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coldwar

The EA-7L, the SLUF variant that served as the enemy aircraft

by Till Daisd June 17, 2023

The EA-7L was employed to mimic Soviet aircraft and was frequently equipped with various jamming and ECM pods

The A-7 Corsair II, built by LTV Aerospace Corporation (the same company that made the renowned F-8 Crusader), took the role of the A-4 Skyhawk as the primary light attack aircraft for Naval Aviation. The A-7 made its first flight in September 1965 and had many characteristics with the F-8 Crusader, particularly the single jet intake gaping beneath the nose.

The Corsair II, on the other hand, had a short, stubby profile that exuded toughness and made it clear that it was built to carry bombs. The Short, Little, Ugly, Fucker, or SLUF, as her aircrews dubbed the A-7, developed into perhaps the most effective tactical jet bomber of the Vietnam War.

Remembering the EA-7L, the SLUF variant that played the role of adversary aircraft — A U.S. Navy Vought EA-7L Corsair II aircraft from VAQ-34 on the ramp during the U.S. 3rd Fleet North Pacific Exercise (NORPACEX) at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska (USA) on Nov. 8, 1987

The EA-7L variant’s distinctive ability to act as an enemy aircraft was something the SLUF was not designed to perform.

A total of eight TA-7Cs were converted into EA-7Ls due to a lack of TA-4 Skyhawks. These planes, which frequently carried a variety of jamming and ECM pods, were deployed by the Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 34 (VAQ-34) “Electric Horsemen” of the Fleet Electronic Warfare Support Group (FEWSG) to mimic Soviet aircraft.

In 1984, the EA-7Ls received an A-7E standard upgrade while keeping their twin seats. In 1991, the plane was retired. There are currently very few images of this long-forgotten variation of the powerful SLUF.

Photo by PH2 Bruce Trombecky / U.S. Navy and Sgt. W. Thornton / U.S. Air Force

June 17, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

When traveling at Mach 1.5, an SR-71 Blackbird lost its drag chute

by Till Daisd June 14, 2023

written by Till Daisd

“With no drag chute doors, the drag chute had departed the aircraft and was lost at sea. We were grateful to the Lockheed engineers for designing the drag chute to lock to the aircraft only when the drag chute handle was pulled. One can only imagine the effect of the chute deploying in-flight at Mach 1.5!” Former SR-71 RSO Lt. Col. Curt Osterheld

The SR-71’s drag chute system was employed to assist the plane in stopping while it was rolling out for landing. The drag chute compartment was between the two rudders, on the top of the rear fuselage. The drag chute compartment doors opened and several chutes started to deploy when the pilot pulled on the drag chute T-handle on the instrument panel.

The “pilot chute” was the first chute to eject (forty-two-inch diameter). Its task was to draw out the “extraction chute,” which had a ten-foot diameter and produced aerodynamic lift when it touched the air stream. These two chutes both descended to the runway.

When the extraction chute hit the air stream, it pulled the safety pin holding the main chute in place. As the safety pin was taken out, the main chute, which had a forty-foot diameter and was attached to the aircraft, could now open and slow the sixty-thousand-pound (plus fuel) SR-71. The landing rollout caused the chute to be launched into the runway at a speed of 55 knots.

RSO Lt. Col. Curt Osterheld (Ret) explains that the drag chute doors occasionally opened accidentally at high Mach, causing issues, in Col. Richard H. Graham’s book The Complete Book of the SR-71 Blackbird:

“In January 1984, Joe [Pilot Lt. Col. Joe Matthews] and I were on our first operational tour at Det 1, Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan. The mission profile took us west on an ELINT collection over the South China Sea and then east across the DMZ in Korea. We were in acceleration after our initial refueling. At about Mach 1.5, we felt a sharp jolt that shook the aircraft violently. We both passed it off as clear air turbulence and pressed on. After a while, Joe remarked that the trim didn’t look right so I calculated a manual CG (Center of Gravity) and confirmed that for our fuel indications, it was correct, although the CG seemed to be moving all over the place.

By now we noticed we were about three thousand pounds low on the fuel curve and rapidly getting farther behind. The autopilot kept kicking off. The aircraft would not stay trimmed. At last, we were so far down the fuel curve that there was no alternative but to abort back to Kadena. The descent gave us plenty of unstarts as I broadcast the appropriate HF message, admitting our failure to the whole world. The new guy’s paranoia crept in as we wondered what we had screwed up. The approach to runway 05R was uneventful, and Joe made a perfect landing. Then, as we both spouted expletives, we realized there was no reassuring tug from the drag chute — it had failed, or so we thought. Some judicious braking and rapid-fire discussion over the radio about arming/disarming the barrier, and the SR was brought to a safe stop. As we taxied into the hangar, a lot of ashen-faced maintenance folks were pointing at our jet.

Read the story of the SR-71 crew that landed their Blackbird in zero visibility

The jolt we had felt earlier on the acceleration was caused by the right drag chute door popping up into the slipstream and ripping loose from the aircraft. As the drag chute door departed, it acted like a can opener on fuel tank 6 and cut a ten-inch gash that allowed fuel to siphon out. The fuel leak caused our trim and CG transients that even the autopilot couldn’t keep up with. With no drag chute doors, the drag chute had departed the aircraft and was lost at sea. We were grateful to the Lockheed engineers for designing the drag chute to lock to the aircraft only when the drag chute handle was pulled. One can only imagine the effect of the chute deploying in-flight at Mach 1.5!”

Photo by Lockheed Martin and U.S. Air Force

June 14, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

The SR-71 Blackbird’s mission, which lasted 7 hours flying from Kadena to the Persian Gulf and back

by Till Daisd June 13, 2023

written by Till Daisd

“Like every other crew, we wanted this mission. It was special, it was a first, it would cover territory that the jet had never been in, and it would provide the test of skill and “stuff” that every aviator/adventurer requires from time to time,” former SR-71 pilot Lt. Col. Mike Smith

In the following post, which appears in Col. Richard H. Graham’s book The Complete Book of the SR-71 Blackbird, former SR-71 pilot Lt. Col. Mike Smith (Ret) tells the story of a very special Blackbird mission.

A Very Tiring Mission

Major Doug Soifer and I were still pretty new at the game when the first oil tanker convoys were to be escorted into the Persian Gulf past the Iranian threats of a blockade. We were at Kadena as a younger senior crew when tasking came down for an SR-71 mission into the Persian Gulf to locate “Silkworm” anti-ship missiles.

In higher headquarters, there had been a lot of debate over which Det should fly the mission. Plans were made and remade, maps drawn and redrawn, problems studied and restudied until the powers that be finally decided that an SR-71 would fly from Kadena to the Persian Gulf and back, one of the longest missions ever flown in the SR-71. It would be a real test for both individuals and technology. We desired this mission, just like every other team. It was unique, it was a first, it would travel over unknown terrain for this jet, and it would offer the occasional test of ability and “stuff” that every aviator and adventurer needs.

Det 1 was led by Colonel Tom Alison, who spent what felt like weeks planning, thinking about, and studying the mission. There were occasions when it appeared that the slow-moving convoys might enter the gulf before the SR-71 due to minor changes in targets or routing. Of course, the 975 was the best jet and should be used as the primary jet, with the 967 (our preference) serving as the airborne spare. Tankers and aircrews were completely overrun in Kadena.

The intended mission required a flight period of more than eleven hours, five refuelings, thousands of miles between viable emergency runways, and a target area so narrow that we would need to reduce our speed just to maintain course due to the SR-71’s huge turn radius at high speeds. The staff was well prepared. On the morning of our mission, on July 22, 1987, a beautiful day on a tropical island, twenty-seven tankers would depart in order to transport our lone black jet to the Persian Gulf and back.

We began the routine: normal crew brief, suit-up, and then [we] got the word of a slight delay. The ANS wasn’t quite right. We elected to go out to the jet and wait for the fix, and in a few minutes, we were told that they were finishing up. No sooner had we stood up than Colonel Alison rushed up to tell us that maintenance had dropped apart under the ejection seat and we would be taking the spare-967, our jet.

Takeoff was a heavyweight [sixty-five thousand pounds of fuel] right to supersonic cruise—we were exhilarated. Our only shortage was our oxygen—which we used at a very high rate for the first hour—but after tightening up our helmet face seals a little, our oxygen use slowed to normal. We would laugh later that it had been our heavy breathing that was using up the oxygen. After the first refueling, the jet settled into its rhythm and flew perfectly for the entire flight. The crew in the airborne spare was right behind us, ready to take over if we developed problems.

We flew over places that were new to us. I saw inlet temperatures climb seventy degrees in less than a minute in level flight above seventy thousand feet and clouds so high and so white they seemed to glow over the Indian Ocean. Finally, we arrived in the target area and flew through the Strait of Hormuz, right over the convoys. We had to slow to about Mach 2.5 to make the turn inside the Gulf and were listening to the E-3 airborne warning and control system make threat calls in addition to watching our own equipment. Fortunately, we were busy and finished so quickly that the threats didn’t have time to become dangerous.

The incredible story of the SR-71 Blackbird that flew an eleven-hour-long mission from Kadena to the Persian Gulf and back

We had both been confident that we would get to the target. Now came the tough part. We had to get home. Unfortunately, the weather moved into our last refueling area. When we finally found the tankers, one had a bad refueling boom and the other had no director lights. The refueling was OK. After one last supersonic leg, 11.2 hours after we left Kadena, we landed in the dark with no liquid nitrogen remaining. The maintenance and operations support guys were ecstatic; 967 had run flawlessly—no writeups for the entire mission. It was the greatest feeling of my life!

Photo by NASA and U.S. Air Force

June 13, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

Stricken F-4D returned to base safely without his backseater

by Till Daisd June 11, 2023

written by Till Daisd

“My sensation was that the aircraft as out of control and I ordered Kenny to eject which he did. Instinctively, I took the stick and throttles in hand, and to my amazement, the aircraft was flyable,” Ray Battle, F-4D pilot

An F-4D #66-0249 belonging to the 433rd TFS, Ubon RTAB, Thailand, was hit by a 37mm anti-aircraft fire on November 18, 1968, rendering the Phantom uncontrollable. Pilot Major Ben “Ray” Battle ordered 1Lt. Robert “Kenny” Boone, the WSO, to eject from the aircraft. The plane was able to be controlled after the ejection, and Major Boone performed a gear-up landing at Ubon. Battle survived the landing and Boone was rescued unhurt from the Laotian jungle. Ray Battle recalls.

“Kenny Boone and I were flying a fast-mover FAC mission along the Ho Chi Min trail in Laos. It was an orientation ride for Kenny as he was newly assigned to my unit. We were at 4000 feet and Kenny was flying the airplane when I heard an explosion, the aircraft shuddered and the front windscreen was covered in what turned out to be hydraulic fluid. My sensation was that the aircraft was out of control and I ordered Kenny to eject which he did. Instinctively, I took the stick and throttles in hand, and to my amazement, the aircraft was flyable. I called for help for Kenny and headed back to Thailand where we were stationed. I was given the option of ejecting or landing gear up as the landing gear would not come down. I elected to land gear up and catch the runway wire with my tailhook. I have 150 aircraft carrier landings and thought I could easily make an arrested landing on the runway. I pulled the power off just as I touched down and the aircraft settled onto the wire cutting it. The aircraft slid down the runway and veered off to the right before fish-hooking to the right and stop. It caught on fire and I jumped out safely. As you know Kenny was recovered after spending a nervous night hanging in a tree in Laos. In retrospect, my ordering Kenny to eject was a mistake that I have always regretted. I felt at the time I was saving his life and I intended to eject him after he did. We both survived the incident for which I am grateful.”

Here's why the pilot of this stricken F-4D returned to base safely without his backseater

As reported by Sierra Hotel Aeronautics, F-4D #66-0249 was eventually repaired, needing a new nose cone, some paint, and a new seat for the guy in the back. She returned to service two years later in February of 1970 and went on to enjoy a long career. Sadly Ol’ #249 saw her end with a plunge in the Florida Gulf, flying out of Tyndall AFB in 1985.

The F-4D #66-0249 was finally fixed, according to Sierra Hotel Aeronautics; it required a new nose cone, some paint, and a new seat for the passenger in the back. She went back to work in February 1970, two years later, and continued to have a successful career. Tragically, Ol’ #249 met her demise in 1985 after taking off from Tyndall AFB and plunging into the Florida Gulf.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

June 11, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

30 years later, the World Speed Record Aircrew reunited with the Phantom “Black Mike”

by Till Daisd June 4, 2023

written by Till Daisd

A world record for the fastest time between John O’Groats and Land’s End was set on February 24, 1988, by RAF Phantom “Black Mike,” which traveled that distance in 46 minutes and 44 seconds at an average speed of 772.19 mph

2018 marks both the Royal Air Force’s centennial and the 30th anniversary of one of its record-breaking accomplishments. The world record for the fastest time between John O’Groats and Land’s End was established on February 24, 1988, by an RAF aircraft (McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom XV582) of the 43(F) Squadron, traveling at an average speed of 772.19 mph.

In order to commemorate this accomplishment’s 30th anniversary, the British Phantom Aviation Group (BPAG) brought the aircraft’s original crew back together with it. On August 12, 2018, RAF Cosford hosted this event. Paul Wright, the BPAG’s chairman, said:

World Speed Record Aircrew reunited with legendary Phantom 'Black Mike' 30 years on

“We are proud and happy to finally bring back together XV582, pilot John Brady and navigator Michael Pugh for the first time since their record-setting flight, over 30 years ago. To hear their recollections and stories of that day firsthand was truly wonderful and inspiring.

“Today’s event is made more poignant as it takes place during a year that has seen the aircraft displayed to the public once again and its future secured. We would like to thank RAF Cosford and, in particular, WO Steve Brown for providing us with the facilities to host today’s event, which will be the final appearance of the aircraft at Cosford before it moves to a new home”

Delivered to the RAF in May 1969, XV582 is a K model (designated FG.1 in UK service) derivative of the F-4 Phantom. It operated with the 43(F), 111(F), and ultimately 228 OCU Squadrons. The aircraft’s distinctive paint scheme made it earn the nickname “Black Mike.” The aircraft was the first Phantom to log 5000 flying hours and broke the speed record from John O’Groats to Land’s End. It was used for display by 228 OCU until it was retired.

The aircraft was disassembled, transported from Scotland to RAF Cosford, and then restored in time for a temporary exhibition at the 2018 Cosford Airshow. The aircraft is currently owned by GJD Services and maintained by the British Phantom Aviation Group. The aircraft was then relocated to a new location in St. Athan, South Wales.

Photo by John Kendal, Ian G. Topham / British Phantom Aviation Group and Mike Freer – Touchdown-aviation via Wikipedia

June 4, 2023 0 comment

History

USAF F-15C Eagle drivers loved RCAF CF-18’s fake canopy during Cold War

by Till Daisd June 3, 2023

written by Till Daisd

“Some Eagle pilots mockingly suggested we should paint our aircraft like submarines: ‘Just think: That brief hesitation as he thinks What’s that submarine doing up there?’,” Robert “Scout” Winebrenner, former F-15C pilot

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet, designed as an all-weather fighter and attack aircraft, swiftly established itself as the core of the air forces of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. It is proudly flown by the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron. For seven foreign customers, including Canada, Australia, Finland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Spain, and Switzerland, the Hornet serves as the aircraft strike force.

Noteworthy Compared to standard F/A-18As, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CF-18s have a few unique features, such as a bright identification spotlight integrated into the port fuselage immediately ahead of the cockpit, a distinctive ejection seat, and a fake cockpit shape painted on the underside.

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) F-15 pilots of the units stationed in Europe who, during the Cold War, conducted much dissimilar air combat training (DACT) missions against the Canadian Hornets based at Baden-Soellingen in what was then West Germany, thought the latter was a great idea.

In fact, the mock cockpit may initially leave the opponent in confusion, rendering him unable to determine whether the aircraft is turning toward or away from him. Several Eagle pilots made the insulting suggestion that we paint our planes to look like submarines: ‘Just think: That brief hesitation as he thinks What’s that submarine doing up there?’ may be all the advantage you need!” says the former F-15C pilot Robert “Scout” Winebrenner in Issue 23 “McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A/B/C/D Hornet” of Aviation Classics magazine.

When Winebrenner was assigned to the 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron in Soesterberg, the Netherlands, he witnessed the Canadian Hornets in action. Winebrenner took part in a sortie in his F-15C along with a CF-18 being piloted by a Canadian Captain by the name of Greg “Claw” Morris while serving in the same deployment as a Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) instructor.

As Scout recalls “After checking the applicable national regulations, we determined that it was not allowed to fly dissimilar close formation. But there were no prohibitions on different tactical formations. So we found the best weather on Low Fly Area (LFA) 7 in southern Germany and briefed up a low altitude VFR ingress through France at a slower speed to save fuel, intercepts on target of opportunity in LFA7, and a high altitude recovery to individual instrument approaches at Florennes.”

Here's why Cold War USAF F-15C Eagle drivers loved RCAF CF-18's fake canopy

As they arrived at LFA7, a number of aircraft were already present, and the F-15C and CF-18 engaged in a number of combat missions against Neuburg Phantoms, Memmingen Tornados, along with some F-16s.

Scout and Claw got along great and the two planes were quite compatible, but Winebrenner realized that while everyone could see his F-15, no one could see Claw’s CF-18. Invariably, during the final part of the intercept, the targets of the intercept would respond and turn into the US F-15, searching for the “second Eagle,” leaving Claw with more close-range belly Sidewinder shots than he probably wanted to take.

Similar circumstances occurred as two CF-18s pitched up and turned toward Winebrenner’s Eagle, leaving Morris just behind them. However, Claw swiftly informed his buddies to check their six, as Scout remembers: “Hey, what are YOU doing back there? I’m with the F-15! Fox 2 on both of you!”

Even now, Winebrenner still considers that mission to be one of his best ones flown in LFA7, but there is another distinctive quality that causes him to consider the Hornet, as he explains: “After 26 years in the air force, I retired in 2005. Now my only exposure to the Hornet is watching the US Navy Blue Angels practice over my home in Pensacola. I did note disappointedly that they don’t have the fake canopy.”

Photo by Cpl. Manuela Berger / Royal Canadian Air Force and U.S. Air Force

June 3, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

Spy aircraft that Israeli F-4 Phantom fighters were unable to bring down

by Till Daisd May 31, 2023

written by Till Daisd

The most concerning MiG-25 reconnaissance trip had place on October 10, 1971, when two Foxbats flew at Mach 2.5 and extremely high altitudes parallel to the Israeli and Sinai Mediterranean coastlines, 17 miles offshore. There was no success in trying to stop the intruders

It is obvious why the Israeli Air Force (IAF) fought so hard to acquire the F-4 and relied on it so heavily in the late 1960s. The large jet outperformed everything they had used up until that point in terms of range, payload, and bombing accuracy. In fact, the Phantom swiftly established itself as the IAF’s main pillar after its 1969 acquisition. By October 1973, the IAF had credited the Phantom with 11 kills.

The Phantom, however, would never be able to capture some enemies. The Soviet Union started conducting high-altitude surveillance flights over Israel in 1970 using the Yak-26 Mandrake aircraft. This aircraft proved to be out of reach. Beginning in March 1971, Soviet pilots flew MiG-25R (X-500) photo-recce missions out of Egypt at speeds up to Mach 3.2 and altitudes of 73,000 feet (22,250 meters). In October 1971, it’s possible that the first “Foxbat-B” flights took place, maybe into the Sinai and parallel to the Canal.

The most concerning reconnaissance flight took place on October 10 when two of the jets flew parallel to the Israeli and Sinai Mediterranean coastline, 17 miles (27 km) offshore, at Mach 2.5 and extreme altitude, according to Bill Norton’s book Air War On The Edge: A History of the Israel Air Force and its aircraft since 1947. The intercept was unsuccessfully stopped. At the time of the second MiG-25 intrusion (all flights with pairs of jets) over the Sinai on Nov. 6, the Israelis had a strategy for dealing with it, despite initially only being able to respond with their own reconnaissance overflights and booming Cairo.

The spy planes that the Israeli F-4 Phantom fighters were never able to shoot down

In order to increase performance, they had removed all unnecessary gear from numerous Phantoms, and their sole weapons were AIM-7 Sparrows. It was believed that by sitting alert, the planes could be launched with enough time to do a zoom climb from Mach 1.4 to 44,000ft (13,410m) and launch their missiles with a high nose-up attitude and leading the target. The proximity fuse of the missiles and the fire control computer of the Phantom, however, were not designed for such combat conditions, and the warheads detonated too late.

Because of this failure and US experimentation in response to the ‘Foxbat’ threat, Israel received the more sophisticated AIM-7F in 1974. On March 10 and May 16 of the same year, 1972, there were two further flights over the Sinai. These flights were highly concerning for the West, not because of any potential intelligence they could have gathered, but rather because of what they revealed about the MiG-25’s capabilities. As President Sadat ordered the Soviets out of his nation in July, Israel’s frustration with having its facilities photographed without repercussions came to an end.

The Soviets once more sent “Foxbat-Bs” to Egypt at the end of October 1973 to keep an eye on the locations and movements of the Israeli army. They were withdrawn after almost two years and appeared to be limited to flying to the west of the Canal. There are rumors that the EAF temporarily used a MiG-25R in 1974 and conducted one bold flight over Israel before the Soviets insisted that the aircraft be immediately returned. Then a “Foxbat” detachment showed up in Syria. Although flights over the occupied Golan Heights were likely made, particularly during the difficult time after the 1973 war, there have been no confirmed reports of efforts to penetrate Israeli airspace.

Also, the Americans flew U-2 over Israel in the 1960s and maybe later to monitor the Dimona nuclear plant and gather other intelligence. This aircraft was also uncatchable by IAF Phantoms and Mirages.

It has also been asserted that on October 13, 1973, during a sensitive time, IAF F-4s attempted to intercept and destroy a USAF SR-71 flying a reconnaissance mission over Israel or the Canal region (there were possibly two Blackbird intrusions). If this is the case, the SR-71 was unaware of the attempt to intercept, and the Israelis stood the risk of losing the information that was quickly relayed to them. The Blackbird easily climbed and sped away from the Israeli jets in any case. An SR-71 intercept attempt by the Egyptians was unsuccessful. Given that the USSR was flying MiG-25s above the canal, it’s possible that the goal was to deter all such sorties.

Only the F-15’s introduction to the IAF in 1976 put an end to intrusive overflights by both American and Soviet aircraft. On July 29, 1981, a Syrian MiG-25 was reportedly shot down over northern Israel by an F-4 escorted by F-15s.

Photo by U.S. Air Force, Oren Rozen, Itayba on he.wikipedia.org and Dmitriy Pichugin via Wikipedia

May 31, 2023 0 comment

History

Walter J. Boyne demonstrates why the F-86 pilots’ 10:1 victory-loss record against the MiG-15 pilots was merely propaganda

by Till Daisd May 28, 2023

written by Till Daisd

As a result of the MiGs’ superiority against Luftwaffe pilots in World War II, the Air Force was obliged to stop using Superfortresses for daytime bombing flights and limit their usage to nighttime operations for the rest of the conflict in October 1951

The northwest portion of North Korea, between the Chongchon and Yalu rivers, witnessed an air campaign unlike any other before or after between December 1950 and July 1953. The North American F-86 Sabre, the main air superiority day fighter of the US Air Force, and the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, a powerful interceptor of the Soviet Red Air Force, engaged in almost all of the combat.

The aerial conflict over Korea, long thought to have been a one-sided conflict in the West, was actually one of the fiercest aerial conflicts of the 20th century. The myth that USAF pilots and aircraft were infallible and superior to their Soviet-supplied rivals was the most pervasive in the West among the many that evolved after the end of the Korean War.

Exaggerated claims of victory over “MiG Alley,” where the majority of aerial combat took place, led to, among many other fabrications, the assertion that USAF pilots flying the F-86 Sabre against their Communist rivals in the MiG-15 had a 10:1 victory-loss ratio. Such assertions would go uncontested until the Soviet combat archives were ultimately opened at the end of the Cold War.

After that, a very different narrative started to take shape. The aerial battles of the Korean War were, at least in the early years, well-matched affairs, fought to a near 1:1 victory-loss ratio, far from being resounding American victories over an unprepared foe.

‘The appearance of advanced MiG-15 jet fighters, secretly flown by experienced Red Air Force pilots, made operations by B-29s and F-8os over North Korea extremely dangerous. As a result, the Fourth Fighter Wing, equipped with the new F-86 Sabre, was sent to Korea to counter the Soviet air threat,’ says Col Walter J. Boyne – former B-50, B-47, and B-52 pilot historian, novelist, and Air and Space Museum director who passed on Jan. 9, 2020 – in Thomas McKelvey Cleaver’s MiG Alley: The US Air Force in Korea, 1950-53.

He continues;

‘Much of what has been recorded as “official history” of the Air Force in the Korean War is little more than recycled wartime propaganda. In the past 65 years, Korea has become the “forgotten war” to most Americans, and as a result, few historians have challenged these “facts.” One of the main myths is that the pilots who arrived in Korea in December 1950 with their Sabres were combat-experienced veterans of World War II. In fact, it was the Sabre pilots who faced combat-experienced enemies during 1951, a year that US pilots called “The Year of the Honcho,” during which the Americans played catch-up with their opponents. Captain Dick Becker, recognized as the second Air Force “MiG Ace” of the war (but the first whose victories are all confirmed by Soviet loss records), said of the fighting in 1951:

“There was no 14-to-1 kill ratio when I was there. The guys we flew against were good, and they were as committed as we were. Every fight that I was in was decided by the guy in the cockpit who was better able to take advantage of the moments presented by luck. The MiG-15 was a dangerous opponent. We were very evenly matched and I am certain that overall in that first year, we fought them to a draw.”

Walter_Boyne_B47_Pilot — Walter J. Boyne

‘In fact, when actual losses are tallied up, 1951 was a draw, with the Sabres and MiGs scoring 1:1.

‘The MiGs were so good that in October 1951, they succeeded where the pilots of the Luftwaffe had failed in World War II: they inflicted such losses on the B-29s that the Air Force was forced to abandon daylight bombing missions and use the Superfortresses only at night for the rest of the war. Even with the Sabres providing cover over MiG Alley to block the MiG-15s from getting at the fighter-bombers over North Korea, the Russians and later the Chinese became such a threat that, by late 1952, fighter-bomber missions were not flown into MiG Alley until more Sabre-equipped fighter wings arrived as reinforcements in 1953, and even then the fighter-bombers were in seriously dangerous air north of the Chongchon River.’

Boyne concludes;

‘Regardless of the validity or accuracy of Air Force claims of enemy aircraft shot down, or of aircraft lost in combat, one thing stands clear: despite being outnumbered by as much as 10:1 during 1951 and much of 1952, the Air Force was successful in maintaining air superiority over North Korea. No Red Air Force combat aircraft ever flew over the battlefield on the 38th Parallel during three years of war. This is an accomplishment that is even more impressive when based on more realistic facts and figures than were given out at the time. Korea was a hard-fought war from the first day to the last.’

MiG Alley: The US Air Force in Korea, 1950-53 is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.

May 28, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

A non-standard RF-4C Phantom ejection

by Till Daisd May 26, 2023

written by Till Daisd

A conventional F-4 ejection sequence calls for the back-seater to exit first, followed by the front seater, but Lieutenant Bell’s emergency canopy release line had been damaged by an internal fire, preventing it from blowing. Captain Sams was ejected from the aircraft in the meantime, but the backseat passenger remained inside

The following article titled Phantom Ejection and written by Charles Arrington & Robert Conely appeared in Volume II, No. 1 issue of Smoke Trails, Quarterly Journal of the F-4 Phantom II Society.

The ultimate test of man and machine is not necessarily conflict, just like with every piece of military equipment. Nothing could be more accurate in describing the circumstances that followed an in-flight incident and crew evacuation for Major Mike Sams, Captain Mike Bell, and RF-4C 64-1073.

The 165TRS/123TRW Kentucky Air National Guard members Mike Sams, a pilot, and Mike Bell, a back-seater, were both scheduled to have a typical day on Saturday, May 15, 1982. The two Mikes were supposed to take off on this particular day in an RF-4C from their base in Louisville to Savannah, Georgia. Their aircraft for the trip, a Recce Phantom 64-1073, was freshly painted and had just returned from depot maintenance. Sgt. John Hourigan, the crew chief, made a jest about avoiding scratching the paint on his recently repaired aircraft as they were ready to take off. This may have been a sign of things to come.

The story of a non-standard RF-4C Phantom Ejection

Major Mike Sams discussed being in the air that fatal day for about 45 minutes while flying above the Cherokee National Forest, which is located about 40 miles southwest of Knoxville, Tennessee, during an interview for this story. What happened was as follows. The Phantom’s left side experienced a loud explosion that activated the fire warning light. Sams set the throttle on the left engine to idle before shutting it off. Then, a right-side explosion triggered a fire warning light for that engine, prompting the pilot to move this engine’s throttle to idle in response.

He then pulled the aircraft in a zoom climb, raising it from 500 feet to 1500 feet while rolling it at a 45-degree angle. “Hey Jack, I think I’ve got a problem,” was all that Pilot Sams managed to say on the radio. As if this weren’t horrible enough, worse things kept happening. All electrical systems, including the radio, failed, allowing heat and smoke into the cockpit. The flight control systems then suffered a more significant breakdown. The KY ANG crew quickly decided to eject after losing control of their aircraft. Mike Sams estimates that the time from the initial issue and the start of the ejection process was only about 10-15 seconds.

Yet, this was not going to be a typical ejection. According to the Major, a standard F-4 ejection procedure calls for the back-seater to exit first, followed by the front-seater. Mike and Mike were unaware that Bell’s emergency canopy release line had been damaged by an internal fire, preventing it from blowing. Sams was released from the aircraft but the backseat passenger remained inside due to the Phantom ejection sequence mechanism. Bell tried using different seat ejection mechanisms when 64-1073’s altitude began to decline but to no avail. Once he engaged a typical canopy release, which raises the canopy for a typical ground egress, the canopy finally blew at 600 feet. Another successful ejection from the damaged RF-4C followed the removal of the second canopy in the ejection procedure.

When he descended under his parachute after ejecting at a greater altitude, Mike Sams had a good view of Bell’s chute opening and the blazing Phantom passing by in the shape of a “skyrocket.” In close proximity to a group of loggers who raced to help Bell, he practically landed unharmed. After it crashed against a ridge line covered with trees, the burning plane burst into flames. Knowing that he would eventually crash into a tree, Major Sams directed his parachute to the nearest tree branch before impact. Eventually, once he was safe on the ground, he realized he had compression fractures in his vertebrae and a separated shoulder. Before being rescued by an Army UH-1 helicopter sent from Knoxville, both soldiers lay on the ground for almost two hours.

Major Mike Sams thought back on the incident more than three years after his abrupt departure from RF-4C 64-1073. He claimed that in order to heal from injuries sustained during the ejection, he had to take three months off from flying. Sams, who has logged more than 2000 hours in the F-4, attributes his survival on that unforgettable day to the superb ejection seat training he received from Kentucky AG Life Support specialists as well as the competent base staff who maintained the ejection seat and life support equipment. Major Sams stated that material failure on the aircraft was likely the reason for the tragic Phantom 64-1073’s loss.

In the skies above rugged terrain, Mike Sams and Mike Bell faced the ultimate test of man and machine and triumphed, thanks in large part to their abilities, the instructors who prepared them for the job, and the experts who ensured their equipment worked when necessary.

Photo by TSgt. G. Dennis Plummer / U.S. Air Force

May 26, 2023 0 comment

Cold War

When a C-5 driver performed a high-speed flyby over Joe Biden’s house

by Till Daisd May 23, 2023

written by Till Daisd

To find out who the hell tried to tear the roof off Senator Biden’s house with a C-5, a call to the Pentagon was followed by calls to the MAC headquarters at Scott AFB and the Dover wing commander

Author of two books and a former C-5 pilot with 12,500 hours of flight time, Jay Lacklen, Flying the Line: An Air Force Pilot’s Journey and Flying the Line: An Air Force Pilot’s Journey Volume Two: Military Airlift Command. He is currently working on the trilogy’s last volume.

Wilmington Air Show

One of my first stateside missions took me just up the road to Wilmington, DE as a copilot on an airshow crew. The C-5 aircraft commander, “Johnny Smooth,” had a high-powered job in Washington, DC, that paid very well. His work only allowed him to complete brief missions, and this would be one of them.

Air shows are the most dangerous missions crews will experience, excluding combat sorties. The risk increases not because of difficult flying, but rather because the crew is less cautious. With their guard down, the unit and crew run the risk of incurring the wrath of the command for terrible, embarrassing procedure violations. The crew believes in error that no one is looking because it is on vacation. Everyone is observing, including retired military personnel who collectively keep a careful eye on those that are now on duty.

Some retirees believe they handled things properly, whilst others believe the present force has laxed in terms of discipline and order as compared to the veterans. They’ll keep a tight eye on the crew’s behavior and report any inconsistencies they see as supporting their pessimistic assessment of the current state of military operations.

Old-timers unconsciously attempt to attract attention to their former accomplishments by criticizing current crew members for lack of discipline while the crew prances around to the admiration of the audience.

Johnny would provide a spectacular example of this air show syndrome before we even landed and would pay an embarrassing price for doing so. Years later, I would be a similarly hapless victim of the syndrome, but this day belonged to Johnny.

I had no inkling the syndrome was about to break out as we flew the fifteen minutes or so from Dover to Wilmington IAP about 40 miles north of the base. We canceled our IFR clearance and contacted Wilmington Tower for our VFR (visual flight rules) arrival. Johnny made the call to the tower himself.

“Tower, MAC 4017, request high-speed pass down the runway for a 5,000-foot right closed pattern to a full stop.” Tower cleared him as requested. I should have suspected trouble when he asked for 5,000-foot clearance for the closed pattern, but I did not.

About eight miles out on the final, Johnny pushed up the throttles and our speed rapidly increased from our 220-knot cruise speed. I thought he would stop accelerating at the 250-knot speed limit for flights below 10,000 feet, but he did not. Since neither he nor the tower had defined high speed, he defined it himself. As we descended toward the trees surrounding the airport our airspeed climbed to 300 knots. I looked down at tree-lined neighborhoods flying by in a blur with barely enough time for me to mentally register them before they were gone.

Low-altitude flying at high speed can be problematic. The pilot’s actions can make over-controlling pitch commands a problem, leading to a porpoise motion that is made worse by the pilot’s attempts to control it. The airflow across the control surfaces is significantly more than typical or expected. Fortunately, we did not experience this problem, but it should have been considered prior to accelerating to 300 knots. One misstep at that speed descending toward the ground could have been catastrophic.

Johnny pulled the throttles back as we approached 300 knots, mercifully, and we smoked down the runway at 200 feet in relative silence. The silence came to an end when Johnny accelerated the throttles to almost full power, raised the nose to 15 degrees, and made a right turn toward our 5,000-foot closed pattern. He set the throttles to idle after reaching 3,000 feet in order to slow the plane down for the last 2,000 feet of the climb. From there we made a normal landing. Afterward, he stated that he intended to offer an advertisement for the air show the next day.

The story of the stall and fall experienced by a C-5 Reserve crew on approach to Diego Garcia

With one exception, Johnny probably would have gotten away with this maneuver using the considerable latitude he had given himself. When he launched the large power burst from the runway’s departure end, he did so over the home of Joseph Biden, a recently elected congressman, and potential vice president.

Senator Biden was not impressed. To find out who the hell tried to tear the roof off Senator Biden’s house with a C-5, someone called the Pentagon, then the MAC headquarters at Scott AFB, IL, and finally the Dover wing commander. Before we turned off the engines, the base operations’ phone started ringing.

Johnny’s punishment for the incident was inspired by a Chinese Communist confessional, in which the offender is forced to publicly and harshly criticize himself for his mistake. The following month, Johnny addressed the audience that had gathered for drill weekend, including the wing staff, to explain how he could have been such an idiot to have done such things.

Photo by U.S. Air Force

May 23, 2023 0 comment

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