Bear Taylor 
WHEN NAVAL AVIATION ROARED… TALES OF THE BRAVE AND BOLD…
COMMEMORATING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIETNAM WAR (1961-1973) and honoring the extraordinary guts and talent of the Naval Aviators, Naval Flight Officers, and aircrewmen who made North Vietnam pay a steep price for waging their relentless war against democracy in Southeast Asia during the years 1965-1968… They, we, were there to contain and fight the spread of communism, a fight the 2020 Democratic Party of the United States has deserted…
GOOD MORNING. Faithful Scribe has another Intruder attack on the Dragon’s Jaw story to tell. WHEN NAVAL AVIATION ROARED. Tale #25. INTRUDERS vs. The DRAGON’S JAW… A reprise of RTR of 5 February 1967, Ripple Salvo #337… Source: CINCPACFLT Awards Files, 1985…
Dragon’s Jaw at Thanh Hoa…1967
“On the night of 4 February 1967, the Black Falcons of Attack Squadron EIGHTY-FIVE, embarked in USS KITTY HAWK (CVA-63) as an element of Attack Carrier Air Wing ELEVEN, was assigned a strike against the highly strategic Thanh Hoa railroad/highway bridge: North Vietnam’s only north-south rail link in the Thanh Hoa area. Damage to the vital enemy bridge would restrict the flow of equipment and supplies southward, and seriously hamper North Vietnam’s line of communication. Photographic intelligence indicated that previous damage to the seemingly indestructible target had been repaired.
“The sturdy construction of the bridge suggested a large concentratio0n of heavy bombs released to explode simultaneously as a requirement for target destruction. Despite the surface-to-air missile threat and a dense concentration of anti-aircraft guns and automatic weapons surrounding the target, a daring and dangerous plan involving a night formation attack with three A-6A Intruder aircraft was formulated by Commander Ron HAYS, CO, VA-85, and assisted by his B/N LT Ted BEEN, to achieve a heavy weight of ordnance on the bridge. Each A-6A Intruder was loaded with five MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, all of which were programmed to be salvoed simultaneously on a signal from the leader. Never before had a tactic been planned against a heavily defended target in North Vietnam. The proposed tactic required outstanding parade formation flying by the strike leader, and two wingmen especially, who would have only dim formation lights to fly by, small lights which hopefully, could not be seen from the ground on the dark and moonless night. Because of the added danger of midair collision in a close formation flown at low altitude in a heavily defended area only volunteers were accepted for the mission. The wingmen, LTJG Irv WILLIAMS, paired with B/N LT Jim DOBBERTEEN, and LT Frank WAGNER, paired with LT Manfred SCHUPP, were thoroughly briefed by CDR HAYS (VCNO in 1984), the Flight Leader, of the additional hazards involved and of the voluntary nature of the mission.
“The three B/Ns, BEEN, SCHUPP and DOBBERTEEN were required to maintain an exact navigational track and to run concurrent bomb release solutions so that either wing aircraft could assume the flight lead if necessary. In addition, the wingmen B/Ns were briefed to aid pilots who would be concentrating on formation flying by giving aircraft altitude information, distance to target, and to call breakaway after bomb release, after which each aircraft would turn to pre-briefed headings to clear the target area. Other B/N duties included management of all ordnance switches and electric countermeasure functions during the attack.
“The attack was made on an extremely dark and moonless night with no visible horizon. Thick haze covered the target and routes to and from the target. The optimum approach to the target necessitated thirty-miles of wings level flight over enemy territory. Precise navigation and final steering information were provided by LT BEEN, the lead B/N who masterfully used the complex A-6 weapons system throughout the mission to allow CDR HAYS considerable leeway in maneuvering the flight for maximum ease on the wingmen. The complete darkness, low altitude and high speed made the problem of maintaining wing position extremely challenging. No part of the leader’s aircraft could be seen by the wingmen except for the dimmed formation lights. Lateral distance was judged in many cases by the feel of air pressure as the aircraft flew in close proximity. During the attack the formation was subjected to intense anti-aircraft and automatic weapons fire of such accuracy that tracers from the automatic weapons passed between the aircraft, flying almost wingtip-to-wingtip. Despite the intense anti-aircraft fire and a surface-to-air missile warning at nine miles to go to bomb release, the close strike formation was maintained throughout the attack. As a result of the flight’s courageous and extraordinary airmanship several direct hits were scored on the target, verified by post-strike reconnaissance photography. The resulting damage, assessed as the most significant ever achieved during dozens of attacks over the first year of Rolling Thunder operations, seriously weakened the bridge and rendered it unserviceable for several weeks.
BITS OF RIBBON… Alas, there were not many, if any, awards for CDR HAYS and his band of Black Falcons for their imaginative, brilliantly executed, and effective night formation strike on the Dragon’s Jaw on 4 February 1967. (‘They didn’t drop it, did they?’) The three Naval Aviators and lead B/N, LT BEEN, were recommended for DFCs, and the other B/Ns on Lead’s wing for Air Medals by the Kitty Hawk CO, but the records are bare of approval of same. Sigh…
END NOTE. Author and Podcaster Matt GRAVES has published a new series of “HAIRY” tales from the air war in Vietnam. It is available on all major platforms (Apple, Spotify, etc.). Seek the Hairy Stories at:
I had the opportunity to review and comment on his entertaining and polished podcast. My review: “The Vietnam war in the air comes alive in this series of podcasts. The voices of experience–the ‘badass fighter pilots’–who were there fifty years ago, tell the stories as the sounds and fury of their war, added by the producers, provide depth and description to their ‘hairy’ tales. Great history told by men of uncommon courage.”… A two minute YouTube trailer is on line at: https://youtu.be/TRLK4pw0eKs
Matt starts off his two-minute teaser with the face of Jack “Fingers” Ensch…. survivor of a hairy story or two, to be sure….
NEXT POST. Tale #26. ENTERPRISE and CVW-9 smother the Haiphong Thermal Power Plant in MK-82s on 10 May 1968…
Lest we forget… Bear
