Marin es were taken toA ma jca sickbay, and the V igilante crew wen t d ow n to see them. As C o nrad later said ; 'It was a wild d ebrief, as the "T rip T rey" guys were d oped up and there was liberal use o f m ed icinal b ra ndy all aro und . The bad p art was m y wife h eard m ost of the details w it h in 24 hours, an d was very upset because I had been w riting ho me telling h er noth ing much was hap pen ing!' On 28 D ecem ber 1972 , Enterprise was o n the Noon to M id night sched u le. The RVAH -1 3 tactical crew of Lr C dr AI Agnew, pi lo t, and Lr Mike H aifley. RAN , ha d flown on th e first lau nch o f the day, and hours later they laun ch ed o n a secon d missio n in RA- 5C Bu No 1566 33 . Al Agnew had come into Vigilantes having p revio usly fl ow n p ropellerdriven S-2 AS\V aircraft , and he had co m p leted a M ed iterranean cru ise
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The Co m mandi ng Office r of RVAH-6, Cdr Jim Thompson (left , w ith t he handlebar m ou stache ) a nd It Em y Co nra d (co m ple t e with a full be ard) pose in front of a 'Fleur' Vigilante on America in 1972 . Behind t he Vigilante is a VMFA-333 F-4J . Th is crew would be ins t rument a l in s a ving a 'Trip Trey' crew t hat ha d be en their es cort. The hotter the war, the laxer the enforcement of regulation s - Co nrad o nly wore the skun k-s kin hat t o and from t he aeropla ne, a nd the rule -b usting (fo r fli ght crews) bea rd was ba re ly t olerated. The flight gea r of the period included G-suits (Co nrad had e xt ra bullets s e w n onto his) a nd the lPA flotation d e vice w hic h has lo bes about the waist and nec k. Ea rl ier experie nces wit h do wned ai rmen result ed in t w o multi-ch annel e merge ncy ra dios being ke pt in th e s urviva l vest pockets , a s na p D-ring for hoisting a nd a fl ashing strobelight w o rn o n the s ho ulde r (Con rad)
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Th is photog raph of t he cras h site of
'S ha m rock 210' was taken by th e forw ard oblique camera f itted in
'Fie ld g o a l 603 ' w hile t he pi lot wa s acting as the o n-sce ne SA R coordinator. Smoke from a larg e ca lib re g u n is visib le o n the s ma ll peninsula . Th e t wo Marine aviators w ho eject ed w ere pick ed up by a Navy h elico pt er (Co nrad)
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with H aifley in RVAH - 13. After a rum -around period at NAS Albany, the ' Bats deployed with CVA N -G 5 on thei r fou rth combat cru ise. Th e RHAW gear was eerily silent as they accelerated away from the strike gro u p and went feet d ry. Together with their F-4J escort from V F- 143, they were headed fo r a p re-strike recon nai ssance o f a target near H ano i. As th ey fl ew over the roads and railway lines leading inro the city, M iG calls from the Big Look airborne early wa rn ing aircraft came fast and furi ous. ' Band its, bandits. Red , blue, Bullseye and all q uadrants. Bandi ts' . ' Flint River603' fi nished its ph o to run and headed for (he T onkin G ulf in bu rner. T he pilot of the F ~4 esco rt rad ioed in a co nversatio na l tone, " Pli nc Zero Three", yo u better tu rn righ t' . As Agnew tells it; '1 was already keyed-up. M iG calls were blaring and agg ressive fi ghter guys were heading our way. I broke hard into a 90-degree tu rn at 700 kno ts: There was a lo ud explosion and the Vigi tu mbled. I di dn ' t know there were that many negative G s in the whole wo rl d . I was pressed against the st raps and my helm et was against the cano py. I somehow managed to reach one of the alremare ejectio n hand les o n the side of my seat. T im e wa rped - fi rst, the canopy seemed (Q rake forever (Q come off, and the next thi ng I knew, I was hanging in the parachute. I was surprised that the cano py was white and bright orange.' Ano th er F-4 crew had seen two sm o ke trails fro m 'Atoll' m issiles fired by a M iG-21 , and watched the RA-5C crash. T here was on ly o ne ejecti o n. M ike H aifley was killed in eithe r the jet's explosio n o r the crash. 'It was windless day, so I d id n't dri ft in the ch ute. A grou p of peasants working in a rice paddy had to move aside to let me land . T hey str ipped me down to m y H ang T en T -shi rt and red undersho rts I'd gotten for C h rist mas a few days previo us. T he)' swiped my bran d new Seiko wa tch and t hen th is Vietnam ese pulls Out a big machete. T hat scared me wo rse (han anyt hing. But all he d id with it was cur my n ight boors off. ' Agnew spent time in both (he H anoi Hilto n and th e cam p called the 'Z oo'. In the latt er he m et G erry Coffee who , in Feb ruary 1966 , had becam e the first RVAH - 13 pilot to be captured . Al Agnew was released o n 29 M arch 1973 . Iro nically, he was home befo re his sq uad ron returned from deployment. 'All t hings co nsidered, it wasn't worth it'. ' Flint 603' was the on ly Vigilante downed by a M iG , and the last RA ~ 5 C to be lost d uring the war. T his was th e 90 th (acco rd ing to official US so urces), and last, American aircraft sho t down by a MiG d uring the war. This was also the last of 26 Vigilantes to be lost in So uth-east Asia. T he effectiveness of Linebacker If m ust be judged against the facr that peace nego tiatio ns resumed in Paris on 8 January 1973 which led to the signing ofa cease-fi re agreement 19 days later, and the release of US PoW s in the weeks th at followed .
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The last jets of AVAH·7, w hic h w as in turn the fleet 's last Vigi lante sq ua d ro n. The black nos es were unique to the unit, and some cla im ed they w ere appli ed as a s ig n of mourn ing. NH 611 (Bu No 156615J t akes cred it for perform ing the last s hipboa rd land ing by a Vigilante w hen Lt Cdr Paul Habel a nd Lt Larry Parr trapped a board Ranger o n 17 August 1979
'Vigis ' that are no more. Photog ra phed a t the Davi s·Monthan AFB ' bo ne ya rd' in 1973, th es e older m odel Vig il a ntes ha d been re place d in t he fleet by ne w '156 s e ries' a irc ra ft . From the front t o the re ar, the sq ua d ro ns re present e d in th is phot ograph a re RVAH-1 2, -3, -13 a nd -7, as well a s two pla in t a ils . All the s e w e re shown as 'st ricke n', l.e., scra pped, in Ma y 1978 (EBA L)
82
Center. Ca pt Dean became the last co mmodore afC RAW - I . The last Vigila nre fl igh t was on 20 November 1979 from NAS Kev• West to NAS Memphis. BuNo 156608 made the fl ight with its landi ng gear down because there was no t ime to repair the hydraulics. Capt E O \ViIl iams had been in the second deployable RVAH unit, commanded RVA H ~ 1 4 and the RAG , was next-to-last CO of C RAW-l and was stati oned in M em phis. H e delayed his Navy retirement until rhe last Vigilante arrived. Ca pt D ean was another of the originals who sustained the excellence of the recce com m unity and had the unhap py task of offi cially endi ng the Vigilante programme at an em pty NAS Key West on 7 January 1980.
AFTER THE END What ha ppen ed to Navy airborne recce wh en the RA-5C was retired ? The single-seat RF-8 Crusader sold iered on for a few more years, and a Marine Co rps RF-4 B Phantom II detach me nt made its first carrier deployment. H owever, the ma jor effort fell to the F-14 Tomcat. Much effort went into developing a pod that could be carried o n the jet's weapons rack, and rema in steady enough for high resolutio n photography. O ne figh ter u nit in each air wing wo uld have three TARPS (T acrical Airbo rne Recon naissance Pod System) for the ad d itional role of reco nnaissance. Despite the best efforts of personnel from former RVAH units, T ARPS was never as effec tive as the RA-5C. Reco n naissance was a second ary mission, and it was treated as such . A new Shared Recon naissan ce Pod (SH ARP) is now entering service with the FIA-1 8F. T imes are still changing an d techn ology cons tantly im proving. Satellites that provide real-time IR, ultra-violet, radar or plain old visual imagery are in usc. Unmanned aerial vehicles now go into high-threat areas wirhour risking human operators. The suite of sensors available to battle com mande rs is at a level unheard of when the RA·5C Vigilante represented the latest in reconnaissan ce. The RA-5C may prove to be the best reconnaissance aircraft ever built desp ite t he high -tech vehicles coming into use. There is nothing com parable to well-tra ined, highl y-mo tivated, professio nal and courageous pilots and RAN s making decisions on the spot to collect the information needed by battlefield com mande rs.
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APPENDICES APPENDIX A
-o -c m
APPENDIXC
Z
o n
m
US NAVY AIRCRAFT DESIGNATIONS
US NAVY SQUADRONS
The aircraft oesqneucos used in this book are the old, traditional US Navy system and the post-1962 unified system, as appropriate. Aeroplanes In the transition period are indicated in old/unified style. 8.9. A3J-2/A-SB. Traditional designations ccmpiseo a letter for the primary mission, a number showing how many of the type the company had made (1 was not shown) and a letter indicating the manufacturer. Dash numbers indicated model variants. while various prefix and suffix letters denoted specialised missions under thegenera l category. North American Aviation's letter was J IN was the Navy's own aircraft factory). so the first attack aircra ft thecompanybu ilt wasthe AJ Savage. There was a turbo-prop version of the Savage descr eted AU so consequently the Vigilantebegan lifeas the A3J. Similarly, and logically, D was Douglas' letter, and its Skyraider was the AD, A turbo-prop version (the Skvsharkl was developed, and it became the A2D. Douglas' third attack aircraft was the A3D Skywarrior. Thus, in 1962, there were two A3s (this supposedly so confused then Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara tha t he insisted on the unified system), The Skywarrior remained the A-3 and the Vigilante became the A-5(note the hyphens).
US Navy squadrons With fixed·wing aircraft are designated V (H is for rotarvwing and Z was for Iighter·than·air blimps and zeppelins). With the second letter indicating the squadron's primary mission, followed by a number. Many squadrons that flew Vigilantes trace their lineage to ne VC (C for Composite. multi-role] squadrons flying AJ Savages. With the advent of the AJO/A-3 Skvwamnr in the attack role, and because of the size of theaeroplaneandits weapon, the squadrons became VAH(A for Attack, H for Heavy) Initially the Vigilante maintained the attack role as well as its new reconnaissance miSSIOn, and thesquadrons were reoesinnatec RVAH
APPENDIXB VIGILANTE DESIGNATIONS: YA3J - Vigilanteprototype Twobuilt (lor somere ason therewasnot a XA3JJ. First flight 31August 1958. A3J· lIA-5A - Bomber on ly,Issued to squadrons VAH·1, ·3 and ·7. Production ended in 1963. A3J·VA·58 - Raised fuselage for increased fuel capacity, altered engine intake ducts for higher thrust modified wingstructure to install four pylons for -weapons or fueltanksand modified Bt Ctoblow fromleading edge ofwing for improved slow speed handling Only two delivered to the Navy (YAH·3). with the others on the production line being modified into RA-SCs. RA-5C- A·5B convertect toa reconnaissance platform through the addilion of a belly 'canoe' con taining interchangeable sensors and side-looking radar. A total of 43 new RA-SCs were built, and all 18 Brrodets. plus 43 A·models, were converted to this standard 10 the NARColumbus, Ohio, factory. Powered by J79·GE·8 engines. '156 seri es' (RA·50 1- Because of the escalation of the war in Vietnam, 36 new Vigilantes were authorised in 1968, Powered by higher thrust J79·G E· l0 engines,theaircraft boastedan improvedairframewithredesigned intakes and a stra ke to the leading edge of the wing from the intake duct. The aircraft should have been designated RA-5Ds, but the politics of procurement and budget being what they are, the new airframes remained RA·5Cs To differentiate between old and new aircra ft, the fina l Vigilantes were referred toas '156 serie s' after their Navy bureaunumbers Strakes, but not '156' - Airframe Change 328 allowed the J79·GE· 10 to be installed. The modification was done during aircraft rework after 1974on some pre·'l56 series' RA·5Cs at the Jacksonville Overhaul Facility. RVAH·7 end-s operated BuNos 146702, 149298, 149299 and 150831. There may have been
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APPENDIXD HOMES OF THE RECCE COMMUNITY The official command structure of the Vigilante community was nine deployable lIeet squadrons (RVAH·1, ·5, ·6.•t, ·9, ·11, ·12, ·13 and ·1 4} and three training organisalions- RVAH·3 was the replacement training sqcaorco for pilots. RANs and maintenance men, the Naval Air Maintenance Training Detachment (NAMTraDetltaught specifics of mechanical, hydraulic, electric and electronic systems, and NIPSTraFac [Naval Intelligence Processing System Training Facility)supported RAG training missions and fleet squadrons whileashore, and taught the intelligence officers and photo specialists. These were all under the command of CommanderReconnaissance AttackWing One ICRAW-1), Although the Vigilan tesquadrons, and their supporting units, were organised in a typical military chain of command, the term 'community' was appropriate At the height of RVAH manning In 1968, there were, at any given time, around75 pilots10 theworldcapableand current Inlanding an RA·5Con aship. There was a sl ightly larger number of RANs. Not a large group, especially when compared with the Phantom II fighter force, which had almost 700 current pilots and a like number of RIOs. An RVAH squadron had all the jobs every other Navy Unit had. but only hall theofficers to perform them Additionally. the A·4,A·6. F·8 and F-4squadrons weredivided between the East and West Coasts. The Vigilantes were alwavs at a Single base. Rotating between sea duty in one of the nine squadrons and shore duty, instructing in the RAG or on the CRAW·l sta ff. and then back to sea duty in the Vigilante made for a familiarity which carried over into the familiesof the men aswell. It was a small world wnere reputation was important. Word of crashes and mishaps spread fast. Personal support from friends. neighbours and squadron mates was atwevs near. The Vigilante community evolved out oftheheavy attack community which had started life in Sanford, Florida, The basehad been a Navy training station during World War 2, firstly for fighters and later for the PV Ventura medium bomber. Sanford wasclosed at the end of the war. In thelate 195Os, and with the start of the Navy's Heavy Attack pro gramme, NAS Sanlord was recommissioned The first VAH squadrons operated P2V Neptune and AJ Savage aircraft there as part 01HatWing 1, The VAH squadrons trensitioned to the A30jA·3 Skywarrior and called NAS Sanford their home base while deploying on aircraft earners. The first A3J/A·5 Vigilantesarrived for replacement training squadron VAH·3 in June. 1961. Soon after, replacement squadrons were reorganised, With VAH· 123 at NASWhidbey Island. Washington. doing allthe Skvwamcr trainingand VAH·3 becoming thesingle site for Vigilantes, The adventofthe RA·5(; induced aspate ofredesiqneuoos to recognise the reconnaissance mission. VAH·3 remained the RAG, but became RVAH-3 in
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July 1964 The controlling commodore changed to Reconnaissance Anack Wing One tCRAW-l), and as each squadron transitioned to the RA-SC. their designation went IromVAHtoRVAH. The USAF was closing Turner AFB in Albany, Georqia - Gary Powers. the U-2pilot shot downover the Soviet Union, had been recruited whileassigned to Turner AFB Richard Russell of Georg ia was the new head of the Senate Arm ed ServicesComm ittee. and hewas not about to let his stal eloseamajor base, andhe convincedtheNavy tomove CRAW- ! and all theRVAHsquadrons to Albany RVAH-3 made the move inMav 1968. RVAH- Il. -13. -6 and -1were deployed from Sanford. and they duly returned to what wasnow NASAlbany, The move initially resulted in family separations. toarcallcsses on home sales and general havoc. That the base was inland did not particularly affect operations as the squadrons had to fly to either coast to wort with their assigned aircraft earners anyway. Step by step, Albany became an etticient andcomfortablebasefor the 'Vigi' community,life in the small ci ty was good, One pilot's wife described it as, Warm, wacky and wonderful. A surpnsirqlv intel lectual andfriendlytown. Thewholecommunityarrived inagroup and we made our own fun as we got to know our civilian neighbours'. Then Senator Russell died. The new chairman of the Armed Services Committee cut adeal, and since the Navy no longer had ships, submarines or aviation squadrons in Key Wesl. another move for the Vigilantecommunity was decreed. Some families moved six months in advance to be sure of gening a house on base, as places to live in the small vacation city were expensive and hard to find, RVAH·3 otficiallv shifted to Kevwestin January 1973. Agai n, deployed squadrons left fromone baseandcameback monthslater toanother,Forthe officers andsailors, life as a'Conch'Iaresident of the Florida Keys)couldnot havebeenmoreof achange fromthegrey steel. noise andbustle of shipboard life, NASKeyWest (the airfieldis actuauv on Boca Ehica] remained thehome of lhe Vigilantes until the last squadrons were disestablished in late1979,
APPENDIXE
BuNo 151 629(NAA 35)wascondemnedtotheDave-Monrhen'boneyard', but was spared to go on display in the museum within the grounds of the Pueblo Memorial Airport in Colorado, It is presently on display in RVAH-3 martings. BuNo 156621 INAA1001was onglnatly on display at NAS Pensacola, but it was moved tome Intrepid Air-Space Museumfloating ontheEast River in New YorkCity, Alsopainted in RVAH·3markings, BuNo 156621 sharesspace on the flight deck of USS InrrepidlCVS-11) with other aeroplanesthat never actually operated fromthe veterancarrier when it was in fleet service, BuNo 156612 (NAA 91 )participated in RVAH·12's last deployment. and then flew in thelast days of the'Reece RAG'. It IS on display at the mam gate of the Vigilante's final base at NAS Key West. Florida, still in the orange lightning bolt markings of RVAH-3. Two RA-5C pilots and two RANs who live in the Florida Keys have their names painted beneath thecockpits- Art Skelly, John Smittle, Randy McDonaldand Mike Benkester. BuN o 156632 INAA111) was one of the many Vigi lantes taken to the Naval WeaponsCenter (NWC) at China l ake, inCalifornia, for useas atarget andfor weaponstesting. However, beforeit could be shot at. theaircraft wastru cked to Sanford, Florida, whereit wasrestoredandout on displayat Sanford Airport in May 2003. The airport is the former NAS Sanford, where the Vigilante community had its start. The aircraft wears thecolours of RVAH-3, which was based at Sanford from 1963 to 1968.
SURVIVING VIGILANTES
BuN o 156638 lNAA11711s another RA-SC saved from the NWCChina l ake firing ranges, Still marked in the red, white and blue of its last squadron, RVAH-1 2, BuNo 15663B is on display at NASFallon, Nevada.
BuNo 156624 (NAA103f waspart of a 'matched set' whennew, and assigned to RVAH-6. BuNos 156623, 24, 25, 26ano 27 were NH601, 602, 603, 604 ano 605 respectively during the 1970-71 deployment on Kitty Hawk. BuNo 156624 remained with RVAH-6 for the 1972 America cruise, before going to RVAH-5 and returning to RVAH'-6 for the Beer's' Iinal deployment. BuNo 156624 is 00 display at the National Museumof Naval Aviationat NASPensacola, Florida, in the 1978markings of RVAH-{i.
BuNo 156627 1NAA106)made at least twodeployments In RVAH·6followrng its delivery to the unit from the North American factory. RVAH·1 , on its last cruise, left theperfectly serviceable Vigilante at Cubi Point, in the Philippines, for RVAH-7 to fly before it also went home. Towed to 'the top of the hill', the aircraft remains intheopen, but after theUS Navy left the base in 1991, a local art school was fumed loose and BuNo 156627 bears an overall psychedelic swirl of bright paint!
BuNo 156608 !NAA67) wasthefirst of the'supplemental buy' Vigilantes and, appropriately, the last operational RA-5C, It served with RVAH·5 and the 'Becce RAG', before garnering a string of 'lasts' with RVAH-7 - the last catapolt shot in the last squadron on the last deployment. The jet's last flight was to NASMemphis, Tennessee, where it is 00 display marked up in its final paint schemewith RVAH-7.
BuNo 146698(NAA7/C691wasflownintotheNaval Air Engineering Center at l akehurst. New Jersey, to be used for testing catapults and arresting gear, Once out of date, it was abandoned in a field until In 1982 the Aviation Boatswarnmate School restored the Vigilante sufficiently to display it on the main road through the base. The Navy gave several aeroplanes to the new Air VlCtOlY Museum in MillVille, New Jersey in the early 1990s. When asked what the current status of the Vigilante was, the museum'scura tor wrote, 'I'm sorry to tell you that the RA-5C, BuNo 146698, was destroyed in transit from l akehurst to the Air Victory Museum.It had started an uncontrollable gyra tion under theCH-47 transport helicopter and had tobecut loose, The aircraft was atotal loss, I wish that westill had the "vqi". but alas it is 1'l0 more.'
BuNo 146697 (NAA 61 is theonly surviving A3J, and oneof two Vigilantes on display at NASPatuxent River, Maryland, BuNo 156643 (NAA122) was the last Vigila nte built, and isan exhibit at the Patuxent RiverNava l Air Test and EvaluationMuseum.It served inRVAH·9 and -12, and performed Automatic Carri er Landing System(AClSI cetncation on aircraft earners for the Naval Air Test Center. The VigIlante wears the paint scheme of the NATCFlight Test Division inthe mid 19705.
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was formed to give the public a closer look at examples of the thousands of aircraft in storage or awaiting disposal at MASDC. BuNo 149289 has been preserved in the colours of RVAH·3, as indeed are most other Vigilantes on displaytoday. Since all Vigilante crew members and rna intainers went through the 'Becce RAG', RVAH-I s orange stripes are a way to avoid showing favouritismI
BuN o149289(NAA 49!C53 )isanA-5Aconversion. The Vigilante is justoneof a number of military aircraft saved fromdestruction because of the proximity of thePima AirMuseumin Tucson, Arizona,totheMilitary Aircraft Storage and Disposal Center (MASDC) at nearby Davis-Monthan AFB. The Pima museum
BuNo 151 727 lNAA 42)and BuNo 156610 INAA B9) are listedashaving been stricken at Rota, in Spain. Although there were rumours that one of them was on display, their status isundetermined. BuNo 156622 (NAAI01I, BuNo 156625 (NAAI04). BuNo 156628 (NAAI07). and BuNo 156635 (NAA115) are listed as in storage, vice stricken, at DavisMonthan AFB, so they may yet have a chance to become museum pieces sometime in the future,
APPENDIXF
RVAH-7dales back to Ve-7. established in Ca lifornia In 1950. VAH-7 moved with its AJ Savagesto Sanford. where it flew A3Ds before becoming the first Vigilante squadron The 'Peacemakers' werealso the last Vigilante squadron. The badge using thecocked six-quns and halo ofseven stars came into use when the squadron received thefirst fleet Vigilantes.
RVAH SQUADRONS
RVAH-l began in November 1965 as VAH·l, having prevmusfv been the first SQuadron 10 fly A·J Skywarriors. When an inter-squadron design contest produced no winner for a new unit emblem, several junior officer BNs were sent to a cartoonists convention in Jacksonville and came back with the emblem of the grinning tiger blowing anuclear cloud. Call-sign: 'Comanche Trail' Nickname: 'Smoking Tigers' RVAH-J began as VAH-3 inJacksonville in 1956, and deployed to theMediterranean, before moving to Sanford and becoming the replacement training squadron. RVAH-3 flew more types of airrratt than any other RAG, Besides adozen Vigilantes, there werefour TA-3B Skywarriors. with the bomb-bays set up with extra seats and radar scopes fOf training BN/RANs, four TA·4J Skyhawks to chase RA-SC flights andkeep pilots proficien t and a single old C-117D Skvtraia that wasgainfully employed as a utility transport, The unit's distinctivecrest was the result of an intersquadron design contest Call-sign: 'Drake' Nicknames: 'Reece RAG', Dragons'
•
RVAH-5 traced itshistory toVC-5in 1948, when the squadron flew P2VNeptunesas bombers, before it becamethefirst squadron to opera te AJ Savages. Looking for aname, the crew scame up with 'The Savage Sonsof Sanford' - a pun on the aircraft. and where theywerebased. The name and number remained through AJD Skjwarnors as VAH-5and RA-5C Vigilantes as RVAH-S, although after moving to NASAlbany the 'of Sanford' was dropped, The origin of the 'Mushmouth' cartoon of acannibal as an emblem andnickname remains somewhat obscure. Display of the 'Mcsbmouth' came and went with the tides of political correctness. Call-sign: 'Old Kentucky' Nicknames: 'Mushmouths', 'SavageSons' RVAH -6 was formed with amix of P2V Neptunes and AJ Savages in 1950 as VC-6. The heraldic symbol lor thesixth Vigilanteunit isthe Fleur11elis The trident symbolises sea power and the Omega represents theultimate. Being called the Fleers' was acceptable, but calling RVAH--6 the 'Flowers of the Fleet' when near serving members of the squadron was risky! Call-sign: 'Fieldgoal' Nickname: 'Fleers' Motto: Celeritas cumAccurate(Speed with Accuracy!
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Call-sign: 'Flare' Nickname: 'Peacemakers' RVAH -9 was established as VC-9. and It flew both TBM Avengers left over from World War 2and P'lV Neprunes. When equipped with the AJ Savage, VCNAH-9 conducted some of the earliest air refuellings. The Owl emblemisavariation on an earlier one which had a Hooter Owl withabomb burst behind it Cali-SIgn: 'Hooter' Nickname: 'Hooters' RVAH-l1 also began asaVC squadron With PlVs and AJs. As VAH·11, it completed six deployments with A3D Sk-,warriors, before trensitinninq to the RA-SC. Theoriginal emblem had acheckered flood covering theglobe. and the A3Ds weredecorated withcheck-patterned bands, leading to thenickname Eheckertails'. Theemblem was changed withassumption of the reconnaissance mission. Call-sign: 'Glen Rock' Nickname: 'Checkertaifs'
.... VAH - "
,
RVAH-12 was thefirst squadron to bespecifically establishedasanRVAHwithRA-5Cs. The Roman XII is framed bya spear at supersonic speed, Eall-siqa: 'Soeertip' Nickname: 'Tips' Motto:We Point theWay. RYAH-1 3 wasestablishedWith A-3s in Sanford in 1961. Likeother Navy squadrons, VAH·13 looked to alcohol for inspiration for its squadron emblem {the boar's head lor the VF-l1 'Red Rippers' is from a Gordon'sgin bottle, VA-212's rampant lion was fromtowerorau beer andVA-37's blue bull from a popular malt bevera qel Heavy Attack Squadron Thirteen chose the spread-winced bat which graced bottles of Bacardi rum (the rumour was that the company sent the unit a case of its product every Christmas! Theemblemremained unchanged when A-3 Skywarriors were exchanged tor RA-SC Vigilantes in 1964, Call-sign: 'Flint River' Nickname: 'Bats' RYAH-14 was the other squadron established as an RVAH.lt was also the shortest lived of the Vigilante squadrons, being established inFebruary 1968 and stood down May 1974 alter completing four deployments. RVAH-14 was the only frontline Vigilante unit not to see action in Vietnam. Its emblem wasdesigned by Roy Crane, the crea tor of the BUll Sawyer comic strip, Call-sign: 'Eagle Eye'
85
APPENDIXG
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VIGILANTE LOSS LIST (IN CHRONOLOGICAL OROER)
w
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VRjMO/DAY
NAANUMBER
ACTION/LOCATION
1451 58 146700 147855
2 9
Ejection Columbus, OH
Hopkins
II Cdr Grimes
148927
29 3 116
EjectionPafu xent RIVer, MD Ejection NASWF, Albuquerque. NM Stricken Sanford. FL Ejection Columbus, OH
BuNo
UNIT
CREW
Development[Test 591613 6113/17 61/8/29
62/11/27 63/1 (9 73/7/23
146694
156637
17
Gugenbiller. Lt Biehl Burdick Lt Cdr Hauck
EjectionPatuxent River. MD
Fleet Stricken USS Franklin 0 Roosevelt
28/C78
EjectionTokyo. Japan Stricken USS Enterprise Stricken USS Independence
147862 148926 149282
42
149290
50
148930
64/ 11/ 14
149308 151821 1493lli
32 68 27
64/12123 64/12/9 641515 6419/20 64/9/27 64/9/3
64/9/8 65/7/20 65/10/16 65/10/16 65/10/17 65/12/15 65/ 12/ 16 65/ 12/20 65/ 12/22 66/1/16
66/213
6615/21 66/8/1 9
66/1016 66/10/23 67/2/12
671319 6715/19 67/6/1 4
67{l!2SJ 67{l/29 67{l/29 67/8/13
6718117 67/10/3 67/ 12/6
6615/5 68!S/14
6815/18 681919 58/ 10/25 58/ 11/25 69/2/1 9 69/3/31
86
24
62/1/9 6211 1/27 63/2/20 63/9/19 63/9/5
6916/19 691919
148931
66
150828 147863 15161 6 149292 15181 9
33 6 25 27 52 25
150836
14
151615
21 13 5 39 30 38
150835 150827 151 633 151624 151632 14931 2 151625 149285 149309 •
72
31 45/C45
69
149288 150830 151623 151627 150826 149314
8 29 33 4
148932
34/C49
149284 149305 151 634 149302 t 49315 151728 149278 147854 149283 149280 151526 149293 151 631
44/C51
48/C65
74
65 40 62 75 43
38!C54 16/C84 43/C50 40/C45
32 53/C62
150842
37 20
149287
471 C59
150833
11
Ejection Sanford. FL Ejection Sanford. Fl EjectionSanford, fl Combat IOSS1 USS Ranger EjectionUSS Enterprise EjectionUSS Saratoga EjectionUSS Enterprise Ejection in Sanford. Fl Ejection in Sanford. Fl Lost at sea USS Independence EjectionUSS America Combat loss USS Independence EjectionUSS America Ejection Sanford. H Combat loss USS Enterprise Combat lossUSS KittyHawk Combat lossUSS KittyHawk Strick en USS Ranger Combat loss USS Kitty Hawt. EjectionUSS America Combat loss USS Constellation EjectionUSS Enterprise Combat loss USS ConstellatiOn Combat loss USS Enterprise Combat loss USS KittyHawk Combat loss USS KittyHawk Ejection Sanford. Fl Stricken USS fOfTesta/l/1ight deck lire) Stricken USS Forrestal(flight deck lire) Stricken USS Forresra/(flight deck fire) Combat loss USS ConstellatiOn lost at sea. combat?USS Constellation Ejection Sanford. Fl Ejection Miami. Fl Combat loss USS Enterprise Ejeclion USS Independence Combat loss USS KittyHawk l ost at sea USS Ranger StrickenUSS Forresral Combat lossUSS Constellation Ejection USS John FKennedy Combat loss USS Enterprise Ejection Albany, GA Ejection USS John FKennedy
RVAH·J RVAH-6
Cdr Gear II Cdr Cempbell.Lt Cook
AYAH-?
Lt Kruse, Lt(jg)Cottle Lt Cdr Conrey, Lt Garret I t Cdr lovelace. ADJ-1Kelsey I t Cdr Smith. ADJC Caroivers Cdr Nolta. Ltljgl Stokes It Cdr Beard. lt(jgl Cronin It Cdr Chapdelaine. Af t Stnnger Lt Cdr Wiltiams.lt Haisten I t Cdr Tuttle.It(jg) Sha rp It Cdr Bell, AMHC Pemberton It Cdr Moore. ltljg) Haney Cdr Matula. It Granquist I t Cdr Pippen, l Ujg)Otis It Cdr Bell. Lt Cdr Hunon It Pirrone. Ens McClure Cdr McLain. It Morgan It Sutor. ltli91Dresser It Cdr Jobnson. tt Cdr Nordahl It Cdr tukenbach. t t Cdr Daigel It Cdr Schoonover. Ens Hollingsworth I t Coffee. Ltljg) Hanson It Cdr Meyer, l tljgl WaggOller It Cdr Thompson l tljgl Parten It Sutor, lt(jgl Carrothers It Cdr Kolstad.It(jg) xtennet Cdr Jarvis.ltljg)Artzlip Cdr Putnam, I t{jg) Prendergast Cdr Griffen.lt Walters It Cdr Butler. Ens Smith
AVAH-' RVAH-3 RVAH·9 RVAH-13 RVAH·5 RVAH-7 RVAH-l RVAH·7 RVAH-l RVAH-3 RVAH· \ RVAH-5 RVAH-1 AYAH·5 RVAH-3 RVAH-7 RVAH·13 RVAH-13 RVAH-9 RVAH·13 RVAH·S AYAH-6 RVAH-7 RVAH-6 RVAH-7 RVAH-\3 RVAH·13 RVAH-3 AYAH-11 RVAH·l l RVAH·1 1 RVAH-12 RVAH-12 RVAH·3 RVAH-3 RVAH-l RVAH·7 RVAH-l1 RVAH·3 RVAH· 12 RVAH-5 RVAH·1 4 RVAH-6 RVAH-7 RVAH-14
It Cdr Hyatt. lt(jg) Soooermote Cdr Dixon. ltljg) Hom I t Cdr Scruggs I t Cdr Sledge. ltlig)l owte Lt Norrington. l t Tangeman Cdr Pritscher, Ltljgl Feldhaus Cdr James. lt Cdr Monroe It Cdr Woolf, I t(jgl Kirby Cdr Stamm. I t(jgl Thurn It Cdr Bright. Ltljgl Ellis Cdr White, lt Carpenter Cdr Barnes. LUjgl Hornick It Cdr Reed. l t Marechal
70/1/1
1489211 150025
30/C78
EjectionClark AFB. Philippines RVAH-7 Cdr Billings(CAG 14), Ltljgl Beaver EjectionUSSForrestal RVAH-13 70/1n3 3 Cdr Bames,LtliglWolfe 149316 EjectionUSSFoffestal RVAH-13 Lt Jenkins. I t Standridge 7012/2 76 151620 26 EjectionAlbany, GA RVAH-12 Cdr Huber 70/315 156611 Lost at sea USSIndependence RVAH-11 Lt Cdr Karr, It Cdr Pullinger 9lJ 151817 23 EjectionUSS John FKennedy RVAH-1 4 Cdr Williams, It Feeback 70/8/6 l OB Ejection USS Ranger RVAH-1 It Cdr Renner, Lt Joseph 70/9/27 156629 71 /10/17 156634 113 Lost at sea USS Enterprise RVAH-5 Cdr Everett. Lt Cdr Stokes 156630 109 EjectionAlbany, GA RVAH-1 Lt Pigeon, Lt Bixler 72/3/1 147850 EjectionAlbany, GA RVAH-12 Cdr Bolte, Ltljgl Hawken 721515 12/C58 Combat loss USS Kitty Hawk. 15161 8 24 RVAH-7 Cdr Polter, Ltljgl Kernan 721an 15661 6 95 Combat loss USSSaratoga RVAH- l It Cdr Smith. u Kunz 721an 112 Combat loss USS Enterprise RVAH- 13 Lt Cdr Agnew. Lt Haifley 72112/28 156633 156609 68 Ejection USS Constellation RVAH-12 It Cdr Fowler, Ltljgl Dipadova 73/5m Ejection at sea KeyWest. Fl RVAH-3 Lt Carson, Lt Cdr Comstock 149296 58/cn 74/3/5 1566 14 Ejection USS Forrestal RVAH-6 I t Rutledge, lt(jgl Parr 74/7/11 93 74/8/13 151630 EjectionNaples, Fl RVAH-3 Lt Cdr McKay, Lt Stevens 36 156623 Lost at sea USSSaratoga RVAH-ll Cdr Hogan. Lt Cdr Mullholland 751212 02 EjectionAlbany, GA It Cdr Wall, Lt Cdr Criswell 156619 98 RVAH-3 78/1/12 Stricken on shipor NASother thanJacksonville or KeyWest usually means metme aircraft was unrepairableasthe result of anaccident
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Display 73/13/1
146697 146698 149289 151629 156612 156624 156621 156627
6
122
79/8/1
156643 156638
7918/1
156632
79/11/20
156606
111 67
75am 7815/' 78/ 5/4 78/6/19 78/10/11 78/11/21
7913nB 79/6/15
7/C69 49/C53
35 91 103 100 106 117
Stricken, gate guard NASPatuxent River, MD StrickenLakehurst. writtenoff in helicopter drop Davis-Monthan to Pima Museum, AZ Devis-Montheo to Pueblo. CO, museum Static displayat NASKeyWest. FL Staticdisplay at National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, FL FromPensacolatoUSSIn rrepidmuseum, NY Stricken Cubi Point, Philippines Static displaY at NASPatuxent River. MD NWCChina Laketo NASFallon. NV NWCChina LaketoSanford. FL Staticdisplayat NASMemphis. TN
NAS Disposal ' 65/1/6 69/10/30 71/12/13 72/1/26
•rm/26 72/1/26 73/12/12
75/1 13 75/5/9 75/7/t 76/6/8
76/6/8 76/6/8 76fl/31 76/11/18 76/11/18
148924 149303 147858
26 63
150837 150841
15 19 42
151727 146695 149300 148929 151622 147853 147856 150823 149276
15002'
20/C64
41/C87 8lJ 31/C71
28 15/C85 18/C86
1 36/C52
2 96
78/10/31 79/1/13
156617 147860 149299 149301 156635 156626 15661 0 156620
7913(1
150831
9
81/1/11
147851
13
7715/27 n/9nO 78/2/1 6 78/2/7
78/6/19
22/C82 59/C75
81
"'105 89 99
StrickenSanford Stricken? StrickenAlbany, GA Stricken Key West. FL Stricken Jacksonville. Fl Stricken Rota, Spain Stricken Key West,FL Stricken Jacksonville. FL Stricken Jacksonville. FL Stricken Key West. FL Stricken Jacksonvi lle, Fl StrickenJacksonville, Fl Stricken Jacksonville. Fl Stricken Key West, FL Stricken Key West. Fl Stricken Key West. Fl Stricken Key West. FL StrickenKey West. FL StrickenKey West, FL StrickenRota, Spain StrickenKey West. FL Stricken Rota. Spain Stricken North Island. CA Stricken Jacksonville. Fl Stricken Patuxent River,Maryland
"BuNosnot listedabovestricken at MASDCDevls-Monthen AFB. AZ
87
•
All drawings on this page are of • RA-5C Vigilante, and are to 1/10Bth scale, as are the drawings on the following pages
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COLOUR PLATES
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RA-5C BuN o 149312/NG 104 of RVAH -5/CVW-9. USS Ranger, December 1964 A s th e f irst squ adro n to de p loy w ith the RA-5C, the 'Sav ag e So ns of Sanford ' had th e d ifficu lt task of workin g w ith a new aero plan e and going into com bat at th e same tim e. Th e wavy grey-w h ite
RA-5C BuNo 151632/NH 603 of RVAH-1 3/CVW-ll . USS Kitty Hawk, December 1965 Th e ' Bats' of RVAH -1 3 kept th e Orie ntal -style tail co des d urin g al l th eir d eploym ents. Th e unit wou ld lo se more Vig ilantes i n co mbat t han any othe r RVA H squadro n. In 1966-67, RVAH·1 3 lost t h ree jet s, inc ludi ng BuNo 151632. On 22 December 1965, ' Flint Riv er 603' was on a pre-strike photogra p hy m issi on to Hai Du ong when RAN, Lt(jg) Glen n Daigle, felt th e Vigi lante take a hit and he could not talk to his pilot, Lt Cdr Max Lukenbach - Daigle had to assume that the latter was eithe r un conscious o r dead . Seconds later there was an exp losion, an d the RA N was ejected f ro m his cock pi t. Daigle does not rem ember pu llin g th e face-curtain o r t he alternate eject io n handl es. He became a PoW, and w as rel eased in Februa ry 1973.
Aowl ey, u Cdr Dan 47, 48. 4B Rutledge, ltljg)Wes 70 Saigon 80 SAM sees 36 37 5andfly(base newspaper] 11
Saratoga, USS (CVA-GOI 24,68 Scnr eioer.Lr Cdr George 28
Schocrove. u Cdr Charles 27, 91 Sharp.ltl)gl tlater Cdr) Dave 21 25-26, BD..~11 Shevlin.ll Joe 30 l)...31.31 Skelly, Lt Cdr Art 30, 30-31 . 31. 47. 48 Smith, Cd r (later Adm) Carol A'Scream ing Charlie' 28, 37, 40, 92 Smun.It Cdr Dud; 'Smilin' Jack' 71. 71- 72. 93·94 Smillie. Ens John 20 Sp-ague. AOJ RE 11 Stamm, Cdr Ernest 44, 44 Stokes, tt Cdr Paut 67, 93 suits, fu ll-pr essure 10, 32 Sutor.It J I( 24-25.91
take-ctts. cat~pu lt CS 5 (61. 95). 69 Tangeman,lt Dick 41, 92 Thanh Hoa btidge 33,71 Thompson, ltCdr CE 11 Thompson.lt Cdr Jim 31. 72. 73, 13. 91. 94 Thurn. ttl/9) Rid\ard 44. 44 Tupolev TII·95 'aee- 78 Turner, ll(/91 [later u Cdrl Dave A 10. 11. 49, 63 63 Tutt le, Lt Cdr Jack 21. 81 Uni ted Slates Navy CRAW·1 (Commander 01Reconnaissance Wing One) 16.1 7,46.49,77 AYAH· 1 'Smoking Tigers' 18. 18. 21 , 22, 38, pl 2 (SO, 91l, pi 12 153, 921, pl.18 (55, 93), pi 24 157, 93·941. cs 3, 4 (50, 95), 11 AYAH·3 'Dragons' 13, 35, pl 21 (56. 931. 69 82 AYAH·5 'Savage Sons' 15. 16. 16, 11. 17, 44. 49 pi t ISO. 911. pi 13154. 921, pi 16 (55. 93), pi 20 (56, 931pi 21 (58, 94), cs 11 162, 951. 67, 68 RVAH·6'Fleurs' 28, 44--45, 46, 76, 77 aircraft 4, 28. 29, 30. 39,4 5, 66, pl 6151, 91). ouu 153, 921. pi 14 (54, 921. pi,17l55. 93), pi 25 158. 941cs 5 161, 951. cs.t 0 (62. 95). 80 cuee patch 64 flightcrews 28 RVAH·7 'Peacemakers' 20, 21, 24, 47-48, pi 31 50, 9ll. pl 15 (54, 92- 931. pll3 (57. 93), &l, 81, 82 AYAH·9 'Hooters" 24. 46. pl 5 151. 911. pl 30 (59, 94), e .u (62. 95), 71. at RVAH·l\ 'Checkertails' 29 35, 36.39.49, pi 9 152. 921. pi l l (53, 92), pi 22 (57, 93]. cs 9 161. 95]. ro, 12 RVA H·12 'Speartips' 35, 36.36, 41, pl8152, 921, pi 28, 29 159, !MI. 18 78, 82 AYAH·13 'Bats' 24, 26.27, 30,35.43, pl 4\51, 911. pI ~52 . 91). pi 26 158, 941, 74, 82 AYAH·1 4 pl 19(56. snes 8 161, 951. 19 VA-65 cs 11 (62. 95) VA·76 20 VAH·l 'Smoking Tigers' 9 VAH·3 9. 9, 11 , 11 VAH--4 Det 63. 39 VAH-1·Peacemakers' g..10, 10. 21 VAH·l1 . 8 VAH·13 25 VAH·123: 9 Vf·92 cs 9 (61. 95). 10 Vf-96 cs 11 162. 95) VF-213 'Black lions' 49 VM FA·333: 72. 13 Vought A·7 Conan II 37, cs 12162, 951. 73, 80 VoughtA·78 65 VoughtRF.aCrusadef 17, 21,82
waners. u Jack 34 wattev, u Cdr Af 26, 32, 33, 34 weapons 4,9 ,28 65, 65,66 see alsof l ~ k, AAA:. SAM
sues Webef. Rob 69 Wells. Dick 29 Whit e, Cdr Oan 45--45. 92 wunens. Ca pt E0 82
Yom Ki ~r War 79 Youngblade, u CdrCJ 11
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AIRC RAFT O F THE ACES (ACE) Experte nccs a nd a chie vements o f ' a ce' fighter pilots
18 MAA.ALOER lNTS OF lK' EIGHTH AND 18 55326892 CO'1OO3 HELl.DIVER 1JI'ITS Of WORlD WAf( 2
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1855326906 CO'1OO4 MOSQUITO IIOMBEF\IFIGI-ITER-EIOM6ERWITS 19042..... 5 18 5532723(, CO'1OO5 8lEl'I-f'lM SQUADl'IONS OF WORlD WAf( 2
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18417628M AEU 006 jAGDGf.50-fWADER 54 "G!l.rJNHERZ' 18