Edited by Captain Rosario Rausa

CONTENTS

I. Beginnings 3

II. Tactical Jet Missions 18

III. Power Projection 30

E ngines are the hearts of airplanes. Before the age of powered flight,variations of balloons and gliders challenged the sky and scored somevictories. With the introduction of power plants, aircraft became moreobedient to the human beings who manipulated those engines than to themeteorological whims of the wind.

“Changes in hearts” — improvements, for the most part — enabledflying machines to go much faster, from 30 or so miles per hour tosupersonic levels, in the span of a human lifetime.

Unlike mortal hearts, all of which bear the same design, aircraft powerplants appeared in a vast assortment of shapes with varying capabilitiesthrough the years. Some failed to match expectations. Others exceededthem. Many performed yeoman service as advertised. All contributed tothe continuously rising chart line of new technology. Common to thesuccess of any engine, though, is the maintenance effort required toensure that it functions properly. There isn’t a Naval Aviator on the planetwho doesn’t owe a debt of gratitude to the mechanics. The folks withwrench in hand and a formidable combination of determination andknowledge have kept and continue to keep the motors purring in peaceand war.

This monograph is dedicated to them.

all — the roaring rush of burning windfrom a jet engine. Up close it can cracklethe eardrums. From a distance it stillconveys power and might , l ike asustained prelude to a thunderclap. Thesound is dynamic, a living monument toman ’s con t i nu ing ques t f o r newtechnological horizons.

It was not a common sound in U.S.Naval Aviation during WW II, but mindswere laboring in various camps thatwould soon make it so.

In 1940, an Italian named Campiniremained aloft for 10 minutes in a jet-propelled aircraft. In 1941, Great Britainplunged into development of jet planes.Toward war’s end, Germany’s twin-turbine ME-262 fighter was effectiveagainst Allied Forces. In fact, Germanexpertise was to play a pivotal role in thedevelopment of jet aircraft after theconflict.

Though there were growing pains, theadvent of turbine power paved the wayfor unprecedented performance in theaviation world.

Ed He inemann , who the nava lcommunity would ultimately recognizeas “Mr. Attack Aviation,” was a pioneeraircraft designer. He played a key role inAmerican aeronautical achievements,and designed both propeller and jet-powered aircraft. He and his DouglasAircraft production team turned out theA-26 Invader, the SBD Dauntless andmany others. In 1944, they conceivedwhat was to become the A-1 Skyraider.

“We had the Wright R-3350 engine inthe A -1 , ” recalled Heinemann. “Itproduced 2,500 horsepower. Naturally,we wanted as much power as we couldget but feared the dangers of too muchtorque. Excess twisting force of theengine would create difficulties. We triedcounterrotating propellers on the TB2Dbut ran into problems. In the A2DSkyshark, a turbine drove counter-rotating props and torque was equalized,but reduction gear problems eventuallydoomed that aircraft. Ultimately, we wentto pure jets. It was that barrier of toom u c h t o r q u e t h a t t u r n e d o u rconcentration to jets in order to achieve

The FM-2 Wildcat was a ruggedly constructed, well-armed fighter.

greater performance.”Declared Heinemann, “I believe that if

jets came first we might never haveneeded piston engines for aircraft. Forthe most part, jets do a much better job.”

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In the Naval Aviation world, the timep e r i o d f r o m 1 9 4 5 t o 1 9 5 2 w a scharacterized by the proliferation of jet-propelled aircraft amidst the continuinge m p l o y m e n t o f p i s t o n - p o w e r e dmachines. Following are highlights fromthat period, gleaned mostly from thepages of Naval Aviation News. They havebeen selected to depict only the nature ofthe Navy’s transition to jets, not thedetails of it. There is minimum mention ofprop aircraft, a fact certainly not intendedto denigrate those machines that got uswhere we are.

I. Beginnings

The President of the United Statesproclaimed the end of the war in Europeon May 8, 1945, VE Day; in Japan,September 2, VJ Day. On September 10,

USS Midway (CVB-41), first of the45,000-ton class aircraft carriers, wascommissioned at Newport News, Va. InOctober, with an eye toward the heavens,the Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer)established a committee to evaluate thefeasibility of space rocketry.

Still, a period had begun which wouldbe characterized by the problems ofd e m o b i l i z a t i o n , o r g a n i z a t i o n a lread jus tmen t , a n d a n uneasyinternational situation not in itselfrelated to the outcome of the war.Demobilization was rapid. Ships wereretired to a mothball fleet. Aircraft wereplaced in storage. Shore stations at homeand abroad were deactivated. By the endof 1946, manpower dropped to a mereone-quarter of the WW II peak.

There was a clamoring for resources bythe services and considerable disarray asa result. The value of carriers wasquestioned.

Despite these impediments, jet-propelled planes were considered the keyto aviation’s future and companies likeDouglas Aircraft, Grumman, NorthAmerican and McDonnell were creatingnew designs.

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In the final days of WW II, governmenttechnicians made a concerted effort togather up German and Japaneseaeronautical reports before the enemycould destroy them. Much of th isinformation was routed to the Office ofNaval Intelligence in Washington andultimately to BuAer for dissemination ofall aeronautical research information.Thus, a data base of jet technology wasestablished.

One set of documents detailed aGerman fighter designed to operate at1,250 mph, 60,000 feet above the earth.The Siebel Aircraft Company in Halle hadcompleted plans for a flight test model ofwhat it designated the 8-346 supersonicplane. It would have been flown toan altitude of 33,000 feet by a mothership, started upward vertically andreleased, firing off its two tail-mountedjets.

The Germans hoped to derive valuablescientific data on aerodynamic forcesaffecting aircraft at faster-than-soundspeeds.

The 8-346’s wing span was 30 feet.The wings were swept back 45 degrees.The pilot was to lie prone in the nose,permitting him to withstand up to 14 G’sThe aircraft would land on skids at about145 mph. Its pressurized chemically-heated cabin would be jettisonable,automatically or manually by the pilot.

Problems in jet plane developmentincluded airframe design for high-speedflight and achieving sufficient power

control for takeoffs and landings andother low-speed flight regimes. Jetsrequired longer takeoff rol ls andconsumed fue l a t a fea r fu l ra te ,prompting concern by planners foroperating range capabilities. Someelements advocated development ofturboprop planes that combined jetengines and propellers. Turbopropsremain popular today in larger planesbut, for the most part, pure jets becamethe norm for tactical aircraft.

The Navy’s f i rst al l - jet poweredairplane, the design for which wasdeveloped in 1943, was the McDonnellFD-1 Phantom, a straight-wing carrierf i g h t e r p o w e r e d b y a p a i r o fWestinghouse gas turbines. It weighedless than 10,000 pounds with a fullcombat load and could travel 500 mph.Range was 1,000 miles. It flew for thefirst time on January 26, 1945.

The first jet-propelled aircraft in theworld was the Heinkle HE-178. It initiallyflew in Germany in August 1939. Thefirst jet flight in England took place onMay 15, 1941, when a Gloster-Whittle E-28 took to the air.

On October 1, 1942, the Bell XP-59,powered by a pair of General Electric I-16engines, made the first jet-propelledflight by an aircraft in the U.S. The pilotwas Naval Aviator No. 4967, Robert M.Stanley. He was a civilian at the time andchief test pilot for Bell Aircraft.

The Navy established its baseline forjet operations as April 21, 1943, the day

Captain Frederick M. Trapnell made thef i rst jet f l ight in the Bel l XP-59AAiracomet, at Muroc, Calif.

—

In 1945, Great Britain’s Gloster Meteorheld the world speed record of 606 mph.Designers were confident that burstingthrough the sound barrier was only amatter of time.

Grampaw Pett ibone, who rai ledagainst brain deficiencies (inherent insome pilots) in a popular new Nava lAviation News safety column, describedthe case of an FR-1 Fireball landing:

“On November 6, 1945, while in thegroove for a carrier landing, the pilot of anFR-1 (a fighter built by the RyanAeronautical Company with both a propand jet engine) noticed a rapid decreasein rpm and manifold pressure in hisreciprocating engine. Realizing he hadlittle time to find and correct the trouble,he quickly started his jet engine. With thejet engine developing full power, hemanaged to complete the landing but,due to a faster approach speed thanusual, the planner overshot slightly,engaging the last wire and the #2 barrier.Congratulations to the pilot for his quickthinking and skillful handling of anu n u s u a l e m e r g e n c y t h a t s u r e l yprevented a much more se r i ousaccident.” Added Gramps. “Anothernoteworthy fact about this incident isthat, according to available information,it was the first jet-powered landingaboard a carrier.”

A British Vampire jet took off andlanded on HMS Ocean on December 4,1945, about a month after the Fireballevent. It marked the first carrier landingand takeoff by a purely jet-propelledaircraft.

—

In March 1946, the Fireball joinedelements of Air Group 74 aboard USSMidway off the coast of Labrador duringOperation Frostbite. The FR-1 operated infrigid weather along with other wingaircraft including the relatively newGrumman F8F Bearcat and the HNS-1helicopter by Sikorsky.

—

On July 21, 1946, Navy LieutenantCommander James Davidson made fivesuccessful touch and goes aboard CVBFranklin D. Roosevelt in an FD-1Phantom, signaling the first time an all-jet plane made a “fly-off” from a U.S.carrier.

Said Davidson, “Acceleration anddeceleration were slightly less than in aconventional-type aircraft but there wasno torque trouble, less noise, and speedand altitude were easy to maintain.”

—

The Naval Research Lab was activeutilizing the once-feared German V-2rocket for experiments. Marking anincipient stage of space study, miniaturelaboratory type equipment was installedin the nose of the rocket and fired byArmy ordnance technicians at WhiteSands, N.M.

—

Flying in 1946 were a pair of new jetfighters, the Vought XF6U-1 and NorthAmerican’s XFJ-1, the latter destined forgreat success in the air. The Naval AirTest Center (NATC), Patuxent River, Md.,was the scene for much of theexperimental work. Key problems withthe new planes involved use of dragdevices to enhance takeoff and landingcharacteristics. There was concern forthe jet engine’s slow response to throttleadjustments compared to its piston-engine counterparts.

Procedures called for the pilot to “takethe cut” aboard the carrier just as inpropeller planes. The engine’s “spool up”time had to be taken into account whenboltering or waving off. Eventually, jetpilots would be taught to fly their aircraftall the way “into the wires” with poweron.

Tricycle landing gear on the jetspresented some carr ier operat ingproblems. The prop types invariablyfeatured conventional tail-sitting wheelarrangements. Deck crews had tor e a d j u s t t h e i r t h i n k i n g . B a r r i e rarrangements had to be revised due tothe tendency of the jets to slam downon the nose wheel after the hook hadengaged the wire. All hands knew,however, that the jets were here to stay.The recips would not disappear but theywere destined to share flight lines andf l ight decks wi th the streaml inednewcomers.

—

The first jet-powered patrol plane, theP4M-1 Mercator, flew in September1946. It featured two nacelles, eachhousing a radial and a jet engine. Only 19production models reached the fleet,beginning four years later. The aircraftweighed more than 83,000 pounds andhad a top speed of 410 mph.

The Ryan XFR-4 Fireball had a reciprocating as well as a jet engine.

On October 30, 1946, LieutenantJunior Grade A. J. Furtek became a jet-age hero. Assigned to the Naval AirMaterial Center to test ejection systems,he went aloft over NAS Lakehurst, N.J.,in a JD-1 and was ejected out of the planeby two 600-grain powder charges by wayof the British-designed Martin-Bakerseat. The JD-1's altitude was 5,000 feet;speed, 250 mph. A fastener to the mainchute which was attached to the seatfouled. Furtek fell 23 seconds to 1,500feet but managed to detach himself fromthe seat and pull the rip cord of his ownbackup chute. Furtek was undismayedand the basic concept of the emergencyegress system was considered valid.Ejectable cockpit capsules were alsobeing considered, a technique used todayon the USAF B-1 bomber and in NASA’sspace shuttles. However, ejection seatsproved to be the most reliable andefficient means of escape from high-speed aircraft.

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In a bit of understatement, an aviatorobserver in 1946 noted that “at very highspeeds, the air flow over the wing and tailof an airplane begins to exhibit veryperculiar characteristics.” He wasreferring to the effects of compressabilityand s im i l a r f ac to rs abou t wh ichcomparatively little was known.

In many ways, airplanes were enteringa dimension of the unknown. Much hadto be learned. So, while jets flew in thesubsonic regime, experimental efforts

focused on the transonic and supersonicbarriers. An example of these efforts wasthe D-558 Skystreak. The DouglasCompany’s Ed Heinemann and his designteam combined with a small cadre ofcourageous test p i lo ts and madelandmark achievements operating fromthe desert runways of Muroc (laterEdwards AFB), Calif. A straight-wing,red-colored experimental bird, theSkystreak weighed just under 10,000pounds and flew for the first time in thespring of 1946. It continued a valuableseries of flights that vastly expandedman’s knowledge of high-speed, high-altitude aerodynamics. The aircraft waspowered by a General Electric TG-180turbojet which produced 4,000 pounds ofthrust.

Meanwhile, the Bell Aircraft XS-1,developed for the Army Air Force, wascontributing to the knowledge bank.Interestingly, some of its initial flightswere made by Chalmers H. Goodlin, aformer Navy pilot. The XS-1 was drivenby f ou r 6000 -C4 rocke t mo to rsdeveloped by the Navy and ReactionMotors located at the Naval AmmunitionDepot in Dover, N.J. The engines burnedethyl alcohol and liquid oxygen at a ratewhich, at top speed, would consume fourtons of fuel in two and a half minutes.Total thrust was 6,000 pounds. It wasdropped from a B-29 mothership andachieved speeds of about 550 mph inearly tests.

On November 11, 1946, LieutenantColonel Marion E. Carl, a legendary U.S.

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The A2D Skyshark was a turboprop, attack aircraft. Reduction gear problems plagued theaircraft and, as a result, only seven were built.

Marine Corps pilot, flew a jet-propelled P-80A, making two catapult launches, fourfree takeoffs and five arrested landingsaboard USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. Theseoperations were part of carrier suitabilitytests that had begun in June 1945 withthe delivery of P-80As to NAS PatuxentRiver, Md., s i te of f l ight test andevaluation work.

Carrier catapults were widely usedd u r i n g W W I I f o r p r o p s a n daccommodated the new machines well.Catapults were considered the bestanswer to the s low acce le ra t i onproblems of jet-powered aircraft. Also, inorder for the jets to get aboard properly,landing signal officers were trained toissue the “cut” signal sooner in thegroove because of some jets’ floatingtendency after the cut. Wave-offs had tobe given quicker also to ensure adequateclearance altitude by the time the planereached the ship.

The familiar warning emblazoned onflight deck bulkheads, BEWARE ofPROPELLERS, was accompanied by thecaution, BEWARE OF JET BLAST.

Some radical techniques were offeredto a l l ev ia te f l i gh t deck hand l ingproblems. One system would elevate thehazardous jet blast from the tail sectionover the heads of deck handlers. Itemployed a jointed nose wheel whichcould be “broken” into an elbow after theplane had been removed from thearresting gear. Thus, the aircraft’s nosewould drop into a kneeling position, notunlike a bow to the audience. The tail

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would be raised enabling the plane to useits jet for taxiing without endangeringpersonnel with blast effect. Anothermethod used a deflector on the jet nozzle,forcing the blast upward away fromscrambling deck crews.

The angled deck was years away.Existing barrier arrestment systems weredesigned to “catch” the big nosed props.Engineers developed a changeablesystem, one that could be modified toensnare the main landing wheels of a jetbut which could also be quickly shifted toact upon the engine of a conventionalplane.

Since jets consumed much greateramounts of fuel, faster fueling methodshad to be developed to keep turnaroundtimes to a minimum. The Navy usedregular aviation gasoline for its prop andjet turbines at the time. That would soonchange and jet fuel would eventuallyrequire separate stowage cells aboardthe carrier.

Jets stood lower to the ground, sorearming techniques had to be modified.Also, the limited endurance of jet planesdemanded a more expeditious means ofrecovering and respotting them. Fasterand more efficient tow tractors weren e e d e d t o i m p r o v e f l i g h t d e c kmovements.

Maintenance of jet turbines and pistonengines differed radically. Piston typesrequired periodic checks, constant minorrepair and parts replacement. However,the rec ip roca t i ng eng ine had anadvantage. It would operate for severalhundred hours before it faced completeoverhaul.

Jet power plants are much simpler and

contain far fewer parts, facts whichpleased the mechanics. Overall enginelife at the time, however, was muchshorter than that of the piston engines.Complete overhaul or engine change wasneeded after comparatively short periodsof running time. On the plus side, suchengine changes took much less time thanwith recips.

There were no jet trainers in 1947 butdual-seated types were high on BuAer’sconsideration list. Plans called for pilotsto matriculate in the prop pipeline beforemoving up to jets.

McDonnell’s XF2D-1 Banshee, laterdesignated the F2H, flew for the first timeon January 11, 1947. It resembled itsPhantom predecessor but was poweredby a pair of 24C Westinghouse turbojetengines, which provided 6,000 pounds ofthrust, nearly twice as much as thePhantom.

Successor to the Skystreak was the D-558-II Skyrocket. Painted white for bettervisibility, it was designed to exceed the6 8 0 - m p h s p e e d o f t h e e a r l i e rexperimental plane. The Skyrocket wasalso powered by a Westinghouse 24Cturbojet and a liquid rocket systemmanufactured by Reaction Motors, Inc.Fuel and landing gear were located in thefuselage instead of the wings as in theSkystreak. It featured swept-back wingsand a jettisonable nose as a means ofhigh-speed pilot escape. It had aphotographic apparatus for recordingflight instrument readings on motionpicture film. Air pressure measurementswere recorded automatically at 400points on the wing and tail. Control forcesand stresses in the structure weremeasured by more than 900 strain gagesand oscillographs. The rocket motor hadfour cylinders that could be fired singly ortogether.

—

Another landmark fighter was the XFJ-1 Fury, by North American, which hadflown for the first time on November 27,1946. The next year a prototype versionof the Fury reached Mach 0.87, a recordfor U.S. fighters that lasted awhile.

Commander E. P. Aurand, C.O. of VF-5A, set a speed record in an FJ-1 onFebruary 29, 1948, when he raced9,450 miles from NAS Seattle to LosAngeles in one hour and 58 minutes. Heaveraged 550 mph en route, thus

breaking by 16 minutes the previousrecord held by a P-80. VF-5A’s X.0.,Lieutenant Commander R. M. Elder, setanother record by flying from Seattle toMills Field, San Francisco, in one hourand 24 minutes.

Aurand landed his straight-wing Furyaboard the flight deck of USS Boxer onMarch 10, 1948. This was the first timean operational squadron landed a jetaboard a carrier. Elder also participatedand, together, the jet pilots garnered 24landings and takeoffs.

The squadron was also the first jetfighter unit to serve at sea underoperational conditions. Later versions ofthe FJ compiled an eventful history andwere flown by Marine Corps squadronsas well.

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To facilitate interim familiarizationtraining for fighter pilots (until Navy jetsbecame available in quantity) the Navyprocured 60 Lockheed P-80s from theU.S. Air Force and designated them TO-1s. Powered by the Allison J33, the TO-1s were not equipped with arrestinghooks or catapult fittings. The initial

The D-556-lI Skyrocket carried jet-assisted takeoff (JATO) bottles,which were jettisoned from theaircraft after they burned out.

group consisted of single-seaters but theplane, which was later designated the T-33, soon became a tandem-place aircraftideal for training purposes. VF-6Areceived 24 of the Shooting Stars while anumber went to the Marine Corps’ VMF-311.

O n M a r c h 2 3 , 1 9 4 8 , J o h nCunningham of England established analtitude record flying a modified DeHavilland Vampire powered by a Ghostjet engine. He reached 59,492 feetduring the 47-minute flight aided bycabin pressurization that kept himcomfortable.

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Early in the turbine age, the term“afterburner” meant a “fire built in thetail” of a jet. Chance Vought’s F6U-1Pirate had an af terburner systeminstalled that provided a 30 to 50-percentincrease in thrust. The afterburnersystem featured extension of the tailpipeinto which fuel was injected and ignited.Enough unburned oxygen passedthrough the jet turbine and mixed withexhaust gases to permit combustion inthe tailpipe. The burning took placebehind the critical turbine blades wherehigh temperatures existed withoutdamaging moving parts. In the case of thePirate, the afterburner system led to aneight-foot extention to the tailpipe.

An F6U-1 Pirate from NATC Patuxent River,Md., in 1950. The Pirate had an afterburnerwhich enhanced thrust by 30 percent.

In June 1948, the Bureau of Personnelsent dispatches to cognizant commandsconcerning a “return to active duty”program for flyers (and some groundofficers) who left the service at the end ofthe war. As a result, 2,600 Naval AirReserve officers were recalled to activeduty on one-year contracts. Meanwhile,in 1948, the Navy had planned new-pilotoutput of about 1,000, including Navy,Marine Corps, Coast Guard and foreignstudents. For 1949, a training quota of2,300 midshipmen, aviation cadets andUSN pilots was planned, more thandoubling the overall effort to keep apacewith the growing importance of aviationfo r m i l i t a ry pu rposes . Je ts wereincreasing in value and, in a way, so werethe men who flew them.

Shooting Stars were a training mainstay during the late 1940s and early 1950s. These are the TV-1 version.

Also in 1948, the Navy revealed 13different types of aircraft, totaling 1,165,were to be purchased out of the $653.5million authorized by the Secretary ofDefense from congressional appropri-ations. The Air Force was allowed to buy2,100 planes. Included in the Navy’sprocurement package were 576 fighters— the F2H, F9F, F3D (a new nightfighter), F6U and the F7U Cutlass, alsonew. Attack machines included the AD,Grumman’s AF and Martin’s AM Mauler.Eighty-two P2V Neptunes were orderedfor patrol missions. Sixteen transports,Fairchild R4Os, Grumman JR2Fs, andsome miscellaneous types were bought.Thirty-seven Sikorsky helos, HJSs andHO3Ss. were also ordered.

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John Nicholas Brown, AssistantSecretary of the Navy for Air, chalked oneup for the record books by becoming thefirst man in the secretarial level of thearmed forces to fly a jet plane. Brown was

3 3 The F7U Cutlass had a wingspan of 39 feet, 8 inches andcould fly more than 650 mph.

a passenger in a TF-80C Shooting Starduring a demonstration flight out of NASPatuxent River on July 30, 1948. TonyLevier, test pilot for Lockheed, builder ofthe TF-80C, was the pilot. Said Brownafterwards, “ I t w a s a w o n d e r f u lexperience. After we became airborneand had accelerated to cruising speed, allthe regular sense of mechanical power,o f w h i c h y o u are consc ious inconven t iona l a i r c ra f t , seemed todissolve. You got a feeling of‘d isembodied power. ’ The lack ofvibration and lack of noise gave asensation of pure speed.”

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During the International Air Expositionat New York’s ldlewild airport in thesummer of 1948, a trio of flag officersdemonstrated that veteran pilots couldhandle jets as easily as propeller planes.Admirals D. V. Gallery, Apollo Soucekand E. A. Cruize together buzzed the fieldin FH-1 Phantoms, to the delight of750,000 onlookers.

In one of the first of such tragicmishaps, a civilian mechanic at MurocAir Base in California was killed when hewalked in front of the air intake of an F-86jet aircraft and was sucked in by thevacuuming air. The fighter’s J35 enginewas operating at military power at thetime. That happened in 1946. Extensivetests established by BuAer began in 1948

at Patuxent River utilizing an FJ-1 todetermine safe distances from thedangerous intakes of jet planes. Thishazardous characteristic thus becameone of the most critical concerns in jetaircraft operations, especially aboardcrowded aircraft carrier flight decks.

The press got a good first look atChance Vought’s F7U-1 Cutlass at NATCPatuxent River in the fall of 1948. Theswept-wing, tailless fighter flew for thefirst time on September 29. It had amaximum speed of about 680 mph.

The D-558-ll Skyrocket experimentalaircraft made numerous flights usingonly its primary jet engine before itsrocket engine was installed and bothpower plants were called into operationon a single sortie. The needle-nosedspeedster launched from the Muroc testbase with both engines burning andbecame airborne after 2,400 feet of traveldown the sandy runway. The rocketengine fuel was soon depleted but the jetengine kept the plane aloft for another 19minutes. Douglas test pilot Gene May,who flew both the Skyrocket and itspredecessor, the Skystreak, said, “TheSkyrocket is a flight machine refined tothe nth degree. It’s extremely stable, yetas sensitive and light as an arrow. Ithought the Skystreak was a dream planebut the rocket’s flying qualities arewithout parallel.”

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A little competition is good for the soul.The question arose: Which is the bestperforming airplane, the jet-driven FJ-1or the time-tested Bearcat. Cdr. Aurand,of VF-51 (formerly VF-5A), was not aboutto concede the capabilities of hissquadron’s Furies to anyone. As a result,Bearcats from VFs 113 and 53 squaredoff with Aurand’s FJs and conducted fivetests, the results of which follow.

First test: Two FJs and two F8Fsparticipated in a climb test from astanding start. The F8Fs were to usew a t e r i n j e c t i o n b u t , d u e t omalfunctioning, could only do so for a fewminutes after takeoff. The best of the twoBearcats beat the two best FJs to 15,000feet by more than a minute.

Second test: A zoom climb test wasconducted with the two plane types. Bothstabilized speed at full power at 1,000feet. On signal, they commenced a climb.The FJ beat the Bearcat to 10,000 feet by13 seconds. The F8F stalled trying tocatch up with the jet going on to 15,000feet.

Third test: Two weeks later, VF-51pitted a Fury against a Bearcat at NASSan Diego to race to 25,000 feet above ElToro, 63 miles away. The FJ-1 arrived aminute and 40 seconds before thepropeller plane.

Fourth test: This one simulatedcatapult launching climb performance.At 500 feet in flight with gear and flapsdown, a climb was started on signal. Thetiming was stopped accidentally whenthe stop clock in the F8F becameinoperative. The test was inconclusivebut VF-51 said it felt the jet would havewon this one, too.

Fifth test: A simultaneous takeoff wasmade. The Bearcat gained about 5,000feet while the Fury was still on theground and therefore could make agunnery run on the jet immediately, ifdesired. In the test, the F8F got airborneand immediately pulled up to make thefirst pass. On the second pass, it fellbehind the FJ and in the final race to10,000 feet the FJ won by seven secondsand further increased its lead 15 secondsin climbing to 15,000 feet.

VF-51 pointed out that the Fury wasb e i n g t e s t e d a g a i n s t t h e b e s tcharacteristics of the F8F, i.e., rate ofclimb at low altitude. It contended the FJ-1 was far superior in other respects.

A pair of VMF-122 FH-1s took on fuel atGuantanamo Bay, Cuba, and were enroute to NAS Roosevelt Roads, P.R.,when their engines acted up and quit

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almost simultaneously at 20,000 feet.The wingman, Master Sergeant LyttonBlass, managed to glide 60 miles beforehe discovered a sof t beach andmade a wheels-up landing on the sand.

First Lieutenant Shirley W. Reese, inthe lead Phantom, descended along a 20-mile course and made a wheels-down,dead-stick landing on a dirt strip at LaRomana, Dominican Republic. Powerplant failures in both cases were causedby excessive water in the gasoline, theguilty party being the refueling truck atGuantanamo. Lt. Reese’s bird flew againafter his FH-1’s fuel system wasoverhauled. Blass’ Phantom got back intothe air thanks to jet assisted takeoff( J A T O ) a n d s o m e i n n o v a t i v emaintenance work.

The Marines and Dominican Republicpersonnel lacked equipment to jack upBlass’ Phantom so they dug holes in thesand under it, permitting the wheels to belowered to a taxiing position. Then theycleared a short area from the holes tolevel ground, making it possible to pullthe plane off its belly.

The Phantom’s fuel system had to beoverhauled and the inboard f lapsreplaced. The terrain was too soft for anormal takeof f . Two JATO uni ts ,weighing 200 pounds each and modifiedslightly to fit onto the fuselage, wereshipped in. The center of gravity wasnecessarily moved to the rear, a specialconcern since the nose compartmentwas mostly empty.

Blass started up and began the takeoff

roll with JATO operating perfectly. Hehad difficulty keeping the nose down andthe main gear left the ground after 100feet of travel while the tail skid continuedto drag on the sand. Nevertheless, after320 feet and 12 seconds, the FH-1 leftthe ground. Blass jettisoned the JATObottles and flew on to Ciudad Trujillo,D.R., for refueling.

The cause of the forced landings wasnot nearly so puzzling to the Dominicansas the takeoffs. One native said that “theplane could not remain airborne becausethey had lost their propellers.”

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On August 9, 1949, in the skies overWalterboro, S.C., Lieutenant J. L.“Pappy” Fruin made aviation history. The

An FJ Fury fires an air-to-ground Bullpupmissile in 1961.

An F9F Panther is waved off USS Essex inJuly 1951.

VF-171 pilot became the first man in theU.S. to make an emergency ejection toescape a stricken airplane. He “punchedout” while traveling at the fastest speedat which an ejection, experimental or realemergency type, had been made by anyknown living man. (During the war,German jet pilots had reportedly ejectedfrom aircraft. Also, a British test pilot hadejected from a crippled machine sometime before Fruin). Pappy was at 39,000feet in an overcast en route to Cecil field,Fla. His F2H experienced icing difficultiesand the Banshee fell off into a graveyardspiral.

His starboard engine had quit between20,000 and 30,000 feet. As he recalled,his airspeed needle was indicating 40knots above the plane’s Mach needle. Itwas calculated that he was traveling at600 mph. He felt severe buffeting and allother instruments were erratic. Hejettisoned the canopy, grasped the tworubber handles, and yanked the curtaindown over his face. Despite the speed, hedid not black out when pitched into theairstream although his oxygen mask,helmet and shoes were blown off, and hisMae West became inflated, making itdifficult to reach his parachute releasering. He opened his lap belt and kickedaway from the seat with minimumdifficulty. He gyrated somewhat duringthe free fall phase but, by placing hishand on his chest and compressing the

life jacket, could see the red parachutehandle and he pulled the rip cord. Hebelieved he was at 1,000 feet of altitudeat that time. Pappy landed in a sittingposition in salt water about 30 feet fromswamp land. He began swimming towardshore but was slowed by a broken leg andother f ractures. Fortunately, localcitizens came to his aid and got him to ahospital. The aircraft plunged into deepwater and was never located.

F r u i n ’ s e j e c t i o n e c l i p s e d a nexperimental ejection by the Air Forcefrom an F-80 in level flight at 555 mphover San Francisco Bay.

—

San Diego-based Air Group Five wasperhaps typical of similar units whichflew both jets and props. By 1950, itsB e a r c a t s were being rel ieved byGrumman F9F Panthers. The switch tothe “blow torch special,” as the jets werecalled in some quarters, inevitablyprompted compar isons. VF-111’sLieutenant Commander U. L. Fretwellsaid about the Panther his unit flew aftershedding F8Fs, “The greatest difference Inoticed was the lack of rapid accelerationwhen adding full throttle on takeoff andthe touchy aileron boost control. TheBearcat could get off the ground in merehundreds of feet and climb, seemingly,straight up. Not so the Panthers.”

Lieutenant Junior Grade Carl A.Dalland noted that after being used tohearing the roar of a “conventional”engine, the quietness of the jet cockpitwas astonishing. “Ordinarily, after aflight in a propeller-driven plane, the pilotcomes down with his ears ringing. But in

13

the jets, all the noise shoots out thetailpipe. The pilot hardly hears a sound.”

—

The second Navy pilot to use hisemergency ejection seat to bail out of astricken plane was Lieutenant Hugh J.Tate of VF-171, the same squadronwhich claimed the number one man tomake such a bailout, Lt. Pappy Fruin. InMay 1950, Tate ejected from his F2Hnear Jacksonvi l le. Onlookers sawexplosions as the Banshee seemed tocome apart in the air while performingsnap rolls. The aircraft landed on ahighway near a beach. Tate had troublewith G forces before escaping but got agood chute and descended safely. Hesuffered only a bruise under his right eyewhen wind force tore the oxygen maskfrom his face.

Five days later, on May 24, LieutenantAlden M. Pierpoint of VF-11, became thethird flyer to eject when his F9F-2 flamedout at 37,000 feet over the Atlantic.Interestingly, Marine First Lieutenant L.E. Lovett of VMF-223, MCAS CherryPoint, was searching for Pierpoint whenhe discovered a heretofore missingwreck of an F4U near Sandy Hook, N.C.About 30 mi les away, he locatedPierpoint who was eventually collectedby a Coast Guard helo and transported toElizabeth City, N.C.

Korea

The Korean war erupted in the summerof 1950. Carrier aircraft went into actionon July 3. USS Valley Forge with AirGroup Five on board and HMS Triumph, aBritish flattop operating in the YellowSea, launched strikes on airfields, supplylines and transportation facilities in andaround Pyongyang, northwest of Seoul.This signaled the first combat test forGrumman’s jet-driven Panther. It wasalso the occasion for the first Navy kills inaerial combat when Panther pilots of VF-51, Lieutenant L. H. Plog and Ensign E.W. Brown, shot down two prop-poweredYak-9s on the first strike over Pyongyang.

In comparison to the forces engaged inWW II, Korea was a small war. No morethan four large carriers were in action atone time. Yet in the three years of war,Navy and Marine props and jets flew276,000 combat sor t ies, dropped177,000 tons of bombs and expended272,000 rockets. This was within 7,000sorties of their WW II totals in all theatersand bettered the bomb tonnage by74,000 tons and the number of rockets by60,000. In terms of national air effort, theaction sorties flown by Navy and MarineCorps aircraft rose from less than 10percent in WW II to better than 30percent in Korea.

—

Lieutenant Carl C. Dace of VF-111became the first American to use hisejection seat in the war when his F9F-2Bwas struck by antiaircraft artillery (AAA)while strafing at 400 knots, 2,000 feetover the ground. He was rescued at sea.

The first blind jet carrier landing alsooccurred in the early months of thef ight ing when Ensign Edward D.Jackson, in his VF-112 Panther, wasspeeding along at 100 feet over theterrain. He struck a cable strung acrossthe Han River just below Seoul. Thecanopy was smashed and Jacksonknocked unconscious for about 20seconds. He came to in a steep climbingturn, blood from facial lacerationspouring down into his eyes impairing hisvision almost 100 percent. He radioed hiswingman, Ensign Dayl E. Crow, andreques ted a t t i t ude and d i rec t i oninstructions. He slowed his machine andflew 120 miles back to USS PhilippineSea. Crow issued commands like “leftwing up, ” “left rudder,” and “nose down”en route to the center.

On the downward leg, LieutenantJunior Grade L. K. Bruestle, Air Group 11LSO, dropped his paddles and talkedJackson down by radio. He gave him a“cut” and the plane landed right of centerengaging the number five wire. A flight

An F2H-2 catapults from USS Intrepid in February 1955.

surgeon jumped up to the cockpitimmediately and managed to stop theflow of blood. Then, for the first time,Jackson saw the flight deck.

Seven days later, Jackson waslaunched on a test flight in his repairedplane and was back in action.

—

The Navy’s flight demonstration team,the Blue Angels, had been flying theexhibition circuit since 1946 but it wasnow time for the more serious businessof aerial warfare. The team flew its lastexhibition at NAS Dallas on July 30,1950, in Panthers, after which the pilotswere sent to ComAirPac for furtherassignment. The tradition would beresurrected after the war but, even in thefour-year span since its inception, it wasestimated that 14,000,000 spectatorshad marveled at the skills of the BlueAngels.

—

In November, the carrier forces weretasked w i th cu t t i ng o f f Ch ineseCommunist re in fo rcemen ts f romM a n c h u r i a b y d e s t r o y i n g t h einternational bridges across the YaluRiver. On November 9, during initialstrikes against the bridges at Sinuiju,Soviet-built MiG-15s rose to opposeNavy planes. This assured the firstencounter of Navy jets against MiGs. VF-111’s C.O., Lieutenant Commander E. T.Amen, flying a Panther, scored one killand became the first Navy pilot in historyto shoot down a jet aircraft.

—

Back home in January 1951, in amilestone development, the DouglasXF4D-1 delta-wing fighter flew for thefirst time.

On April 2, 1951, two Panthers fromVF-191, each loaded with four 250 andtwo 100-pound bombs, were catapultedfrom USS Princeton for an attack on arailroad bridge near Songjin. This markedthe first Navy use of a jet fighter as abomber.

Meanwhile, on the home front, a newdimension in jet aircraft was manifestedin the innovative design of a twin-enginebomber, the A3D Skywarrior, by theDouglas Company. It had a gross weightof 60,000 pounds, making the Skywarriorthe largest and heaviest ever projectedfor carrier use. In August 1951 anothershipboard fighter, McDonnell’s XF3H-1

Demon, completed its maiden hop. Testpilot Bill Bridgeman set a speed recordover Muroc, Calif., when he flew the D-558-2 Skyrocket at 1,238 mph. That wason August 7. On the 15th, Bridgemanclimbed to 79,494 feet, the highestaltitude achieved by man that date.

The jets had long s ince proventhemse lves and , a long w i th thevenerable piston-powered planes, wouldflourish in the years ahead.

get back into the cockpit. He made severalattempts to man the steed, but the planewas moving too fast and he had to let go.

The fighter accelerated to 150 knots.After traveling 6,000 feet, the nosewheel struck a slight rise in the runwaysurface and took off, climbing rapidly to700 feet, thus becoming the first pilotlessPanther. Sure enough, the F9F stalledand crashed into the bay off the end of therunway. Scratch one $543,000 aircraft.”

Still, Grampaw Pettibone was notreluctant to zero in on jet mishaps. Liketheir trusted predecessors, the jetsprovided fertile ground for GrampawPettibone’s Naval Aviation News column.A sample of a jet accident follows:

“The pilot of an F9F made a normalstart, completed his ground check andproceeded to the end of the duty runway.When his pretakeoff check of theemergency fuel system producedflameout symptoms, the pilot’s wingmaninformed him that the Panther was onfire and that he ought to get out. As hestood there in wonderment, he suddenlyheard the Panther’s engine wind up. Theplane weathercocked in the wind,heading down the runway.

The pilot ran to the aircraft andattempted to board it, but the accessladder was stowed and he was unable to

Marine ingenuity paid dividends atMCAS Cherry Point, N.C., in 1952 whencold weather formed sheaths of ice onV M F - 1 2 2 ’ s F 2 H B a n s h e e . F i r s tLieutenant C. B. Lafayette, flight lineofficer, came up with a common senseidea. He had a jet taxi into a position sothat its exhaust was aimed at a pointbetween the tail and wing section of asecond ice-bound plane. The heat of theexhaust whisked the ice from the aircraftwithout doing any damage. The processwas repeated on the other side of theBanshee. The squadron was thus able toput an eight-plane formation flight ofF2Hs in the air within a half hour of apossible scramble call.

—

VF-61’s Lieutenant Junior Grade John

An F11F Tiger is towed off the deck elevator of USS Forrestal (CVA-59) in 1956.

P. Eells made history of sorts when hesuccessfully landed his F9F-2 on USSFranklin D. Roosevelt with only the nosewheel and right main landing gear. Whenthe port main gear failed to extend, Eellsburned off his Panther’s excess fuel,made the approach and got his cut. ThePanther caught a wire and rolled forwardon the nose and right main gear untilforward motion was lost. The aircraftthen settled onto its left wing tip tank,causing only minor damage.

—

In April 1952, following tests of theBri t ish-developed steam catapul tconducted during the first three monthsof the year at Philadelphia, Norfolk, and atsea, the Navy announced that thecatapult would be adopted for use onAmerican carriers. First installation wasslated for USS Hancock.

In late May 1952, the feasibility of theangled-deck concept was demonstratedin tests conducted on a simulated angleddeck, aboard USS Midway, by test pilotsflying both jet and prop aircraft.

—

In June, combined elements of the AirForce, Navy and Marine Corps virtuallydestroyed the electric power potential ofNorth Korea with attacks on primemilitary targets which had been bypassedfor nearly two years of the war. The two-day attack, which involved more than1,200 sorties, was the largest single aireffort since the close of WW II. It was alsothe first to employ planes from all of theU.S. services fighting in Korea.

Then, on July 11 and 12, in one of themajor coordinated air efforts of the war,Navy, Marine, Air Force, Austrailian andBritish air elements launched a round-the-clock attack on the railroad yards andindustrial facilities at Pyongyang.

Two days later, on the other side of theglobe in Newport News, Va., the keel ofthe 59,000- ton supercarr ier , USSForrestal, was laid. It was the first of itsclass.

—

Struck by canopy fragments when hisPanther took a hit near Wonsan, EnsignFloryan Soberski demonstrated a blindcarrier landing with the help of hiswingman, Lieutenant Francis J. Murphy,and a pair of LSOs, Lieutenant LawrenceA. Dewing and Lieutenant Junior Grade

18

George A. Parker. Soberski could seeslightly from his right eye but needed theradio guidance of Murphy and the LSOsto trap aboard the carrier, USS Princeton.

—

In February 1952, CNO approved amodification of the Project 27A carrierconversion program which provided anincrease in the capacity of deck operatingequipment. Changes included use ofmore powerful arresting gear, higherp e r f o r m a n c e c a t a p u l t s a n d areplacement of the number threecenterline elevator with a deck-edge typeof greater capacity. Conversion of threeEssex -class carriers incorporating thesechanges was completed in 1954 underProject 27C.

—

On August 29, the new UN philosophyof mass air attack was demonstratedonce more by a record-breaking, around-the-clock raid on Pyongyang. The entirecarrier air force of Task Force 77 teamedwith the Fifth Air Force and the British tos p r e a d d e s t r u c t i o n o n s u p p l yconcentrations in and around the city.

—

In January of the new year, duringtests aboard USS Antietam, the Navy’sfirst angled-deck carrier, Captain S. G.Mitchell, the ship’s C.O., landed in anSNJ. During the next four days, sixaircraft models made landings, touch andgoes, night landings and takeoffs inwinds of varying force and direction.

—

Major John F. Bolt, USMC, downed hisfifth and sixth MiGs while operating withthe Fifth Air Force in Korea on July 11. Hebecame the first Naval Aviator to attainfive victories in jet aerial combat. The warwas to end two days later.

On that final day, Task Force 77 wentafter t ransportat ion faci l i t ies withairfields as a secondary target. Theattacks destroyed or damaged 23 railroadcars, 11 railroad bridges, one railroadtunnel, nine highway bridges andnumerous buildings.

Uni ted Nat ions and communistrepresentatives signed an armistice atPanmunjom, bringing hostilities to a halt,on July 27, 1952.

Lt.Col. Marion Carl, USMC, piloted theSkyrocket experimental aircraft to83,235 feet, a new altitude mark, onAugust 21, 1-952. On September 2, aconversion plan for Midway -c l asscarr iers, t i t l e d P r o j e c t 1 1 , w a spromulgated. Changes were similar tothose for the angled-deck version ofProject 27C but with the addition of amodified C-11 steam catapult in theangled-deck area.

—

Lieutenant Commander James F.Verdin set a world speed record of752.943 mph over a three-kilometercourse in an F4D Skyray. This was a firstfor a carrier aircraft in its normal combatconfiguration. On September 16,Douglas test pilot Bob Rahn broke the100-kilometer closed-course record inthe Skyray with a 728.114-mph mark. OnDecember 3, the first successful test ofsuper circulation (boundary layer control)on a high-speed airplane, an F9F-4Panther, took place at Grumman’sBethpage, Long Island, facility. JohnAttinello, BuAer engineer, was creditedwith developing this practical applicationof a long-known aerodynamic principle.

II. Tactical Jet Missions

In spite of the Korean truce, peace inthe world remained on unsteady footingin the last half of the 1950s. There werecrises in the Far East, the Middle East,a n d a g e n e r a l d e t e r i o r a t i o n i ninternational relations. At the same time,a new importance was rendered to thetraditional practice of deploying navalforces to trouble spots of the world.

T h e r e w e r e a l s o s i g n i f i c a n ttechological advances. In fact, NavalAviation experienced changes that wereas great as any in its history during thistime. These improvements enhanced thespeed, firepower, versatility and mobilityof sea and air forces. Guided missilesbegan replacing guns, the capability todeliver nuclear weapons was increased,aircraft speeds jumped from sub tosupersonic, the adaptation of nuclearpower t o a i r c r a f t w a s underinvest igat ion, a n d a n increasedknowledge of space gave evidence of itsfuture effect on surface operations.

A new class of flattops was built andthe carrier modernization program wascompleted. Carrier forces were thusstrengthened and a new family of high-performance aircraft operated with them.

P. Eells made history of sorts when hesuccessfully landed his F9F-2 on USSFranklin D. Roosevelt with only the nosewheel and right main landing gear. Whenthe port main gear failed to extend, Eellsburned off his Panther’s excess fuel,made the approach and got his cut. ThePanther caught a wire and rolled forwardon the nose and right main gear untilforward motion was lost. The aircraftthen settled onto its left wing tip tank,causing only minor damage.

—

In April 1952, following tests of theBri t ish-developed steam catapul tconducted during the first three monthsof the year at Philadelphia, Norfolk, and atsea, the Navy announced that thecatapult would be adopted for use onAmerican carriers. First installation wasslated for USS Hancock.

In late May 1952, the feasibility of theangled-deck concept was demonstratedin tests conducted on a simulated angleddeck, aboard USS Midway, by test pilotsflying both jet and prop aircraft.

—

In June, combined elements of the AirForce, Navy and Marine Corps virtuallydestroyed the electric power potential ofNorth Korea with attacks on primemilitary targets which had been bypassedfor nearly two years of the war. The two-day attack, which involved more than1,200 sorties, was the largest single aireffort since the close of WW II. It was alsothe first to employ planes from all of theU.S. services fighting in Korea.

Then, on July 11 and 12, in one of themajor coordinated air efforts of the war,Navy, Marine, Air Force, Austrailian andBritish air elements launched a round-the-clock attack on the railroad yards andindustrial facilities at Pyongyang.

Two days later, on the other side of theglobe in Newport News, Va., the keel ofthe 59,000- ton supercarr ier , USSForrestal, was laid. It was the first of itsclass.

—

Struck by canopy fragments when hisPanther took a hit near Wonsan, EnsignFloryan Soberski demonstrated a blindcarrier landing with the help of hiswingman, Lieutenant Francis J. Murphy,and a pair of LSOs, Lieutenant LawrenceA. Dewing and Lieutenant Junior Grade

18

George A. Parker. Soberski could seeslightly from his right eye but needed theradio guidance of Murphy and the LSOsto trap aboard the carrier, USS Princeton.

—

In February 1952, CNO approved amodification of the Project 27A carrierconversion program which provided anincrease in the capacity of deck operatingequipment. Changes included use ofmore powerful arresting gear, higherp e r f o r m a n c e c a t a p u l t s a n d areplacement of the number threecenterline elevator with a deck-edge typeof greater capacity. Conversion of threeEssex -class carriers incorporating thesechanges was completed in 1954 underProject 27C.

—

On August 29, the new UN philosophyof mass air attack was demonstratedonce more by a record-breaking, around-the-clock raid on Pyongyang. The entirecarrier air force of Task Force 77 teamedwith the Fifth Air Force and the British tos p r e a d d e s t r u c t i o n o n s u p p l yconcentrations in and around the city.

—

In January of the new year, duringtests aboard USS Antietam, the Navy’sfirst angled-deck carrier, Captain S. G.Mitchell, the ship’s C.O., landed in anSNJ. During the next four days, sixaircraft models made landings, touch andgoes, night landings and takeoffs inwinds of varying force and direction.

—

Major John F. Bolt, USMC, downed hisfifth and sixth MiGs while operating withthe Fifth Air Force in Korea on July 11. Hebecame the first Naval Aviator to attainfive victories in jet aerial combat. The warwas to end two days later.

On that final day, Task Force 77 wentafter t ransportat ion faci l i t ies withairfields as a secondary target. Theattacks destroyed or damaged 23 railroadcars, 11 railroad bridges, one railroadtunnel, nine highway bridges andnumerous buildings.

Uni ted Nat ions and communistrepresentatives signed an armistice atPanmunjom, bringing hostilities to a halt,on July 27, 1952.

Lt.Col. Marion Carl, USMC, piloted theSkyrocket experimental aircraft to83,235 feet, a new altitude mark, onAugust 21, 1-952. On September 2, aconversion plan for Midway -c l asscarr iers, t i t l e d P r o j e c t 1 1 , w a spromulgated. Changes were similar tothose for the angled-deck version ofProject 27C but with the addition of amodified C-11 steam catapult in theangled-deck area.

—

Lieutenant Commander James F.Verdin set a world speed record of752.943 mph over a three-kilometercourse in an F4D Skyray. This was a firstfor a carrier aircraft in its normal combatconfiguration. On September 16,Douglas test pilot Bob Rahn broke the100-kilometer closed-course record inthe Skyray with a 728.114-mph mark. OnDecember 3, the first successful test ofsuper circulation (boundary layer control)on a high-speed airplane, an F9F-4Panther, took place at Grumman’sBethpage, Long Island, facility. JohnAttinello, BuAer engineer, was creditedwith developing this practical applicationof a long-known aerodynamic principle.

II. Tactical Jet Missions

In spite of the Korean truce, peace inthe world remained on unsteady footingin the last half of the 1950s. There werecrises in the Far East, the Middle East,a n d a g e n e r a l d e t e r i o r a t i o n i ninternational relations. At the same time,a new importance was rendered to thetraditional practice of deploying navalforces to trouble spots of the world.

T h e r e w e r e a l s o s i g n i f i c a n ttechological advances. In fact, NavalAviation experienced changes that wereas great as any in its history during thistime. These improvements enhanced thespeed, firepower, versatility and mobilityof sea and air forces. Guided missilesbegan replacing guns, the capability todeliver nuclear weapons was increased,aircraft speeds jumped from sub tosupersonic, the adaptation of nuclearpower t o a i r c r a f t w a s underinvest igat ion, a n d a n increasedknowledge of space gave evidence of itsfuture effect on surface operations.

A new class of flattops was built andthe carrier modernization program wascompleted. Carrier forces were thusstrengthened and a new family of high-performance aircraft operated with them.

O n A p r i l 1 , 1 9 5 4 , t h e f i r s ttranscontinental flights in less than fourhours were made by three VF-21 pilots inF9F Cougars. They traveled 2,438 milesfrom San Diego to New York, refueling inflight over Hutchinson, Kans. This wasbut the first of a succession of record-breaking hops that reflected a giant stepforward in increasing jet a i rcraf tperformance. Early in 1955, an FJ-3 Furyfrom VF-33 scored a record whenLieutenant Commander W. J. Menbyflew it to 10,000 feet from a standingstart in 73.2 seconds. Less than a monthlater, McDonnell test pilot C. V. Braunpiloted an F3H-1N Demon to 10,000 feetin 71 seconds. On February 23, Douglas’Bob Rahn reached 10,000 feet in 56seconds in an F4D Skyray.

—

The Mirror Landing System, destinedto make carrier operations substantially

safer, was successfully tested aboardU S S B e n n i n g t o n o n A u g u s t 2 2 .Bennington’s C.O., Commander R. G.Dose, made the first carrier mirrorlanding in an FJ-3. Two days later,Lieutenant Commander H. C. MacKnightmade the first night landing with themirror, in an F9F-8 Cougar.

—

In order to increase range and overallperformance capabilities, the Navyannounced, in September, that allfighters in production should be outfittedwith in- f l ight refuel ing gear, thusstandardizing an operational procedure.

—

On October 1, Forrestal, first of fourflattops of the “supercarrier” class, wascommissioned at Norfolk.

PH3 M. Rizza

The last three operational TF-9FKennedy (CVA-67) in February 1

Cougars974.

prepare a final launch off USS John F.

In early 1956, the all-weather F3H-2NDemon fighter arrived at NAS Cecil Field-based VF-14. VA-83 headed for theMediterranean aboard USS Intrepid withits Sparrow /-equipped F7U-3M Cutlassaircraft, signaling the first overseasdeployment of a naval missile squadron.At the end of March, the initial fivenuclear-capable A3D-1 Skywarr iorheavy attack bombers were delivered toVAH-1 at Jacksonville, Fla.

In July, VA-46 and its F9F-8s departedfor the Sixth Fleet aboard USS Randolph.This unit was the first to deploy overseaswith the Sidewinder missile. Deploymentof this new weapon was extended to theWestern Pacific a month later when VF-211 and its FJs joined the Seventh Fleetaboard USS Bon Homme Richard.

On July 31, Lieutenant Commander P.Harwood A. Henson, with Lieutenant R.Miears, demonstrated the performancecapabilities of the Skywarrior when theym a d e a 3 , 2 0 0 - m i l e , n o n s t o p ,nonrefueling flight from Honolulu toAlbuquerque, N.M., in five hours, 40minutes. The A-3 averaged 570 mph.

In August, an F8U-1 Crusader capturedthe Thompson Trophy with a recordspeed of 1,015.428 mph. The Crusaderwas the first operationally equipped jetplane in history to fly faster than 1,000mph.

Speed records continued to fall withregularity but not all aeronautical eventswere success stories. An F11F-1 Tiger,f lown by Grumman test pilot TomAttridge, s h o t i t s e l f d o w n w h i l econducting test firings off eastern LongIsland by running into 20mm projectilesthat it had fired only seconds before.

—

A historic milestone was marked onOctober 16 when five students receivedNaval Observer Wings. They became thef i rst graduates of the Navigator-Bombardier School at NAS CorpusChristi, Texas.

—

The Suez crisis erupted into openwarfare on October 29, 1956, and allmajor fleet units were sent to sea undermaximum readiness conditions. TheSixth Fleet was ordered to evacuate U.S.nationals from the area. Aircraft providedcover and heavy combatant ships stoodby while ships and Air Force transportsquadrons went into Alexandria, Egypt;Haifa and Tel Aviv, Israel; Amman,Jordan; and Damascus, Syria. They

19

The F-4B Phantom II first flew in 1958 and provided yeoman service in Vietnam as a strike-fighter.

evacuated more than 2,000 persons byNovember 3. Operations by the SixthFleet, in the area for several weeks,included the logistic support of the firstUN International Forces which arrived inthe area in November.

—

On February 1, 1957, LieutenantCommander Frank H. Aust in , Jr . ,completed test pilot training at NATCPatuxent River, and became the firstNavy flight surgeon to qualify as a testpilot.

USS Antietam reported for duty toChief of Naval Air Training at Pensacola,providing the command its first angled-deck carrier for flight training. The firstT2V-1 Seastar jet trainer arrived at NASCorpus Christi on May 27, furtherupgrading the training command.

In the fleet, a pair of Crusaders and twoSkywarriors flew nonstop from B o nHomme Richard off the California coastto Saratoga off the Florida coast, inanother demonstration of the increasingperformance capabilities of sea-based jetaircraft.

Major John H. Glenn, Jr., astronautand later senator, made history on July16, 1957, when he flew an F8U-1PCrusader from Los Alamitos, Calif., toFloyd Bennett Field, N.Y., in three hoursand 22 minutes, averaging 7,232 mphalong the way. This was the first upperatmosphere supersonic flight from theWest Coast to the East Coast and brokethe transcontinental speed record.

—

In August, flying a F3D Skynight ,Lieutenant Commander Don Walkerlanded aboard Antietam in the Gulf ofMexico using the new Automatic CarrierLanding System. This inaugurated asequence of shipboard tests of theapparatus which were designed to bringplanes aboard in all weather conditionswithout help from the pilot.

At Patuxent River, Lieutenant SydneyHughes, RAF, ejected intentionally froman F9F-8T flying just above the ground at120 mph using the Martin-Baker ejectionseat, then under evaluation by GrummanAircraft.

In February 1958, the keel of theworld’s first nuclear-powered aircraftcarrier, USS Enterprise, was laid inNewport News, Va. A month later, CNOapproved a reorganization of carrieraviation that would create uniform airgroups, provide a more permanent groupassignment to ships, and permit areduction of assigned units and aircraftwithout reducing combat readiness. Thenew organization also provided for apermanent replacement air group to beestablished on each coast. These unitswere made respons ib le fo r t heindoctrination o f key maintenancepersonnel, the tact ical t ra in ing ofaviators, and for conducting specialprograms required for introduction ofnew models of combat aircraft.

—

Reflective of the growing dominance ofjet aircraft, an all-jet program in basicflight training began in May when 14students reported to ATU-206 at ForrestSherman Field, Pensacola, Fla., to fly theT2V Seastar.

That same month, four Demons andfour Crusaders completed nonstoptransatlantic crossings in OperationPipeline, demonstrating that carrieraircraft could be delivered from the East

20

Coast to the Sixth Fleet in theMediterranean expeditiously.

On May 27, 1958, the McDonnell F-4H-1 Phantom // flew for the first time.Thus began the career of one of the finestair weapons in the Navy/Marine Corpsinventory.

Facts about the Phantom:— In 48 seconds, the Phantom II

can climb four miles to intercept enemyaircraft.

— With the throttles two-blocked,the F-4 consumes enough fuel in 60seconds to drive an average Americancar more than 3,000 miles, and it carriesenough fuel to drive that car about35,000 miles.

— More than 643,000 fastenersare used to hold the Phantom together.

— Flight time from St. Louis toChicago is 12 minutes.

— Its generators can push enoughpower through its 14 miles of electricalwiring to supply a subdivision of 30-40homes with enough power to operatelights, washing machines, TV’s, toasters,can openers, vacuum cleaners, etc.

— And speaking of vacuumcleaners, its engines at full bore draw inenough air to collapse a typical six-roomhouse in two seconds.

— Painting one F-4 takes two days,36 people and 28 gallons of paint,enough to cover seven six-room houses.

An F3D jet fighter prepares to catapult offUSS Forrestal (CV-59) in February 1956.

— The catalyzed epoxy paintwithstands temperatures up to 450degrees and is resistant to engine andhydraulic oil.

— It can slow to a mere 125 knotsor streak through the sky at more than1,300 mph. For routine travel, it easesalong at 570 mph for more than 1,500miles without refueling.

— On takeoff it can hold anexternal load of more than eight tons.

— Unrefueled range from carriersor existing suitable friendly bases allowsthe Phantom to carry its payload ofground strike weapons over 92 percent ofthe earth’s surface.

—

In July 1958, while aircraft from Essexand Saratoga flew cover from long rangea n d S i x t h f l e e t s h i p s stood by,amphibious units landed 1,800 Marineson the beach near Beirut to support theLebanese government and to protectAmerican lives. In the days following,land, sea and air reinforcements weresent to the area and order wasmaintained without incident. Tensionsrose elsewhere, though, after ChineseCommunists shelled the Kinmen Islandsin August, renewing indications of navalactivity in the Taiwan Straits. SeventhFleet ships moved to the area to supportthe Republic of China in a firm standagainst aggression. Tensions remainedhigh and warlike action continued.Reinforcements, inc luding ai rcraf tcarriers, were sent to the area. ByOctober, the threat lessened and thesituation was somewhat stabilized.

—

Speed, altitude and distance recordscontinued. On January 24, 1959, MajorJ. P. Flynn and Captain C. D. Warfield ofthe 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, flewnonstop without refueling, from El Toro,Calif., to Cherry Point, N.C., in A4DSkyhawks, covering 2,082 mile is in fourhours, 25 minutes.

—

In March, Aviation Cadet E. R. Clarksoloed in a TT-1 Pinto, the first student inNaval Aviation history to solo a jetwithout previous experience in propelleraircraft.

In April, the Bullpup missile was firstdeployed overseas when VA-212, withFJ-4B Furies, sailed aboard Lexington tojoin the Seventh Fleet. The followingAugust, VA-34, flying S k y h a w k s ,departed from the East Coast aboardS a r a t o g a to jo in the Sixth Fleet ,extending Bullpup deployment to theMediterranean.

—

On August 25, 1959, a Skywarriorflown by Lieutenant Commander EdDecker launched from Independence at agross weight of 84,000 pounds. The A3Dthus became the heaviest aircraft ever totake off from a carrier.

—

In November, during a student trainingflight at NAS Pensacola, 2nd LieutenantDavid K. Mosher, USMC, and hisinstructor, Lieutenant Commander R. A.MacDonell, inaugurated use of the T2JBuckeye in basic training.

—

The Phantom // made its initial carriertrials in February 1960 aboard USSIndependence. The supersonic, two-seat,twin-jet, all-weather interceptor featuredlong-range capabilities with convention-al and nuclear bombs. The F4H first flewon May 27, 1958, and was subject to anexhaus t i ve f l i gh t demons t ra t ionprogram. The aircraft was destined toplay an instrumental role in the Vietnamfighting.

—

The year 1961 signaled the goldenanniversary of Naval Aviation. In lessthan a lifetime, the aircraft inventorychanged from fragile biplanes thatcruised at 80 mph to jets that achievedsupersonic speed with relative ease. Onenuclear and two conventionally poweredattack carriers joined the fleet that year.Before the decade of the sixties ended,t w o m o r e a t t a c k c a r r i e r s w e r ecommissioned.

—

T h e N a v y ’ s t r a d i t i o n a l r o l e i ncontrolling the sea was unchanged. Asuccessful naval blockade was employedduring the Cuban missile crisis. Theround-the-world cruise of a nuclear-

21

powered task force led by Enterprise andoperations in the Indian Ocean carriedthe flag into many foreign ports. Therewere crises in Africa, the Middle East,Berlin and the threat of war in theCaribbean. In Southeast Asia, the U.S.responded to aggressive actions withretaliatory air strikes. War developed andt h e A m e r i c a n c o m m i t m e n t t o i tincreased. The burden of the Navy’s airwar was carried by Seventh Fleet aircraft.

Nuclear Warfare

In 1943, the allied air forces in Europetried to annihilate Hamburg, Germany.During one week in July, they flew 3,028sorties and dropped 10,000 tons ofbombs. Thirty-five percent of the city wasdestroyed. T h e r e w e r e 8 0 , 0 0 0casualties. Two years later, on August 6,1945, a single bomber dropped one 20-kiloton nuclear weapon on Hiroshima,Japan. Much of the city was destroyedand 140,000 casualties resulted from theuse of the first atomic bomb.

In the years that followed, theseawesome weapons were ref ined,improved and eventually became aregular part of the arsenal.

By the late 1950s, aircraft werec o n s i d e r e d t h e k e y v e h i c l e f o r“delivering” nuclear weapons.

The P2V Neptune joined the fleet in1946 and could under certain conditionscarry nuclear weapons, but the first Navyplane designed for this duty was theNorth American AJ-1 Savage. T h eSavage was prop-driven, except for asmall jet engine for takeoffs and for run-ins over a target. The twin-jet Skywarriorbecame its replacement.

Two techniques were developed forh igh-a l t i t ude de l i ve ry o f nuc learweapons: visual and radar bombing, withvisual bombing planned only as anemergency backup measure. After theweapon was dropped, an escapemaneuver was developed that would givemaximum separation distance betweendelivery aircraft and burst effect.

Smaller aircraft also became nuclearweapon capable. Two of the mostpromising at the time were the prop-powered Skyraider and the Banshee jet.Two types of low-altitude bomb deliverywere developed. The dive or glide deliveryconsisted of a pullout at such an altitudethat the aircraft and pilot could safelyescape. Secondarily, there was loftbombing. Sometimes called LABS — lowa l t i t ude bomb ing sys tem — th isprocedure involved releasing the bombduring a pull-up before the aircraft pitch

22

An F-8 Crusader making a run against a Viet Cong stronghold in South Vietnam.

angle reached 90 degrees, the exactangle depending on target distance,aircraft speed and bomb characteristics.Loft bombing eliminated the need foraircraft to fly over what may have been aheavily defended target. After release,the aircraft flew a half Cuban-eightmaneuver which provided sufficientescape distance from the blast.

In a variation of this maneuver, thebomb was not released until after theaircraft had passed the target and thepitch angle exceeded 90 degrees. Thebomb was tossed back toward the targetand hoisted above the airplane’s turningradius. There was no need for an initialpoint (IP). The target was the IP. Thesemaneuvers have been modified throughthe years and become sophisticated astechnology improved.

The Navy was not abandoning itscapability of waging a conventional war.Nuclear arms were simply considered anaddition to the inventory of weapons, nota replacement for all older, time-testedbombs, rockets and the like. During theSuez crisis in 1956, for example, theNavy was the only service with an on-the-spot capability to fight a conventionalstyle war.

W ith respect to the progress inresearch and production of nuclearweapons, the abiding philosophy wasthat these weapons provided insurancethat the Navy could wage nuclear warand thereby effectively deter it.

—

On November 20, 1962, following aworldwide spell of international tension,an agreement was reached between theU.S. and the Soviet Union relative to theremoval of missiles and bombers fromCuba. T h e n a v a l b l o c k a d e w a sdiscontinued and the ships at searesumed normal operations.

—

Cont inued upgrading of carr ieroperat ions was mani fested in thedevelopment of an automatic carrierlanding system. On June 13, 1963,Lieutenant Commander R. K. Billings andR. S. Chew, Jr., of NATC Patuxent River,piloting an F-4 Phantom and an F-8Crusader, respectively, made the firstfully automatic carrier landing withproduction equipment, on board USSMidway off the California coast. Thelandings were made “hands off” withboth flight controls and throttles operatedautomatically by signals from the ship.This event highlighted nearly 10 years of

research and development and followed,by almost six years, the first such carrierlanding made with test equipment.

Vietnam

The war in Vietnam broke out in 1964.On August 5 the President orderedoffensive action preserving the U.S. rightto operate in international waters.A i r c ra f t f r om C o n s t e l l a t i o n a n dTiconderoga attacked torpedo boats andtheir support facilities at five locationsalong the North Vietnamese coast. Thismarked the beginning of a costly combatera in which Navy carrier forces played akey role for the duration. Conventionalarms were used throughout the war and,as they did during the Korean conflict,squadron planes flew cyclic operationsfrom flattop to enemy territory and backalmost daily. U.S. Marine Corps aircraftoperating primarily from below the 17thparallel saw constant action in South andNorth Vietnam.

—

On June 17, 1965, while escorting astrike on the barracks at Gen Phu, NorthVietnam, Commander L. C. Page andLieutenant J. E. D. Batson, flying F-4BPhantoms of VF-21 aboard USS Midway,intercepted four MiG-17s. Each shotdown one, scoring the first U.S. victoriesagainst MiGs in Vietnam.

—

The special capability of jets operatingfrom relat ively short airstr ips wasdemonstrated on May 11, 1966, when aMAG-12 pilot in an A-4 Skyhawk made aca tapu l t l aunch f rom the Mar ineExpeditionary Airf ield at Chu Lai,Vietnam. It was the first combat use ofthe new land-based catapult capable oflaunching fully loaded tactical aircraftfrom runways less than 3,000 feet long.

—

In mid-May, USS Intrepid heralded itsfirst day on the line by launching CarrierAir Wing 10, composed entirely of attacksquadrons, against Viet Cong troopsconcentrations and supply storage areasaround Saigon. The aircraft completed 97combat sorties in a day.

In June, Skyhawks and F-8 Crusadersfrom USS Hancock made the first carrierstrike against petroleum facilities in twoyears. This signaled the beginning of asystematic e f fo r t t o des t roy theCommunists’ petroleum storage system.

—

The first application of aerial mining inVietnam took place on February 26,1967. Seven A-6A Intruders, led byCommander A. H. Barrie of VA-35,planted mine fields in the mouths of theSong Ca and Song Giang rivers. Theoperation was aimed at stopping coastalbarges from moving supplies intoimmediate areas.

Toward the end of April, carrier planeslaunched their first strikes on MiG basesin North Vietnam with an attack on KepAirfield, 37 miles northeast of Hanoi.Intruders and Skyhawks from Kitty Hawkwere principal planes. The A-6s attackedagain the same night. While providingbomber cover during the first attack,Lieutenant Commander Charles E.Southwick and Lieutenant Hugh Wisely,in VF-114 Phantoms, each were creditedwith a probable MiG-17 kill.

—

On the home front, a new plane-theA-7A Corsair // — showed its capabilitieswhen two of the jets, piloted byCommander Charles Fritz and CaptainA l e x G i l l e s p i e , U S M C , m a d e atransatlantic crossing from PatuxentRiver to Evreux, France. This establishedan unofficial record for long-distance,nonrefuled light attack jets. They flew3,327 nautical miles in seven hours andone minute.

—

Meanwhile, an older p lane wasearning a reputation as a lifesaver inSoutheast Asia. An NAS Whidbey Island,Wash., report, published in late 1968,described the value of the aircraft knownas the “Whale,” the A-3 Skywarrior.

At least 499 flak-damaged jets, valuedat $958.5 million, have made it back totheir ships after air strikes over Vietnambecause a “Whale” was in the air.

More than that number of NavalAviators have not had to take the risk ofejecting because of a low fuel state.

23

Lt. John C. Carter

Two heavily armed A-6A Intruders from USS Constellation (CVA-64) fly a combat mission over North Vietnam.

The Whales are KA-3B tankers. Themen who fly them gave the swept-winged jets the nickname.

Skywarriors entered the early sixtiesas heavy attack bombers, the mission forwhich they were originally designed.Withdrawn from that assignment whentheir replacement, the A-6 lntruders,joined operational forces, the twin-jetSkywarriors were outfitted with a hose-reel assembly, pipes and a pump. Theyu s e t h e i r o w n in te rna l fue l fo rreplenishments.

The number of aircraft saved isprobably much higher, since the periodreported covers January 1, 1965, toAugust 1, 1968, and does not include

24

aircraft with low fuel states for reasonsother than combat-connected missions.

—

Demonstrating the ability to project atsea expeditiously, a task group composedof the carrier Enterprise and screen wasordered to reverse course in the EastChina Sea on January 23, 1968, and torun northward to the Sea of Japan. USSPueblo had been captured by the NorthKoreans. Enterprise and companyoperated off the South Korean coast fornearly a month. In CONUS four dayslater, six Naval Air Reserve carriersquadrons were activated in support of

the Pueblo emergency.

Top Gun

Top Gun, the Navy Fighter WeaponsSchool at NAS Miramar, Calif., wasformed in 1968, to improve aircrewproficiency in air-to-air combat. A NavalAir Systems Command study, promptedby a less than desirable kill ratio in theskies over North Vietnam, called for ahigher level of weapons and tacticstraining. There was a need to shift all-weather fighter emphasis from heavyreliance upon radar to more eyeball-oriented tactics. In the beginning, thespecially selected Top Gun instructors

flew stripped-down A-4 Skyhawks as“opposing” fighters in realistic practiceengagements with “students” fromother squadrons who flew their own unitaircraft.

—

In February 1969, the Naval AirSystems Command issued a contract fordevelopment of the F-14A Tomcat, avariable-sweep wing fighter to succeedthe F-4 Phantom.

On June 24, 1969, Lieutenant DeanSmith and Lieutenant Junior GradeJames Sherlock of VF-103 in a Phantomfrom Saratoga made the first operational“hands-off” arrested landing with anAN/SPN-42 automatic carrier landingsystem.

—

Vietnam fighting remained a priority asthe decade of the seventies began but, inthe next few years, the American publicwas to become increasingly aware of thecountry’s critical dependence upon oilf r om fo re ign sou rces . An acu teconsciousness of the U.S. position as atwo-ocean nation reemphasized thereliance upon the Navy to keep the sealanes open to ensure the free flow ofcommerce.

—

On March 28, 1970, the first NorthVietnamese MiG kill occurred since a

November 1, 1968, bombing halt.Lieutenant Jerome E. Beaulier andLieutenant Junior Grade Stephen J.Barkley, in a Constellation-based VF-142Phantom, shot down a MiG-21 whilethey were escort ing an unarmedreconnaissance plane near Thanh Hoa,North Vietnam.

—

On April 10, the A-4M made its firstflight at Palmdale, Calif. This version ofthe Skyhawk featured 50 percent morethrust than that of the first in the series,the A4D-1 of 1954. It was ideally suitedfor operations from short airfields inforward areas, a factor that made theplane especially valuable to the MarineCorps.

In late September, as a result of theJordanian crisis caused by Palestiniancommando attempts to unseat themonarchy in Amman, USS Kennedyjoined Saratoga and Independence in theMediterranean, followed by seven otherU.S. Navy ships, including USS Guam.This strengthened the Sixth Fleet to some55 ships which served as a standby forcein case U.S. military protection wasneeded for evacuation of Americans andas a counterbalance to the Soviet Union’sgrowing Mediterranean fleet.

An A-7 Corsair II receives fuel from a Skywarrior in 1971.

Back on the other side of the globe theU.S. responded to an attack on anunarmed reconnaissance aircraft onNovember 21 and 22. Two hundredplanes conducted protective reaction airstrikes against North Vietnamese missileand antiaircraft sites south of the 19thparallel.

—

The F-14A, piloted by Grumman testpilots Robert Smyth and William Miller,made its first flight on December 21 atGrumman’s Calverton Field, Long Island,N.Y.

—

In January 1971, Task Force 77, theAttack Carrier Striking Force, SeventhFleet at the core of Yankee Stationoperations, interdicted the Ho Chi MinhTrail and provided air support for alliedground forces in South Vietnam.

—

Marine Corps/Navy’s f i rst AV-8Harrier was accepted by Major GeneralHomer S. Hill, USMC, at Dunsfold,England, on January 6, 1971. The Harrierwas the first vertical short takeoff andlanding (V/STOL) fixed-wing aircraftever accepted for use as a combat aircraftby U.S. armed forces. Later in the month,the Navy ’s newes t ca r r ie r -basedelectronic warfare aircraft, the EA-6BProwler, entered service with VAQ-129at NAS Whidbey Island. A derivative ofthe two-place A-6 intruder, the Prowlerwas lengthened to accommodate fouraircrewmen.

—

In the war zone, Hancock, Ranger andKitty Hawk planes flew more than 3,000sorties in January, most of them bombingtype missions in Laos. A-6 Intruders andCorsair lls were particularly effective inattacks against the heavy flow of supply-carrying trucks. Estimates were that theenemy was putting close to 1,000 trucksper day on the roadways.

By late February, strike sorties wereaveraging 122 per day because of thecontinuing truck movements, estimatedat 1,400 a day. On March 10, Ranger andKitty Hawk set a record 233 strike sortiesfor one day and went on during theensuing six-day period to mark up a strikeeffectiveness record that exceeded

25

recorded performances by Task Force 77during the previous three-year period. OnMarch 31, strike sorties launched by thecarriers during the month totaled 4,535,of which nearly 4,500 were ordnance-delivery sorties. These figures were up bymore than 1,000, respectively, over theprevious month. Over 680 “seed” (landmine type weapons) and interdictionmissions were flown during the monthswith unknown results. About 75 percentof the interdiction missions, however,obtained one or more road cuts whileimplanting seeds.

Interdiction flights in great numberscharacterized Vietnam action from thecarrier-based jet’s vantage point.

Weather seemed to be the only foe tostifle Yankee Station efforts. In July,Oriskany, Midway and Enterprise servedintermittently on station but operationsduring the month were disrupted whenthe flattops evaded three typhoons —Harriet. Kim and Jean.

Back home, the jet-powered S-3AViking, the Navy’s newest ASW aircraft,made its official rollout at the Lockheed-California Company’s Burbank facility onNovember 8. This plane was designed toreplace the venerable but aging S-2Tracker.

Also in CONUS, Commander GeorgeWhite from NATC Patuxent River becamethe first Navy test pilot to fly the F-14ATomcat. By the end of 1971, nine of thefighters were assigned to various testprograms.

—

On December 15, 1971, VMA(AW)-224, part of Carrier Air Wing 15 on boardUSS Coral Sea, arrived on YankeeStation. The unit was the first MarineCorps squadron to fly combat missionsinto North Vietnam from a carrieroperating on Yankee Station.

On January 19, 1972, LieutenantRandall Cunningham and LieutenantJunior Grade William Driscoll in an F-4 ofVF-96 off USS Constellation shot down aMiG-21. This action took place during aprotective reaction strike in response toearlier AAA and SAM firings from anarea which had menaced an RA-5Creconnaissance plane and its escorts.

—

On January 21, 1972, the S-3A Vikingconducted its maiden flight in California.The sub hun te r me t the Navy ’srequirements for a 400-knot-plus aircraftwith a 2,000-mile range capability.

26

Search and Rescue

Countless rescue stories emanatedfrom the war in Southeast Asia. Thefollowing one had a happy ending.

Drama and an air of uneasiness filledthe Gulf of Tonkin early one summermorning as men from HC-7, the carriersSaratoga and Midway, and the frigateDewey combined efforts to retrieve aNavy pilot downed more than 20 milesinside North Vietnam.

Lieutenant James R. L loyd hadlaunched in his A-7 from Saratoga on aroutine bombing mission over NorthVietnam at 2015 the previous evening.An hour later, things were not quite asroutine. “It was just after dark and I haddropped my ordnance over some trucksmoving south near Vinh,” related the VA-105 pilot.

“Suddenly I had an indication of a SAMfiring. It was a definite lock-on, coming atme at 12 o’clock.

“I maneuvered to avoid the SAM. Thenext thing I heard was a thud on my leftwing and I went into a hard left roll. Ilooked and saw big metal sheets of mywing coming off. I really wanted to bringthe aircraft out over the water. I tried todo it with the rudder but my stick wasfrozen. Then my plane went into a fullnose-down dive, so I ejected.”

Lloyd said he does not rememberfalling. “I just wanted to get to my radio tolet them know I was alive. When I camedown, I started running away from theburning plane. (I could feel the heatduring my descent.) I remember hearingchickens and pigs; even the dogs barkedfunny. It was my state of mind, I guess,”he said.

According to Lloyd, after he safelyparachuted, people were running all overthe countryside. “I could hear at least 300people and see over 100. At one timesome of them came within six inches ofme. The men near me had guns and werefiring randomly. I knew it was bad. I hidin a bush but they never did beat the one lwas hiding in. My green flight suitblended in well with the vegetation.”

Using his hand-held radio, Lloydcommunicated with other Navy jets stilloverhead. “I told them that there werepeople in the area, that I was scared andwanted to be picked up.”

Lloyd recalled that people wereconstantly talking and he knew he had tobe quiet and furtive, and that he had towork northeast up a small hill. “Everyone

I encountered was shouting,” he said. “Idon’t know if it was my imagination ornot, but I heard my name mentionedthree of four times. It could meansomething in Vietnamese.”

The most horrifying chapter of theadventure occurred when two menactually found Lloyd as he lay entwined ina bush.

“Something was said and I figured itwas all over for me,” said Lloyd. “I didn’tknow what to do; I just didn’t move. Theyjabbed me in the back with a barrel of arifle, two times, I guess. Something wassaid again and I heard footsteps running.

I figured one guy was standing guard.I knew I had to get away. I slowly rolledover to see who he was. To myamazement, both were running up thehill. I got up. I guess they thought I waseither dead or injured. I ran like hell.”

While the North Vietnamese ran northfor help, Lloyd ran northeast. Whenautomatic weapons fire began to whizover his head, he started to crawl. “Icrawled because I could see the horizonand I could feel where I was going. Butthe stench of the rice paddies wasunbelievable.”

Lloyd then moved two miles furthernorth and, when he heard more voices,dove into a rice paddy. People camewithin five feet of him this time butpassed by without noticing him. Seeinghis chance, he again made contact withthe planes above him.

“I told them to bring in the helicopter,”Lloyd continued. “They tried to bring it inearlier, but they never would have madeit. Calling off that first helo was probablythe biggest decision of my life.”

“When I was talking to the planesabove, I wanted to know who I wastalking to. It gets awful lonely downthere,” sighed Lloyd. “I found some morebrush to hide in, and it was then I realizedhow I ached, how I stunk.”

While Lloyd was on the ground, air andsurface search and rescue units were farfrom idle. When the 27-year-old NavalAviator ejected from his Corsair II, hiswingman immediately assumed dutiesas air on-scene SAR commander, andDewey became the surface SAR controlship, coordinating the efforts of thesurface units and controlling the aircraftthat completed the rescue.

Air intercept controllers aboard Deweywere kept busy during the five-hourrescue mission. RD1 Paul Mosscontrolled all aircraft operating inlandwhich provided surveillance, groundsuppression and the pickup of the

downed pilot. At the same time, RDCWilmon Crowe and RD1 Antonio St.James controlled all jet aircraft operatingoff the coast, and RD2 James Barnetthandled the reserve helicopter assets.

Chief Crowe directed in-flight refuelingfor 16 aircraft during Lloyd’s ordeal andthe destroyer Hepburn provided refuelingfor the rescue helicopter.

At 2:45 a.m., Lloyd was able to see theHC-7 SAR helo. I started to vector himin,” explained Lloyd. “He had his lightson and I never thought he would do that.It made him a sitting duck. He was takingfire from all over the place. He circled thearea and wanted me to show him where Iwas.”

The SH-3A, with Lieutenant Harry J.Zinser as aircraft commander, made oneapproach. Lloyd jumped up in an attemptto catch the hook but missed. Helo pilotLieutenant William D. Young then madeanother pass.

“This time he landed about 100 feetfrom me and I just ran like hell towardthat beautiful single Big Mother,” saidLloyd. “I just dove in.”

Other crew members in the Sea Kingincluded crew chief AT3 Douglas G.Ankney and AMAN Mathew Szymanski,the helo’s gunner who answered the

enemy’s ground fire with rounds from hismachine gun.

HC-7, home-based at NAS ImperialBeach, Calif., was involved in manyrescue missions, most of them overwater. Not since 1968 had a squadronhelo gone so deep into enemy territory ona rescue mission. Most of the rescuehelicopter’s journey into North Vietnamwas done at low altitudes and over roughmountainous terrain. “It would havekilled us if we had hit a mountain or atree,” says Zinser.

When the Sea King returned to thecarrier, a jet pilot who had been overheadduring the rescue mission told the heloc rew tha t t hey had been tak ingantiaircraft fire at point-blank rangewhen they touched down to pick up Lloyd.

“It was an outstanding effort by allinvolved,” said the overjoyed Lloyd whosuffered minor injuries. “ I t ’ s j us tfantastic what so many people will do tosave one life. I’m very impressed at theNavy’s all-for-one, one-for-all effort.”

Reactionary Air Strikes

On April 6, 1972, heavy air raids wereconducted against North Vietnam, thefirst since October 1968 when a halt was

called on such attacks. Since that halt,the U.S. air effort had concentrated oninterdicting soldiers and supplies movingalong various routes into South Vietnam.Except for protective reaction strikes anda five-day operation at the end of 1971,called Proud Deep, very few heavy attackmissions had been flown into NorthVietnam. The U.S. reactionary raids wereprompted by a massive invasion of SouthVietnam by six North Vietnamesedivisions. The objectives of these raidswere the destruct ion of a l l NorthVietnamese aggression supportingresources; harassment and disruption ofenemy military operations; and reductionand impediment to movements of menand materials through southern NorthVietnam.

—

The Marine Corps demonstrated itslong-range punch when elements of twoPhantom squadrons, VMFA-115 andVMFA-232, flew into Da Nang fromIwakuni, Japan, on April 6 as part ofthe reinforcing effort in support of SouthVietnamese troops, particularly aroundQuangTri. VMFA-212 arrived fromKaneohe, Hawaii, eight days later.

An A-7A Corsair II armed with bombs prepares to launch from USS Constellation (CVA-64). PH1 Derby

27

An example of Naval Air action againstenemy positions inside central and SouthVietnam during North Vietnam’s springoffensive took place the last six days ofApril as Hancock’s VAs 55, 164 and 211struck enemy-held territory aroundKontum and Pleiku and Constellation’sVAs 146, 147 and 165 hit areas aroundthe beseiged city of An Loc in support ofSouth Vietnamese troops, some only 40miles outside the capital of Saigon.

—

Operations by Navy and Marine Corpsa i r c r a f t e x p a n d e d s i g n i f i c a n t l ythroughout April. Nearly 5,000 Navysorties in the South and 1,250 in theNorth were flown in the month. TheMarine Corps flew 537 sorties in theSouth Vietnam area. The dramaticincrease in Navy flights was supported byfour Western Pacific carriers. Coral Seaand Hancock were on Yankee Stationwhen the North Vietnamese’s springoffensive began. Ki t ty Hawk a n dConstellation were ordered to the sceneat the beginning of the month. As thedays progressed in April, the Navy effortgrew from 240 to more than 300 sorties aday.

—

The Navy unveiled the first nightcarrier landing trainer at NAS Lemooreon May 4, 1972. The device permittedpilots to simulate A-7E landings oncarrier decks.

—

At 0840, on May 9, during OperationPocket Money, Intruders and Corsairsfrom Coral Sea, with an EKA-36 insupport, departed the vicinity of the ship.They were to execute a mining missionagainst the outer approaches toHaiphong Harbor. Their “time on target”was to be precisely 0900 in order tocoincide with the President’s publicannouncement in Washington thatmines had been seeded. CommanderRoger Sheets, wing commander, led thethree A-6s, which were USMC planesfrom VMA-224. They headed for theinner channel of the harbor. The A-7Es,led by Commander Len Giul iani ,consisted of six aircraft from VA-94 andVA-22. They were tasked with mining theouter segment of the channel. Eachaircraft carried four Mk 52-2 mines.

C a p t a i n W i l l i a m C a r r , U S M C ,bombardier/navigator in the lead A-6,established the critical attack azimuth

28

and timed the mine releases. The firstwas dropped at 0859 and the last of thefield of 36 mines at 0901. All mines wereset with 72-hour arming delays. Thispermitted merchant ships time fordeparture or a change in destinationconsistent with the President’s publicwarning.

Thus began a mining campaign thatplanted more than 11,000 Mk 36-typedestructors and 108 of the special Mk 52-2 mines over the next eight months.These missions played a large role inultimately bringing about a stop to thewar.

—

On May 10, Linebacker /, a heavy strikeoperation against targets throughoutNorth Vietnam, evolved. An outgrowth ofthe President’s mining declaration,which also stated that the U.S. wouldmake a maximum effort to interdict theflow of supplies, the operation lasted fiveand a half months.

The 10th was the most intensified air-to-air combat day of the entire war. Navyflyers shot down eight MiGs. A VF-96F-4, while engaged in aerial combat overHaiphong, shot down three of them, thefirst triple downing of enemy MiGs by onep lane du r i ng the wa r . L t . RandyCunningham was the pilot, Ltjg. WilliamDriscoll, his RIO. Coupled with January19 and May 8 downings of two MiGs, thisfeat made Cunningham and Driscoll thefirst MiG aces of the Vietnam conflict.

The scope of the air war changed onMay 18, 1972, when the Uong Bi electricpower plant near Haiphong was struck.This signaled the beginning of strikes ontargets formerly avoided, includingpower p lants, shipyards and theHaiphong cement plant.

Beginning in late May, Navy nightoperations were conducted on a regularbasis. In the ensuing two months, nightstrikes constituted 30 percent of the totalNavy attack effort in North Vietnam.Corsairs and Intruders performed thebulk of this night work.

—

On August 5, a Naval Air Test Centerpilot made the first fully automatedlanding aboard Ranger in an F-4JPhantom. The test landing device linkedthe aircraft’s controls with a shipboardcomputer and enabled the Phantom toland with the pilot’s hands off thecontrols.

The first two F-14 Tomcat squadronswere formed at NAS Miramar. VF-1 andVF-2, formerly disestablished units, werereactivated to receive the Navy’s firstnew fighter plane in 14 years. The F-4Phantom, introduced in 1958, was itsimmediate predecessor.

—

The war in Vietnam was windingdown. The U.S. ended all tactical airsorties above the 20th parallel onOctober 23, 1 9 7 2 , a n d b r o u g h tLinebacker / operations to a close. Thisgoodwill gesture was designed topromote peace negotiations. But onDecember 18, Linebacker II was initiatedafter Paris peace talks were stalemated.Linebacker // ended on December 29when the North Vietnamese returned tothe peace table. Operations involvedheavy bombing of the north above the20th parallel. Also, there were minereseeding missions and concentratedstrikes against surface-to-air missile andantiaircraft artillery sites, enemy armybarracks, petroleum storage areas, theHaiphong naval and shipyard areas andrailroad and truck stations. Navy tacticalair attack sorties in Linebacker II werecentered around Hanoi and Haiphong.

—

An example of an attack squadron atwork in combat is contained in thefollowing account of A-7 equipped VA-56aboard Midway. The squadron ended itsseventh period on the line on December23, 1972.

Flying with CVW-5 since April, thesquadron recorded 180 days on the line,flew more than 5,500 combat hours,made more than 3,000 sorties andcompleted 2,090 day and 781 nightcarrier landings. Pilots amassed 6,301hours. VA-56 conducted strikes againstsuch targets as the Haiphong, Ninh Binh,Ha Tinh, Kien An, Tam Da and Thanh Hoabridge complexes; the Haiphong, Vinh,Doung Nham and Nam Dinh petroleumareas; and the Gia Lam railroad yardsacross the Red River from Hanoi. Otheractions included mining operations andprotective flights for four search andrescue missions, including one at nightinside North Vietnam, and one for two AirForce officers downed off the coast.During the line periods, four of thesquadron’s A-7Bs were lost to AAA andSAM missile fire. Two pilots were takenprisoner, one was listed as missing inaction, and one was retrieved.

Air Warfare

No a i r comba t m iss ion can bedescribed as typical. Each takes on acharacter of its own. The followingreport, therefore, gives only a glance atVietnam aerial activities but it reflects thenature of air warfare circa 1967.

When they completed their strikesagainst the Dong Phong Thuong militarystorage and transshipment complex inNorth Vietnam, Navy pilots wrapped upwhat was then the biggest carrier-basedassault of 1967 on enemy supply routes.

Considered by Navy sources to be oneis located midway between Hanoi andVinh on a 150-mile rail line that connectsthe cities.

Dong Phong Thuong was a marshaling

point for southbound supplies carried byroad and rail from Hanoi, and by bargesfrom Haiphong. It was also a majorstockpile area for communist warmaterial.

To knock out the complex, aircraft werelaunched on two-day coordinated strikemissions from the carriers Kitty Hawk,Cora l Sea and T i c o n d e r o g a . F - 4Phantoms, F-8 Crusaders, A-4 Skyhawksand A-6 intruders battered the targetarea.

Primary objectives included two railbridges and a 200-foot pontoon bridgespanning the nearby Song Lau River, aferry, five warehouses, four cave storageareas and supply routes.

But there were also other targets. Themissions, some of them described by

returning pilots, went as follows:On the first day, planes from CVW-9

aboard Tico struck the railroad bridges,scoring missile hits on the spans andcutting the rail line. Commander BillyPhillips led strike aircraft armed with air-to-surface missiles and Commander EdMcKellar headed a group carrying 1,000-pound bombs. The railroad spur justsouth of the main bridge was hit byLieutenant Norman Morton, LieutenantJ u n i o r G r a d e K w a n g Y u m a n dLieutenant Junior Grade Bill Cain, allfrom VA-192.

VF-194 pilots Lieutenant CommanderDave Morris and Lieutenant JuniorGrade Jack Allen bombed the railroadspur near the main line. “I was pullingout on my bombing run. I looked back at

Smoke churns skyward as an A-4 Skyhawk from USS Oriskany (CVA-34) attacks an enemy target in North Vietnam in September 1967.

the target and could see that we knockedout a junction of the spur,” Ltjg. Allenreported later.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Joe Phaneuf,also assigned to VF-194, was flying asfighter escort for a photo mission over thetarget. “I saw considerable damage to therailroad spur,” he said.

Air-to-surface missiles and rocketswere used to s i l ence radar andantiaircraft sites surrounding the target.They were struck by VA-192 pilotsLieutenant Commander Mike Estocin,Lieutenant Jud Springer and LieutenantJunior Grade Richard Millson. Severalother AA and radar sites were either hitor forced to shut down by pilots onadvance missions.

The next day, the railroad bypassbridge was heavily damaged by BlackFalcons of VA-85 flying from Kitty Hawk.Thousand-pounders, dropped from theirIntruders, sliced up the span.

“We dropped a number of bombs onthe bridge and destroyed at least onespan, and maybe more,” LieutenantByron Hodge recalled. Another VA-85pilot, Lieutenant Junior Grade RogerBrodt, said, “As I pulled off, I checked ourhits and they looked real good. The wholebridge was covered with smoke. Youcouldn’t even see it. Everyone hit the areafast. We were in and out almost beforethe enemy knew what was coming.”

Skyhawks from VA-112 streaked in ona cable bridge and inflicted heavydamage with 500-pound bombs. “We hitthe southern end of the br idge,”Lieutenant Junior Grade Carl Jadrniceksaid later. “I was the last in on the targetand I had a bird’s-eye view of our bombscoming off as they hit the bridge. I lookedback on the area after I pulled out andcould see it burning on the southernabutment.”

Bomb assessment photography takenby reconnaissance pilots after the strikesshowed that all three bridges wereknocked out and the ferry sunk. Twowarehouses were completely destroyed,three heavily damaged.

As a bonus, a number of boxcars fromthree trains — trapped on a spur byprevious strikes — were destroyed orderailed.

After the missions were over, rail lineswere reported out in six places, includingt h e e n t r a n c e and exit to thetransshipment complex.

Besides silencing many AA batteriesprotecting the complex, the pilots alsoknocked out several surface-to-airmissile facilities. Some of the Naval

30

Aviators watched a SAM, launchedduring an attack, miss its target andexplode near a lightly populated areaoutside the target zone.

Pre-strike photography had indicatedthat most of the civilian population hadevacuated the area while the militarycomplex was being built up during themonths before the strike.

Commander Dick Powell, who led thesecond-day, afternoon strike, said, “Thelast I saw of the missile, it was headingfor earth. I rolled in and had a good beadon the bridge and dropped my bombs. As Ipulled out of my run, I looked back andcould see a lot of smoke. Even with heavyground fire from gun batteries, we got inand out without a scratch.”

Some were not so fortunate. A VA-85Intruder crew, leading the first Kit tyHawk strike, was shot down after itdropped a section of the first rail bridgeattacked.

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From June 1965 through December1972, Navy and Marine Corps pilots hads h o t d o w n 5 6 M i G s . A i r - t o - a i rengagements were abundant in 1972.The Navy/Marine Corps flyers downed24 MiGs during the year. The 57th andlast enemy fighter shot down was a MiG-21 by Midway’s VF-161 on January 12,1973.

A Vietnam cease-fire was announcedon January 23 and came into effect onthe 27th. The carriers Oriskany, America,Enterprise and Ranger were on YankeeStation and cancelled all combat sorties.Dating from U.S. involvement beginningin 1961 and terminating on January 27,1973, the Navy lost 529 fixed-wingaircraft and 13 helicopters to hostileaction. The Marine Corps lost 193 fixed-wing planes and 270 helicopters toenemy action. A l so on t he 27 th ,Operation Homecoming, the repatriationof Amer ican POWs, began. Thisevolution lasted until April 1. The VietCong released 591 POWs, 566 of whomwere military personnel. Of this number,145 were Navy personnel. Naval Aviationpersonnel accounted for 144 of the 145.

Combat sorties did continue, however,in support of the Laotian government atits request. This assistance had norelationship with the Vietnam cease-fire.

After intensive bombing for more thansix months, the U.S. ended its combatinvolvement in Cambodia on August 15,1973.

I I I. Power Projection

By the m id -1970s the re was adeclining material inventory in the Navyand difficulty in retaining experiencedpersonnel. Even so, the F-14 Tomcatfighter was introduced and the MarineCorps accepted the AV-8 Harrier, capableof vertical and short takeoffs andlandings. The F/A-18 Hornet was alsounder development. Two nuclearsupercarriers were commissioned in the1970s, USS Nimitz and USS Eisenhower.

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The end of a career was marked onFebruary 4, 1974, when one of the Navy’smost popular jets, the Grumman TF-9JCougar, made final flights with VT-4during student carrier qualificationsaboard USS Kennedy.

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On February 20, VS-41 accepted itsfirst S-3A Viking, officially replacing theS -2 T r a c k e r . Meanwh i le , F igh te rSquadrons 1 and 2 aboard Enterprisesailed from San Francisco, marking theinitial deployment of the Grumman F-14Tomcat, the Navy’s newest fighter.

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On May 12 through 14, 1975, CoralSea aircraft flew protective air strikesagainst Cambodian mainland naval andair installations after an Americanmerchantship, SS Mayaguez, with 39crewmen aboard, was illegally seized ininternational waters by a Cambodiangunboat controlled by the CommunistKhmer Rouge.

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On August 1, 1975, an old aircraftmade a new record when a KA-3BSkywarrior at tached to VAQ-208completed the longest nonstop flight evermade by a carrier-based tactical jetaircraft. The flight originated at NS Rota,Spain, and ended at NAS Alameda, Calif.The A-3 covered a distance of 6,100miles and lasted 13 hours.

In January 1976, the Navy awarded aninitial funding contract to the McDonnellDouglas Corporation to begin full-scaledevelopment of the F-18 air combatfighter.

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In early March, a pair of VS-22 Vikingslanded aboard Saratoga off the Italiancoast, completing the first Atlanticcrossing by the S-3A. The planesdeparted NAS Cecil Field, Fla., andstopped en route at NAS Bermuda,NAF Lajes and NS Rota.

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A Navy task force headed by Japan-based Midway made a show of force onAugust 21, 1976, off the coast of Korea inresponse to an unprovoked attack on twoU.S. Army officers who were killed byNorth Korean guards on August 18.Midway’s response was in support of aU.S. demonstration of military concernvis-a-vis North Korea.

On May 4, USS America transited theSuez Canal, the largest warship ever todo so. CV-66 was the first U.S. carrier totravel through the canal since June 1,1967, when USS lntrepid navigated thewaterway.

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On January 13, 1977, when two AV-8A Harriers landed aboard Roosevelt, itmay have been the first time in NavalAviation history that a fixed-wing aircraftmade a bow-on, downwind landingaboard a carrier at sea. This landing, withjets facing af t , demonstrated thatV/STOL aircraft could land aboard acarrier without many of the conditionsnecessary for fixed-wing, non-V/STOLaircraft.

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On April 21, 1977, Roosevelt returnedto the U.S. from its last overseasdeployment prior to her decommission-ing on October 1, 1977. FDR was the firstcarrier to launch a jet plane on July 21,1946.

On November 9, 1978, the MarineCorps’ newest light attack aircraft, theAV-8B, f l ew fo r the f i r s t t ime a tMcDonnell Douglas Corporation in St.Louis, MO. The B version of the Harrierhas more than double the payload andradius of its predecessor, the AV-8A.Nine days later, the F/A-18 Hornet madeits first flight from the same plant. TheHornet has a combat radius of more than550 miles and a ferry range of more than2,000 miles.

—

The Navy took delivery of the last A-4Skyhawk from McDonnell Douglas onFebruary 27, 1979, setting a record forthe longest production run for any U.S.military aircraft. Built as an attackbomber and as a two-place trainer, theA-4 had been in continuous productionfor 26 years. The final Skyhawk off theproduction line was an A-4M destined forMarine Corps squadron VMA-331. It wasthe 2,960th Skyhawk manufactured byMcDonnell Douglas.

The U.S. Marine Corps’ AV8A Harrier, received in 1971, was the first V/STOL, fixed-wing plane accepted for combat use by U.S.military forces.

On October 30, 1979, the Hornet madeits first landings at sea aboard USSAmerica. During five days of sea trials 32traps were recorded.

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On November 18, Midway and escortships, which had been operating in theIndian Ocean, arrived in the northern partof the Arabian Sea in connection with acrisis in Tehran, Iran, that ignited onNovember 4. One Naval Aviator and 14Marines were among more then 60Americans taken hostage in the U.S.embassy there.

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Sunset came for another venerable jetaircraft, the RA-5C, on November 20when the last Vigilante in the Navy madeits final flight. The RA-5C, built by NorthAmerican, was the Navy’s only all-weather, carrier-based reconnaissanceaircraft. With this last sortie, the entirereconnaissance inven to ry o f 156Vigilantes was phased out.

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On December 3, Kitty Hawk joinedMidway in the North Arabian Sea. Thetwo carrier forces provided the U.S. withA-6 and A-7 attack aircraft and F-4 and F-14 fighters, which could respond to avariety of situations if called upon duringthe Iranian crisis.

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During 1979, Navy carrier forcesresponded to five crisis situations around

the world. The following carriersresponded for contingency operationsd u e t o t h e I r a n i a n p r o b l e m s :Constellation (North and South Yemen);Saipan, (Nicaraguan turmoil); Nassau,(Russian combat troops in Cuba); KittyHawk (Korea); and Midway and KittyHawk (North Arabian Sea).

The Navy provided the sharp edge ofAmerica’s power projection sword.

First Hornet Squadron

On November 13, 1980, VFA-125, theNavy’s first F/A-18 Hornet squadron,was established at NAS Lemoore, Calif.The new unit was tasked with trainingNavy and Marine Corps personnel to flyand maintain the Hornet.

By the end of 1980, carrier operationsconducted in connection with the Iraniancrisis consisted of 10 tours by eight attackcarriers in the Indian Ocean/ArabianSea. The carriers accumulated a grandtotal of 723 days on station. Those withover 100 contingency days on stationduring the year included Eisenhower,with two tours tota l ing 199 days;Midway, with two tours representing 118days; Constellation 110 days; and Nimitz108 days. Other carriers involved incontingency operations in the IndianOcean were Cora l Sea, Ranger ,Independence and Kitty Hawk.

A test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center,NAS Patuxent River, Md., flies an F/A-18Hornet during Board of Inspection andsurvey trials.

An SH-3G Sea King pulls in divers training for aircrew readiness at NAS North Island.

32

On February 19, 1981, Fighter-AttackSquadron 125 (VFA-125) became thefirst squadron to receive the F/A-18Hornet.

—

AV-8B Harriers were deployed as aMarine Air Group aboard an amphibiousassault ship, USS Nassau, for the firsttime on April 13. MAG-32, composed ofVMAs 231 and 542, began a Sixth Fleetdeployment.

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The Blue Angels celebrated their 35thAnniversary on June 15, 1981. TheNavy’s Flight Demonstration Squadronflys A-4 Skyhawks.

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Two Tomcats from VF-41 aboardNimitz made the headlines when theyshot down a pair of Libyan SU-22 Sukhoiaircraft over international waters onAugust 19. The F-14s were on areconnaissance mission for a missilefiring exercise being conducted by U.S.ships from two carrier battle groupswhen they were fired on by the Libyanplanes. The CVW-8 fighters were pilotedby Commander Hank Kleemann andLieutenant Larry Muczynski with theirrespective RlOs, Lieutenants DaveVenlet and Jim Anderson.

—

During 1981, Naval Aviation units andcarrier forces were clearly visible aroundthe globe. They responded to a number ofcrisis situations. These included the

hostage situation in Iran, contingencyoperations in the Indian Ocean, tensionbetween Israel and Syria over Lebanon,the assassination of President Sadat ofEgypt, and Vietnamese boat refugeerescue efforts.

O n J u n e 3 0 , one of the lastphotographic squadrons, VFP-63, wasdisestabl ished. The only F-8 andphotographic squadrons still in existenceat the time were reserve squadrons VFPs206 and 306.

——

On January 8, 1982, the F/A-18Hornet made its first fully automaticlanding on a simulated carrier deck fieldat NATC Patuxent River, Md.

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USS Carl Vinson, third Nimitz -classcarrier and the Navy’s fourth nuclear-powered carrier, was commissioned onMarch 13.

The Skyhawk flying Blue Angels pass SanFrancisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.

I n l a t e J u n e , t h e g r e a t e s tconcentration of U.S. Naval Air power inthe Mediterranean Sea took place whenthe battle group of Forresta l a n dIndependence joined with Eisenhowera n d K e n n e d y . T h e s e s h i p s a n dsupporting elements steamed together inthe eastern Mediterranean for severaldays before lke and JFK departed for theU.S.

In late September, the Naval AirS y s t e m s C o m m a n d a w a r d e d t oMcDonnell Douglas, teamed with BritishAerospace and Sperry, a pre-full-scaled e v e l o p m e n t c o n t r a c t f o r t h eundergraduate jet flight training systemdesigned around the Hawk aircraft.

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October 28, 1982, signaled the 30thanniversary of one of the Navy’s mostvenerable planes, the A-3 Skywarrior.The aircraft had operated as a heavy-attack bomber, radar trainer, electronicsreconnaissance plat form, tanker,electronics jammer, photorecon-aissance platform, airborne weaponstest bed and VIP transport.

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USS Carl Vinson, the newest additionto the carrier fleet, began an odyssey thatepitomized Naval Aviation in 1983.Beginning March 1, with CVW-15aboard, the ship circled the world on thecarrier’s maiden voyage. The shiptraveled 60,000 miles over the AtlanticOcean, Mediterranean Sea, IndianOcean, South China Sea, Sea of Japanand the Pacific, visiting four continents inthe process. The deployment served todisplay U.S. Naval Air power and its

An F-14A Tomcat performstouch and goes aboard USS Forrestal.

33

ability to respond to crises in all parts ofthe globe.

An older carrier, Coral Sea, did likewisebut in a counter-clockwise directiondeparting San Francisco on March 21.The ship met Vinson in the Indian Ocean,bringing together the newest carrier inthe fleet and one of the oldest. CoralSea’s home port changed from Alameda,Calif., to Norfolk, Va.

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In late March, fighter-attack squadronswere redesignated str ike-f ightersquadrons.

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VFs 201 and 202, Naval Reservefighter squadrons flying the F-4NPhantom, participated in N a t i o n a lWeek ‘83 exercises, marking the firsttime that tactical air reserve unitsconducted joint operations with the SixthFleet. The squadrons deployed from NASDallas, Texas, to NAS Sigonella, Sicily —v i a N A S O c e a n a , V a . ; G a n d e r ,Newfoundland; Lajes, Azores; and Rota,Spain.

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In August 1983 the White Houseannounced the names of the Navy’s nexttwo nuclear-powered aircraft carriers,under construction at the Newport NewsShipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. AbrahamLincoln (CVN-72) is scheduled fordelivery in 1989 and George Washington(CVN-73) in late 1991.

—

On August 29, the first flight of the AV-8B Harrier // production model wasconducted at the McDonnell Douglasplant in St. Louis.

Grenada and Lebanon

U.S. forces experienced combat in1983 in two parts of the world, Grenadaand Lebanon. Beginning on October 25,A-7 Corsairs from CVW-6’s VA-15 andVA-87 aboard USS Independence flewclose air support missions for about aweek, assisting in the U.S. invasion ofGrenada. The recently-establishedMarxist government in Grenada hadshown signs that it would allow theisland to become a Cuban-Soviet outpost.The invasion succeeded.

34

Independence entered the spotlightagain in December along with Kennedyand its air wing, CVW-3, this time in theM e d i t e r r a n e a n a s p a r t o f t h epeacekeeping force positioned off theLebanese coast. The Marine Corpsbarracks in Beirut had been bombed onOctober 23, killing 241 U.S. servicemen.A second attack killed 58 French soldiers,also part of the United Nations force inthe area.

Tensions rose. Navy F-14s which madeperiodic photoreconnaissance runs overrebel positions around Beirut wereoccasionally fired on despite warningsfrom the U.S. government. Therefore, in aconcer ted ef for t on December 4,Kennedy and Independence planesstruck Syrian antiaircraft gun and missilesites and other targets. Opposition washeavy. A VA-85 Intruder was shot down.Lieutenant Mark A. Lange, the pilot,per ished. Bombard ie r /nav iga to rLieutenant Robert O. Goodman survivedbut was captured by the Syrians. He

became the first POW in Naval Aviationsince the end of the Vietnam conflict 10years earlier. Commander Ed Andrews,Commander CVW-6, led the attack. HisA-7 was hit by enemy fire but he ejectedand was rescued from coastal waters.

The two aircraft represented the firstloss of Navy fixed-wing aircraft in combatsince Vietnam.

VA-85’s Lt. Goodman, NFO aboard theA-6 shot down during the attack onSyrian targets on December 4, 1983, wasreturned to the U.S. on January 4.

—

On January 12, the first AV-8B Harrierof a projected order for 336 of theV/STOL aircraft, was received at MCASCherry Point, N.C., by VMAT-203. Withover 25 percent of the structural weightcomposed of carbon epoxy compositematerial, the AV-8B offers twice thepayload and radius of its predecessor, theAV-8A.

The newly configured S-3B Viking The Navy signed a contract to initiatemade its first flight at Lockheed’s full-scale development of the T-45TS jetPalmdale, Calif., faci l i t ies in mid- flight training system by McDonnellSeptember. The latest version of the Douglas in October. The system’sViking features improved avionics and aircraft, the jet-powered T-45, willweapons systems, including the Harpoon replace the T-2Cs and TA-4Js used by themissile. training command in the intermediate

Marine A-4M Skyhawks in echelon. A-4s first flew in 1954.

and advanced phases of jet fl ighttraining.

—

VF-301’s acceptance of its first F-14Tomca t i n Oc tobe r marked t heintroduction of the F-14 into the Naval AirReserve Force as part of the Navy’s totalforce defense concept.

—

On October 27, the nuclear-poweredcarrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) was launched at ceremonies atNewport News Shipbuilding. A weeklater, the keel was laid for USS AbrahamLinco ln (CVN-72 ) . Linco ln will befollowed by USS George Washington(CVN-73).

In a t yp ica l example o f powerprojection, USS Nimitz, with CVW-8embarked, sortied in response to nationaltasking on November 30. After the Cubangovernment denied the U.S. Coast Guardpermission to tow a U.S. vessel whichhad lost power and drifted into Cubanwaters, a brief show of force by Nimitzdiffused the incident.

—

Throughout 1984, Navy carriers andtheir air wings deployed to five key global

areas: the Atlantic and Indian Oceans,the Western Pacific, the MediterraneanSea, and off the Central American coast.

—

Jet technology continued to be fine-tuned in 1985, and the contributions ofjet aircraft to Naval Air’s storehouse ofpower highlighted the year.

On January 30, VMA-33l, the first ofeight AV-8B Harrier ll squadrons, wasestablished at MCAS Cherry Point, N.C.This transition from the A-4M Skyhawkmarked the beginning of tactical servicefor the Marine Corps’ newest V/STOLaircraft. By September, the Bumblebeeshad received their author ized ful lcomplement of 15 aircraft and hadcompleted their first weapons trainingdeployment.

The AV-8B, an improved version of theAV-8A, has increased range and payload.Extensive aerodynamic and systemschanges have achieved accurate, first-

An R. G. Smith painting of a T-45 Hawk.

35

F-14A Tomcats “salute” USS Nimitz (CVN-68) as the carrier is relieved after spending144 days on station in the Indian Ocean.

pass weapons delivery; improved verticaland short takeoff and landing capability;and reduced pilot workload.

—

The first two operational F/A-18Hornet squadrons on the East Coast flewinto their new home at NAS Cecil Field,Fla., on February 1 from NAS Lemoore,Calif., where their personnel weretrained on the new strike fighter. Thearrival of the VFA-131 and 132 aircraftmarked a major step toward replacing theNavy’s A-7E Corsair lIs and the MarineCorps’ F-4 Phantom lls.

The F/A-18 deployed overseas for thef i r s t t i m e o n F e b r u a r y 2 1 . U S SConstellation (CV-64), with VFAs 113and 125 embarked, became the firstaircraft carrier to have Hornets assignedto its air wing. The 20 F/A-18s replacedtwo squadrons of A-7E Corsair Ils. Inaddition to performing both the fighterand attack roles, the Hornet is easier tomaintain, which reduces maintenanceman-hours per flight hour by 50 percentover other carrier-based aircraft.

—

An EA-3B (BuNo 146451) from VQ-1Det C aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)turned 25 years old on February 25.Dubbed “Aging Beauty,” this Skywarriorhas recorded over 12,000 flight hoursand completed over 1,100 arrestedlandings. These milestones serve astest imony to the durabi l i ty of th isvenerable jet aircraft.

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The Navy’s tactical training programwas expanded on April 29 when the firstthree Kfir fighters from Israel wereaccepted by VF-43 at NAS Oceana, Va.The East Coast adversary squadron willeventually operate 12 of the delta-winged fighters, which resulted from themarriage of the basic French Mirage 5airframe and the American GeneralElectric J79 engine. VF-43 also operatesA-4s, F-5s, T-38s and T-2s.

The One Navy concept got a boost onOctober 19 when eight F/A-18s weredelivered to VFA-303, NAS Lemoore,Calif., the first Naval Reserve squadron totransition to Hornets.

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Navy technical evaluation of the S-3BViking b e g a n i n O c t o b e r 1 9 8 5 .Lockheed’s S-3B features improvedavionics and weapons systems, includinga new acoustic processor, expandedelectronic support measure coverage,increased radar processing, a newsonobuoy receiver system, electroniccountermeasures, and the Harpoonmissile.

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On October 10, 1985, America foughtback against terrorism — and won. Afterthree days of terror, tragedy and intrigue,President Ronald Reagan gave the go-ahead to bring the hijackers of an Italiancruise liner, Achille Lauro, to justice afterthey killed a U.S. passenger aboard theship.

Four F-14 Tomcats from USS Saratoga(CV-60) intercepted the getaway plane, achartered EgyptAir 737 jetliner. A NavyE-2C Hawkeye surveillance aircraftradioed the 737 to follow the Navy planesto Sigonel la, Sici ly, where I tal ianauthorities took the four hijackers intocustody.

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The evolution from pistons to jets hasbeen technologically significant, andscientific advancements continue toexpand the capabilities of jet aircraft.These sophisticated weapon systems —teamed with other state-of-the-art navala i r c r a f t — c o m p r i s e a w inn ingcombination of air power to maintainNaval Aviation’s supremacy of the skies.

n