Bear Taylor 
RIPPLE SALVO… #371… SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME !!!!!!!! …but first…
Good Morning: Day THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-ONE of an updated journal of OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…
11 MARCH 1967…HEAD LINES and LEADS from The New York Times on a sunny Saturday in NYC…
Page 1: “Extension of Raids Linked to Impasse”... “The go-ahead for yesterday’s attack on North Vietnam’s Thainguyen steel plant by President Johnson was made last month after the collapse of efforts to open peace negotiations with Hanoi…Officials reported that the step was part of an overall decision to increase the ‘price of the war’ for the Hanoi regime. Cloudy weather over the steel mill in a region 38 miles north of Hanoi, and the time for aerial reconnaissance and other preparations for the airstrike contributed to delay of about three weeks…The JCS had the target on the list since 1965…Four enemy aircraft were engaged in the raid….F-105s from both Ubon and Korat participated. Hanoi claimed 4 American aircraft shot down.”… Page 3: “U.S. Stand on Talks” Hedrick Smith. “Arguments over whether President Johnson has raised the ‘price of the war’ is continuing. The argument has hardened in terms for peace negotiations in Vietnam over the last year refuses to be stilled. The President says NO, the critics say YES. the record suggests as a minimum–that what the Johnson Administration once considered a ‘loop-hole’ in its bargaining position has been closed. this has caused such critics as Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., the historian and former White House aide, to charge that President Johnson has raised the price…. Most recently on March 1 the President said that the United States required ‘equivalent action’ from Hanoi before any end in the bombing would be ordered….
Page 1: “China Hints Purge May Be Dropped”... “The possibility that Mao Tse-tung’s cultural revolution nay have to be abandoned was raised today in a major statement of policy in Peking. However, the statement incorporated a call for Maoists to press forward with the revolution and establish new revolutionary organs of power throughout the country based on a program of conciliation toward trustworthy officials but of uncompromising opposition to ‘persons in authority taking the capitalistic road,’ the phrase for those who oppose Mao.”… Page 1: “Today’s Stock Trading Heaviest Since 1929”... “The stock market roared into high gear yesterday on President Johnson’s request to Congress late Thursday afternoon to restore the 7-per cent investment tax credit. The exchange soared with 14.9 million shares traded. October 29,1929 was high day with 16.41 million shares traded. The DOW closed at $848.50.”... Page 1: “Stalin’s Daughter Will Get Asylum in Western Europe…to spare the United States diplomatic embarrassment with the Soviet Union. Svetlana Stalin, daughter of Josef Stalin, defected on a visit to India by turning herself in to the American Embassy in New Delhi…”... Page 1: “Senator Thomas J. Dodd Defends His Use of Funds, Decries ‘Trial by Press'”…”Senator Dodd, in a vigorous and at times, emotional speech on the floor of the Senate defended himself against charges that he diverted campaign contributions to his personal use. ‘I have not enriched myself from public office,’ he declared.”… Page 3: “Delay Expected in Revised Draft”… “President Johnson’s plan to draft 19-year olds first is not expected to go into effect for at least several months.”…
Operation Rolling Thunder… My post yesterday (10 March) recognized the heroic actions of Commander Ron Hays and the flight that resulted in the award of his Sixth Distinguished Flying Cross. Today, a companion story: the heroic actions of his Bombardier/Navigator– Lieutenant John Theodore Been II, “Ted” — on a strike mission to the same target on 11 March 1967.
OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER…EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENT…LIEUTENANT JOHN THEODORE BEEN, II, UNITED STATES NAVY… A GOLD STAR IN LIEU OF THE THIRD DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS… 11 MARCH 1967…
“In the name of the President of the United States, the Commander-in-Chief U.S. Pacific Fleet takes pleasure in awarding a Gold Star in lieu of the Third Distinguished Flying Cross to
Lieutenant John Theodore Been II, United States Navy
“For extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as a Naval Flight Officer of a jet aircraft attached to Attack Squadron EIGHTY-FIVE, embarked in USS KITTY HAWK (CVA-63) during a daring and highly dangerous air strike on the Bac Giang thermal power plant 25 miles northeast of Hanoi, North Vietnam on 11 March 1967. As lead navigator of the 17 plane strike group Lieutenant BEEN skillfully navigated the A-6 flight at low-level through mountainous terrain to remain below the missile envelope. He utilized the complex radar navigation system to provide the flight with programmed acceleration points and precise steering to the proper roll-in point. Despite an unprecedented number of surface-to-air missile firings and a heavy barrage of anti-aircraft fire en route to and in the target area he courageously assisted his pilot by maintaining an alert surveillance for surface-to-air missiles, unerringly managed all ordnance switches and electronic countermeasure functions, and called out dive angle, airspeed and altitude in the dive bombing attack, Lieutenant BEEN’s heroic actions under difficult and extremely hazardous conditions upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.” oohrah…
11 March 1967…Operation Rolling Thunder…New York Times (12 Mar reporting 11 Mar ops) Page 1: “U.S. Jets Attack Iron-Steel Plant in North 2nd Time”... “American jet fighter-bombers returned this afternoon for their second raid in two days on North Vietnam’s biggest iron and steel complex… On both days 14 flights of F-105 and F-4C Phantoms sped in from Thailand to strike with 750-pound bombs… In other air strikes American pilots heavily damaged the Bac Giang power plant 25 miles northeast of Hanoi, and the Langcam surface-to-air missile support facilities 13 miles northwest of Haiphong (25 miles east of Hanoi near Hai Duong).”
“Vietnam: Air Losses” (Hobson) Four fixed wing aircraft were downed in Southeast Asia on 11 March 1967…
(1) COMMANDER ERNEST MELVIN MOORE was flying an A-4E of the “World Famous Golden Dragons” of VA-192 embarked in USS Ticonderoga on an iron hand mission against a specific SAM site in support of strike operations in the area east of Hanoi. Hobson: “The site was eventually discovered to be a SAM support site, probably where missiles were stored and assembled before distribution to various batteries, and was located at Lang Cam near Hai Duong, 25 miles east of Hanoi. CDR Moore had flown over 90 missions over Vietnam and had led many Iron Hand missions during his time as executive officer with VA-192. As the flight approached the target at 14,000-feet CDR Moore was just a few seconds late in starting his evasive maneuvers and an SA-2 detonated close to his aircraft peppering it with shrapnel. The aircraft’s fuel tanks were holed and the fuel caught fire forcing CDR Moore to eject near the target. CDR Moore was captured immediately and joined many of his colleagues as a POW until released on 4 March 1973.”
(2) CAPTAIN CHARLES EDWARD GREENE was flying an F-105D of the 333 TFS and 355th TFW out of Takhli on a strike mission to the steel mills at Thainguyen. His aircraft was hit recovering from his dive attack on the target and he was forced to eject about 10 miles west of the target. He was captured and a POW until released in 1973…
(3) CAPTAIN JOSEPH JOHN KARINS was flying an F-105D of the 357th TFS and 355th TFW out of Takhli on a strike mission to the steel mills at Thainguyen. His aircraft was hit by an SA-2 over the target and he ejected in the target area and was on his survival radio on the ground a few minutes later. CAPTAIN KARINS was thought to have been captured but never showed up at any POW camp. His remains were returned to the United States in 1988 without explanation of where, when or how he died. CAPTAIN KARINS was Killed in Action and died alone with honor not to be forgotten…
(4) MAJOR JAMES EDWARD HITESHEW was flying an F-105D of the 354th TFS and 355th TFW out of Takhli on a strike mission to the steel mills at Thainguyen. His aircraft was hit by AAA over the target and he was forced to eject in the target area. He was captured interned as a POW and released in 1973.
Hobson: “Three F-105s had been lost over Thai Nguyen within the space of four minutes, which brought the number of aircraft lost to this particular target in two days to six.”
RIPPLE SALVO… #371… On 11 March 1967 a new Navy weapon was introduced to the air war over North Vietnam– the Walleye. The weapon was a launch and leave smart bomb that the pilot could lock-on the target using a cockpit television screen showing what area of high contrast the Walleye’s TV camera was looking at. The pilot could shuffle and shift the Walleye aim point during the dive and release the weapon when the desired lock-on point was acknowledged by the Walleye. Theoretically, the pilot could add several thousand feet of altitude to his dive bombing delivery and recovery thereby increasing his margin of safety from the enemy defenses. I dropped several and got good hits but was disappointed in the size of the Walleye bang. For me it was Bullpup light. Also, I couldn’t resist “one more tweak” to get the weapon to hold on to the exact point of desired impact, which cancelled out the added safety margin. Lock-on was shakey unless you could find a desired impact point that suited the weapon’s need to see and hold a point of high contrast of dark and light. I suspect I wasn’t the only Walleye shooter who pushed release to the lowest possible altitude– the weapon arming time — before impact. Here is the story of the initial Walleye dropped in anger in North Vietnam… Gogetem’ Bill Greene of the VA-212 Rampant Raiders… from my stuff… (or was it VA-212 Skipper Homer Smith on 10 March???)
“On 11 March 1967 LCDR Bill Greene, attached to and serving with Attack Squadron Two Hundred Twelve embarked in USS Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31) was selected for the first combat mission using the new Walleye weapon. Due to the importance of this first time use, the weapon planning for this mission was extensive and exacting. In order to obtain maximum and meaningful data from the strike, it was planed to photograph the attacking aircraft in the run and, if feasible, to obtain sequential photographic coverage of weapon release, flight and impact. These requirements made necessary a high degree of coordination in the planning and execution of the mission.
“The target for LCDR Greene’s weapon was the Sam Son Army Barracks located east of Thanh Hoa on the coast, and was within range of both anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missile defenses. When the strike group arrived over the target, haze hampered acquisition of the target. Despite the adverse conditions, LCDR Greene demonstrated exceptional airmanship and flew his aircraft to the desired and planned roll-in point. Concentrating solely on weapon delivery in the hostile environment, he obtained lock-on at extremely long-range. Ascertaining that he was within launch parameters (the envelope) he released the Walleye and scored a direct hit on his target, severely damaging the targeted building. By successfully completing the long-range drop, LCDR Greene demonstrated the stand-off capability, without sacrifice of accuracy, of the Walleye weapon. His outstanding weapons delivery experience and ability and determination, were significant factors in the successful introduction of Walleye in Combat.”… oohrah…
CAG’s QUOTES for 11 March: “General Robert E. Lee: “I will not complain, but do the best I can.”… PATTON: “People are prone to remember ill usage more than to recall compliments.”…
Lest we forget… Bear
