ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED 22 APRIL 1967

RIPPLE SALVO… #413… THE COMPLETE STORY: as it was reported in the summer of 1967 in the Commanding Officer, USS Kitty Hawk recommendation for combat awards for the aviators of Air Wing Eleven who struck the Haiphong Thermal Power Plant (West) on 20 April 1967… but first…

Good Morning: Day FOUR HUNDRED THIRTEEN of a return to the air battle with North Vietnam called ROLLING THUNDER…

22 APRIL…HOME TOWN HEAD LINES from The New York Times on a rainy Saturday in NYC…

Page 1: “Twisters Kill 49 and Injure 1,500 in Northern Illinois”... “Tornadoes ripped into heavily populated areas of Chicago and northern Illinois today killing at 49 persons, injuring more than 1,500 and leaving portions of the sector a wasteland littered with debris. The number of dead in Oak Lawn, a suburb of the southwestern rim of Chicago was set at 24 by Cook County coroner…the toll included 23 dead in the town of Belvedere, a town of about 9,500 65 miles northwest of Chicago.”… Page 1: “2 Die in Long Island Crash of F-111B Test Jet”...”A test model of the F-111B jet fighter crashed here today on take-off killing its two-man crew. The plane is the Navy’s version of the controversial TFX. Its development has been marked by technical problems including erratic propulsion and overweight…the aircraft attained an altitude of 100-200-feet, then fell to earth and exploded.”… Page 1: “Army in Greece Installs Premier After Take-Over”… “Constantine V. Kollias, chief prosecutor of the Greek Supreme Court was installed as Premier in Athens today after the swift military take-over of power last night. The armed forces said they acted in the name of King Constantine… Kollias: Conceded that the take-over was a ‘deviation from the constitution’ but was necessary ‘for the salvation of the country.’… “… Page 3: “SANE Letter to Johnson Protests Haiphong Attack”… “The National Committee for the Sane Nuclear Policy sent a letter to President Johnson deploring the air attack on Haiphong on Thursday, April 20. Saying that the bombing was ‘no doubt a preview of things to come as our Administration pursues its policy of escalation,’ the SANE statement questioned where such a policy could lead. ‘We know that no negotiations are possible as long as American bombs fall on North Vietnam,’ the message said. It then called on the President to ‘initiate a bombing pause and standstill truce’ at the time of Buddhas birthday on May 23. A 24-hour truce on that day has been proposed by South Vietnam. The statement was signed by Dr. Benjamin Spock, Co-chairman of SANE.”… Page 1: “Surveyor Shovel Digs On the Moon”... “Surveyor 3 stretched out a robot arm tonight, flexed its mechanical muscles and bored a hole in the surface of the moon with a sharp metal claw on commands from Jet Propulsion lab in Pasadena California, ‘it then reached down and pressed the soil to determine its firmness and strength and was poised to dip into the lunar crust.’…”…

Page 1: “Civilian Toll is Put at 100 in Haiphong”... “More than 100 civilians were killed or wounded in the American air raids against Haiphong Thursday (20th), North Vietnam Foreign Ministry announced today… (NYT 23 Apr put # at 44 killed and 110 wounded)…  ‘The American planes dropped a series of bombs and missiles on several plants and other industrial installations as well as on heavily populated districts in the suburban zone,’ the statement said. ‘Three persons–two women and a 14-year old boy–were killed and several men were wounded… all members of an antiaircraft gun crew.’... The Foreign Ministry called on all socialist and peace-loving governments ‘to bar the way to the American war criminals.’… ‘American official circles are trying to delude the public opinion by denying that the Americans have made a new dangerous step in escalating the conflict.’… ‘The bombing unmasked the trickery of the so-called peace efforts and de-escalation plan of the Johnson Administration.’ At least eight groups of planes took part in the attacks.”…

22 APRIL 1967… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER... New York Times (23 Apr reporting 22 Apr ops) Page 18: “Over North Vietnam United States pilots reported a brief encounter with MIG-17s yesterday. The enemy planes broke contact as soon as the F-105s positioned to attack. American war planes pounded North Vietnamese barracks, storage areas, box cars and barges.”... “Vietnam: Air Losses” (Hobson) One fixed wing aircraft lost in Southeast Asia on 22 April 1967.

(1) MAJOR JAMES EDWARD OXLEY and CAPTAIN W.E. ESTABROOKS were flying a B-57B Canberra of the 13th TBS and 405th FW/35th TFW out of Phan Rang was on a Close Air Support mission 15 miles south of Tan Son Nhut and on a fourth strafing run when hit by ground fire and went down a mile from the target areas. The crew ejected but MAJOR OXLEY perished in the low altitude ejection fifty years ago on this day….MAJOR OXLEY continues to rest in peace, duty done.

RIPPLE SALVO… #413… USS KITTY HAWK/CVW-11 vs. HAIPHONG THERMAL POWER PLANT WEST (JCS 80), 20 APRIL 1967… The following is a copy of an unclassified document acquired while conducting research at the Navy Archives in Suitland, Maryland in 1986… Pour a cup of coffee and savor this epic Alpha, from start to finish… ATTACK PILOTS MAKE HISTORY…

TARGET SIGNIFICANCE. At JCS direction on 12o3 H, 20 April 1967, Attack Carrier Air Wing Eleven embarked in USS Kitty Hawk conducted the initial strike on the Haiphong Thermal Power Plant (West), JCS Target 80.00. This power plant was located 1.1 miles west of the center of the formidably defended North Vietnamese city of Haiphong and supplied 9% of the country’s electrical power. Because of the significance and importance of the target and proximity of civilian dwellings, bombing restrictions on the approximately 200 by 300-foot target were to be adhered to at all costs and absolute minimal collateral damage was to be incurred. The Target was immediately south of a cement plant and bordered on the east by an estuary, on the west by water cooling vats, and on the south by a housing area. The power plant was composed of six primary buildings, and eight to ten support buildings and a coaling elevator. The major designated target buildings were a boiler generator house, a transformer building and water treatment plant.

DEFENSES included 146 occupied 57/85mm and 21 occupied 37mm antiaircraft artillery pieces. These defenses do not include the multitudinous rooftop mounted automatic weapons and the defenses of nearby Cat Bai or Kien An airfields. In addition, defenses included 17 occupied six-launcher surface-to-air missiles (SAM) sites within an effective range of the target.

STRIKE COMPOSITION. The strike was composed of 36 aircraft organized and tasked as follows:

1. Strike Coordinator… Commander Air Wing 11…CDR Hank Urban
2. Strike Leader (13 A4)… CDR Dick Powell
3. Flak Suppression Leader (7 F4)…CDR Jerry Barkalow
4. SAM Suppression Leader (3 A-6/1 A-4)…LCDR Fred Metz
5. Photo BDA Leader (1 RA-5C/ 1 F-4)… LCDR Bob Johnson
6. ECM Element Leader (2 EA-1)… LT Tim Booher

In addition, four F-4 TARCAP, three A-3 tankers, two E-2A command and control aircraft and SAR aircraft were available but not required.

PLANNING. The Strike Coordinator, CDR Urban in early liaison with the Strike Coordinator (CAG-19, USS Ticonderoga, CDR Billy Phillips; assigned the East Thermal Power Plant, to be struck nearly simultaneously), had established target time differentials and established route/approach ground rules for mutual support without interference. Cognizance for the strike was assigned to CDR Powell as Strike Leader. CDR Powell with the able assistance of CDR Barkalow devised one basic attack plan with three alternative approaches, one of which included use of an approach route that could possibly interfere with strike aircraft exiting from the East Thermal Power Plant strike. As the tactical situation developed this was the approach that CDR Powell used because of weather in the target area.

Approach routing included consideration of all enemy defenses; best utilization and disposition of flak and SAM suppressors (Iron Hand) aircraft; use of TARCAP aircraft in the event of need; and designated coordination points for the active ECM aircraft to be keyed on. Complicating optimal solution was the necessity to remove any derogating effects of mutual interference from Air Wing 19 striking the East TPP. During this planning, acceleration points for flak-suppressors, pop-up points for the strike aircraft, roll-in headings and retirement headings were established for all courses of action.

The small size of the target dictated maximum ordnance discriminatorily delivered on target with minimal number of aircraft. Accordingly, the A-4 strike aircraft were loaded with two 100-pound and one 2,000-pound bomb each while the F-4s were alternately loaded with LAU-10 pods complemented with wingmen carrying CBU-24. All pilots were briefed not to drop their ordnance unless they had a precise run.

EXECUTION-EN ROUTE. While the launching of aircraft was delayed ten minutes pending a satisfactory weather report, all but three minutes of this was made up by expeditious rendezvous and increased en route speed maintained by the strike Leader. En route to the target CDR Urban received a weather report from the Strike Coordinator on the East TPP strike indicating the weather south and west of the target, i.e., along the planned target approach, was unsatisfactory with the further recommendation that an approach be made from the east. On this reported recommendation, CDR Powell immediately altered course to a new route that, as one of the contingencies, had been pre-considered. He re-oriented the formation to approach the target from the east rather than the west. The facility with which the formation was reoriented is attribute to the professionalism of the pilots, with precise navigation executed without assistance, a coast-in was made during the following fourteen miles to the target, heavy fire from all size caliber AAA was encountered.

APPROACH. Ten Miles from the target CDR Powell called for acceleration of his flak suppressors who now had to swing a much wider arc to the north and west in order to effect their direct coverage of the primary threat AAA sites in the area while using an attack run that was 90-degrees from the roll-in heading of the Strike aircraft. In the meantime LCDR Gene Conner led his section of F-4s against intense AAA directed at the group from the north. His westerly run-in heading effectively dispersed considerable heavy AAA and covered the F-4s circling around to the north as well as the main strike element. The strike group commenced its pop-up seven miles from the target at which time four SAMs were fired at the group. These SAMs were observed by CDR Urban and appropriate warning was given as CDR Powell successfully evaded them with the strike group. Four to six additional SAM firings were observed in the vicinity but they posed no direct threat.

EXECUTION: TARGET. As the strike group approached the roll-in point the target was partially obscured by a layer of clouds which necessitated continuing around on a westerly heading in order to enable all strike aircraft to visually acquire the target and effect a coordinated attack. With precise timing, four flak suppressors, led by CDR Barkalow on the south side of the river and LT John Nash on the north bank, swept through an 18-gun emplacement at this time. The shift of the AAA gunners attention from the strike aircraft was readily apparent and did not completely and effectively return until the A-4s were well in their runs. Additionally, two SAMs passed through the strike group as it prepared to roll-in. Had a normal defensive break been made at this time all attack coordination would have been lost and required the attack aircraft to spend at least another three minutes in the heavily defended target area without flak suppression/dispersion. Taking a calculated risk and maneuvering a minimal amount to avoid the two SAMs, CDR Powell maintained his altitude and flight disposition as they passed through the flight and exploded harmlessly several hundred feet away in the chaff the attacking aircraft had dispensed. The resolve and disciplined following of all the A-4 pilots, especially LCDR Corky Caldwell and LCDR Bob Saville with their divisions, is most noteworthy especially since all of them saw the lethal missile barrage directed at them and, in fact, passing through their divisions at no more than 100-foot distance. Retirement was made seaward through a hail of flak and automatic weapons coming from the city and Cat Bai.

IRON HAND. The SAM suppression, or Iron Hand, element had preceded strike aircraft into the target area by some ten minutes in order to support the CVW-19 strike group on the TPP (East) target as well as their own Air Wing’s strike. the element leader, LCDR Fred Metz, deployed his aircraft against the seventeen known sites within 17.5 mile radius of the target. Because of the relatively few number of aircraft to counter such formidable missile defenses, LCDR Metz flew his mission on one engine because of prohibitively high oil pressure in the other. His perseverance protected the western flank of both strike groups. The Iron Hand aircraft departed their stations only after hearing the Strike Leader call all aircraft “feet wet” but held at sea awaiting the post-strike reconnaissance element’s run across the still hot target area.

PHOTO RECCE. The reconnaissance element penetrated the target area after LCDR Johnson positioned himself for a west-to-east run after the Iron Hand element re-positioned themselves for his defense. Despite increasing cloud cover in the target area the skillfully executed run captured immediate bomb damage assessment photography of both the West and East TPPs as well as 25 other significant targets and defenses around the Haiphong area and shipping. This photography provided the results below as well as providing current intelligence for use in a follow-on strike on the same target and other targeting requirements.

During the entire course of the strike and photo runs the EA-1F aircraft provided electronic counter-measures support. Their penetration of the missile envelope provided maximum possible jamming of enemy radar sites in the target area and contributed significantly to the success of the strike in that no aircraft received missile or artillery fire damage despite extensive AAA and at least 11 and possible 20 SAM firings.

RESULTS. The unswerving, professionally executed coordinated attack resulted in damage to all facilities in the target area. Two large secondary explosions of such volume and force were observed so as to completely obscure the target from the last attack aircraft. The power plant was rendered inoperable with 20% absolute destruction as the post-strike photography revealed. This photography also showed that no bomb hit over 200-feet away from the center of the target and little or no damage to a few immediately contiguous civilian houses which attests to the accuracy and professionalism of the aircrews involved. The immediate bomb damage assessment provided the necessary intelligence for an immediate follow-on strike to deliver the final coup de grace to the power plant. The complex, but precisely planned, well led and executed strike so dispersed the formidable enemy defenses that no strike aircraft was damaged by enemy fire.

HISTORY!!!…. 50 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK…  The New York Times Headlines…Page 1:

“U.S. JETS BOMB HAIPHONG; FIRST ATTACK INSIDE CITY; KNOCKED OUT POWER PLANT; 2ND UNIT ALSO HIT; PORT AREA SPARED; ONE RESIDENTIAL AREA DAMAGED…        

CAG Hank Urban interviewed by the press post flight: “We were told to surgically remove the power plant, and that’s what we did.”…  now that’s a CAG Quote… oohrah…

Lest we forget…    Bear