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Landing the Bird Dog on the deck of carrier without a tailhook was no easy task. Nevertheless Maj Ly Bung made an excellent landing.

In April 1975 South Vietnam was in the process of being overrun by the North Vietnamese. The end of the decades-old Vietnam conflict approached, and many South Vietnamese desperately tried to escape the country before the takeover by North Vietnam.

According to Naval Historical Foundation’s article The Opportunity to Make History: Vietnam War Hero’s Flight to Freedom Remembered, the U.S. Navy was busy cooperating with South Vietnamese forces in Operation Frequent Wind, the largest helicopter evacuation in history. Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam.

Although the U.S. ran the operations during Frequent Wind, several South Vietnamese aviators took it upon themselves to escape in countless helicopters and planes.

On Apr. 29, around mid-morning, CH-53s and HH-53s began cross-decking processed evacuees from the USS Midway (CV-41) to the Military Sealift Command ships scattered around the ocean nearby. During this operation, a Vietnamese Air Force (the South Vietnamese Air Force or VNAF) O-1E Bird Dog appeared overhead and set up a holding pattern around the carrier. The deck was full of helicopters working on the transfer. The initial decision was to deny landing and the carrier zigzagged to prevent an approach. As explained by Albert Grandolini in his book Fall of the Flying Dragon, South Vietnamese Air Force 1973-75, when this failed to discourage the pilot, Maj Ly Bung of the 114th Observation Squadron, an attempt was made to convince him to ditch near the carrier and a smoke bomb was dropped in the water while a U.S. Navy rescue helicopter hovered overhead. Again unconvinced, the VNAF pilot tried to drop a message on the deck, failed, and then succeeded with a second. The message was clear:

“Can you move the Helicopter to the other side, I can land on your runway, I can fly 1 hour more, we have enough to move. Please rescue me.

Major Bung, wife and 5 children.”

He was going to land, even if the helicopters were in the way. The deck was cleared, the carrier’s course straightened, and the speed increased to 30kt.

Midway Commanding Officer Capt. Larry Chambers recollects the events:

“The sky was overcast. Light rain was falling. Not much of a sea state. When we turned into the wind we had 40 kts over the deck (15 knots natural plus 25 knots that the old girl was making). My only concern, besides the Admiral telling me not to do it, was whether or not Major Ly would carry enough power to get through the burble and down draft aft of the ship. The high wind over the deck increases the downdraft and the turbulence. Because we were operating helos, I had given the engineers permission to shut down half the plant for maintenance. When I told the chief engineer that I needed 25 knots, he informed me that we didn’t have enough steam. I ordered him to shift the hotel load to the emergency diesel. You get the idea. In addition, we stripped the arresting gear cross deck pendants. At Ly’s approach speed, my only worry was getting him across the ramp. His relative speed couldn’t have been more than 20 to 25 knots.”

Ly received the “green light” from the tower and had permission to land. Landing the Cessna on the deck of the carrier without a tailhook was no easy task. Nevertheless Ly Bung made an excellent landing while the deck crew applauded, as USS Midway Air Boss Vern Jumper explained to KPBS:

“We had 30-40 knots right down the angle deck, and he started his final approach. He then made a beautiful carrier landing without a tailhook. He touched down right in the wire area – we’d stripped the wires off the deck because that would have felled him up. He touched down right where he should have, bounced once, rolled up the deck, and was stopped before he got to the end of the angle deck.

My flight deck crew ran out to grab him before he went over the angle deck, but he didn’t. The major and his wife jumped out of the cockpit, pulled the backseat forward, and out tumbled all these little kids. Five little kids they had. She was holding a baby in her arms when he landed.

Oh, when he landed my flight deck crew and all the other guys that were working on the flight deck in the squadrons and the ship’s company ran out there. And they’re hooping and hollering and making so much noise. They were so proud, so glad that they saved this guy.”

Maj Ly Bung’s aircraft, still in its VNAF markings, is now displayed in the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.

In the following video, you can see Maj Ly Bung’s Bird Dog landing aboard USS Midway.

Photo by U.S. Navy

“It took almost three minutes for Petty Officer JD Bridges to push his way out of the intake of the A-6 after being sucked in,” Daniel P Streckfuss, former VFA-15 officer

Taken on Feb. 20, 1991, during Operation Desert Storm aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), the scary video in this post shows Petty Officer JD Bridges getting sucked into a jet engine of an A-6 Intruder.

Incredibly, Bridget, then 21 years old, managed to survive.

Daniel P Streckfuss, another officer who was with Bridget at the time, explained how his colleague was able to survive.

“I was attached to VFA-15 onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt during that deployment in 1991

“What allowed him to survive was the design of the A-6 engine (the J-52). It has a long protruding ‘bullet’ or cone that extends in front of the first stage fans.

“When he was sucked in, his arm extended above his head which caused his body to wedge between the bullet and inside wall of the intake.”

He also added: “Lucky for him, his helmet and coat were sucked in first which prompted the pilot to cut the throttle.

“It took almost three minutes for him to push his way out of the intake after being sucked in.

“Needless to say, I don’t think he was seen on the flight deck for the rest of the cruise.”

According to Daily Mail, the video has been widely used around the world in the years since it was filmed, often by television shows showcasing the amazing survival.

Serving throughout the Vietnam War, the A-6 continued as the Navy’s front-line medium-attack aircraft through Operation Desert Storm, during which Navy and Marine Corps A-6s logged more than 4,700 combat sorties. They were not retired until 1997.

From the beginning, Intruders featured Digital Integrated Attack Navigation Equipment (DIANE), which provided an electronic display of targets and geographical features even in low visibility conditions. Introduced on the A-6E version of the aircraft, the Target Recognition Attack Multi sensors (TRAM) system combined Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) and laser sensors with an onboard computer. Located in a ball turret beneath the nose of the aircraft, TRAM enabled a higher degree of bombing accuracy by locating targets and ascertaining their ranges, allowing the A-6 crew to detect ground undulations as small as a plowed field.

The Intruder served as the aircraft carrier’s “big stick” in combat over Lebanon, Libya, and Iraq. During Operation Desert Storm, Navy and Marine Corps A-6s logged more than 4,700 combat sorties, providing close air support, destroying enemy air defenses, attacking Iraqi naval units, and hitting strategic targets. All told, 687 A-6s were delivered to the Navy, the last being retired from front line service in 1997.

The decision to incorporate the Super Hornet and decommission the F-14 was mainly due to high amount of maintenance required to keep the Tomcats operational

On Feb. 8, 2006 a chapter in naval aviation history was closed aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) with the last recovery of an F-14 Tomcat from a combat mission.

Piloted by then-Capt. William G. Sizemore II, commander, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8, Fighter Squadron (VF) 213 Black Lions’ aircraft 204 was trapped at 12:35 a.m. on that day and marked one of the final stages of the Navy’s transition from the F-14 to F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet.

“It’s the end of an era and it just kind of worked out that I was the last trap,” tolt Sizemore after that historic flight to Journalist 2nd Class Stephen Murphy, USS Theodore Roosevelt Public Affairs for his article TR Traps Last Tomcat from Combat Mission. “This is one of the best airplanes ever built, and it’s sad to see it go away. It’s just a beautiful airplane. It’s powerful, it has presence, and it just looks like the ultimate fighter.”

Then-Lt. Bill Frank, a VF-31 Tomcatters pilot, also took part in the last mission, and is credited with being the last pilot to ever drop a bomb from an F-14 Tomcat.

“We were called on to drop, and that’s what we did,” said Frank. “It’s special and it’s something I can say I did.” He also claimed that what was more important has been the work of the Sailors who did their best during last Tomcat’s cruise to make every F-14 operational.

The decision to incorporate the Super Hornet and decommission the F-14 was mainly due to high amount of maintenance required to keep the Tomcat operational. On average, an F-14 required nearly 50 maintenance hours for every flight hour, while the Super Hornet requires five to 10 maintenance hours for every flight hour.

“I don’t think there is anything better than a Tomcat, but it’s probably a good time for it to go away,” said Senior Chief Aviation Machinist’s Mate (AW) Gene Casterlin, VF-31 after Tomcat’s last combat mission. The U.S. Navy in fact was getting smaller and more efficient, and maintaining the Tomcat would have been a real challenge. Nevertheless, as Casterlin stated, “No matter what, the Tomcat is the sexiest airplane in the sky.”

The F-14 entered operational service with Navy fighter squadrons VF-1 Wolfpack and VF-2 Bounty Hunters aboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65) in September 1974. The Tomcat’s purpose was to serve as a fighter interceptor, and it eventually replaced the F-4 Phantom II Fighter, which was phased out in 1986.

According to the U.S. Navy during their final deployment with TR, VF-31 and 213 collectively completed 1,163 combat sorties totaling 6,876 flight hours, and dropped 9,500 pounds of ordnance during reconnaissance, surveillance, and close air support (CAS) missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).

“As we near the end of the Tomcat’s last deployment, we are proud of our legacy and take solace in the fact that the Tomcat is going out at the top of its game, but also regret saying farewell to an old, revered and trusted friend,” said Cmdr. Richard LaBranche, then-VF-31 commanding officer, who made his 1,000th trap few days earlier, on Jan. 16, 2006.

In keeping with its history of being adaptable to new challenges, the Tomcat soared to a new level during its last deployment when it became the first Navy aircraft to make use of the Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receivers (ROVER) system in Dec. of 2005. The system allowed for ground forces to view video via laptop computers which gave them the ability to view their surroundings from the aircrafts’ point of view in real-time, and provided better reconnaissance and target identification, which were essential to combat air support missions in Iraq.

Previously, ROVER had been used by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), and with a few modifications from personnel of Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, Va., and members from Naval Air Depot Jacksonville, Fla., it became one of the last great modifications to the Tomcat.

“From its inception, the Tomcat has been the icon of Naval Aviation with its striking appearance, speed, formidable lethality and versatility,” said LaBranche. He also remarked that the aircraft was most capable in its last days “than at any other time during its existence because of the innovation, dedication, and tenacity of every maintainer and pilot who has ever been associated with it.”

Photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Tony Foster and Photographer’s Mate Airman Apprentice Nathan Laird / U.S. Navy

The 35 women made history by launching 35 aircraft from the flight deck of USS Theodore Roosevelt on the last day of February in the Persian Gulf

On Feb. 28 this year, a launch crew comprising mostly of women took over the job of launching aircraft from the flight deck of USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).

The 35 women made history by launching 35 aircraft on the last day of February in the Persian Gulf. According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, that was the first time in the ship’s 32-year history that a launch crew was mostly women.

It was a small moment in a seven-month tour that saw the USS Theodore Roosevelt travel more than 56,000 miles and fly 1,164 combat sorties over Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, but one pilot thinks it still important.

“I’m kind of speechless about it, honestly,” said Lt. Elizabeth “Lana” Grider, an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter pilot.

Grider, who returned to North Island on May 7, 2018, served as a yellow-clad “shooter” on the deployment. Shooters are the supervisors who make sure every sailor is safely positioned before they greenlight a steam catapult to hurl a jet into the air.

“I’m extremely proud of this team. This started at the deck plate level, not the officers,” she said. “They wanted to do this for themselves and take this unique opportunity to launch aircraft with an all-female launch crew, which doesn’t happen too often.”

Aviation Boatswain Mate 2nd Class Esperanza Romero was the one hitting the “fire” button to fling the jets.

“It all comes down to teamwork,” said Romero, of Denver, a supervisor on a mixed male and female team operating the carrier’s bow catapult. “Men and women work together. Yes, aviation boatswain mate’s pretty much a male-dominated rating but more women are going into it and we wanted to show what we can do.

“For this event, we couldn’t have accomplished it without the hard work and dedication of all our junior sailors. The job we do is strenuous and rough and not everyone wants to do it, but they’re proud to do it.”

Aviation Boatswain Mate 3rd Class Teneshia Walton spent the morning feeding data about the planes to the rest of the crew and operating the blast deflector, the steel fence that redirects blowtorch-hot air and debris churned up from jet engines away from sailors and other aircraft.

That job can get even more dangerous when sailors are toiling on rain-swept decks battered by winds, but she loves it.

“It can involve a lot of long hours doing hands-on work but I’m always really excited to get things working, to get it all rolling,” said Walton, of St Louis. “It’s not an easy job but you come to appreciate what you do and those you work with.

“No one person can do all of this. Everyone has a role to play and we work together to do it.”

Although shooter Grider said that the female crews joined together on Feb. 28 to prove something to themselves — not the U.S. Navy or the country — news about the launches began to ripple far beyond the Persian Gulf, spread by social media.

“My hope is that a young woman or a young girl might see this story and be inspired to work on a flight deck, too,” Grider said. “You can do this. We proved that.”

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alex Corona / U.S. Navy