Bear Taylor 
COMMEMORATING the 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIETNAM WAR (1961-1973)… and honoring the indomitable Naval Aviators, Naval Flight Officers and aircrewmen who took the war to the doorstep of Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, North Vietnam during the years of Operation Rolling Thunder (1965-1968)…
GOOD MORNING. Faithful Scribe has a pair of A-6A Intruder ROLLING THUNDER war stories to tell. WHEN NAVAL AVIATION ROARED. Tale #15 from the cache of Rolling Thunder stuff recorded in Faithful Scribe’s 1985 notes from CINCPACFLT awards files, now stored in a cave on Mount Ogden… USS KITTY HAWK (CVA-63), Attack Carrier Air Wing ELEVEN and Medium Attack Squadron EIGHTY-FIVE Black Falcons departed North Island, San Diego on the second of six deployments to Yankee Station during the Vietnam war. They returned home on 20 June 1967 after logging 118 days and nights of Rolling Thunder operations. The air wing lost 17 aircraft and left 12 brave, bold aviators behind: three were killed in action, two died in captivity and seven were captured by the North Vietnamese and spent six years enduring deprivation and torture as POWs. These seven were among the 591 POWs returned in March, 1973. This tale of Intruder crew heroics took place on 26 March 1967 when three VA-85 A-6As kept North Vietnam awake and at their gun and missile sites as they struck the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Complex… A second VA-85 A-6 tale follows in my End-Note…
THE MISSION. “Get some ordnance on the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Plant 28 miles northeast of Hanoi. Shut ’em down.” The weather over North Vietnam in February and March 1967 precluded daylight and visual strike operations north of the 20th parallel and, as a consequence, the oft struck Thai Nguyen plants were in full operation. The night/all-weather strike capability of the American air forces were tasked by CINCPACFLT on 26 March to make the destruction of the steel plant an immediate priority. The Navy’s two A-6 Intruder squadrons at Yankee Station, including the VA-85 Black Falcons embarked in USS KITTY HAWK, were given the task. Faithful Scribe singled out the VA-85 strike flown on the night of 26 March 1967 to tell the tale. The three Intruder crews who carried out that mission were: LCDR Wendy MULLEN and LTJG Pat MURPHY; LT George BURRIDGE and LTJG Joe BURNS; and, LCDR Fred Metz and LTJG Dante KOLIPANO. This is their story as recorded in my notes…
THE PLAN. The VA-85 crews chose to coordinate and strike the steel mill simultaneously from opposite directions in order to split and confuse the formidable enemy defenses of dozens of 37mm/57mm/85mm AAA sites, multiple surface-to-air missiles sites, and three MiG bases hosting more than 30 MiG fighters. It was a night, all-weather strike for which the A-6 and its radar bombing system were specifically designed. MULLEN/MURPHY chose the most direct and dangerous route proceeding up the Red River Delta then turning north near Hanoi to strike the steel mill 28 miles northeast of the capitol city from the south. They would reverse this route to retire from the target area. They chose this heavily defended route and most dangerous path to provide deception and mutual support for the A-6 coming from the north. BURRIDGE/BURNS were to penetrate the coast north of Haiphong about 30 miles south of the Chinese border on a westerly heading until northeast of Thai Nguyen then turning to strike the mill from the north. This northern approach route flown at low level took advantage of mountainous terrain to reduce enemy detection/opposition. METZ/KOLIPANO also flew this route, preceding BURRIDGE/BURNS by three minutes to provide IRONHAND support for the duration of the strike. BURRIDGE/BURNS and METZ/KOLIPANO planned to exit post-strike on a path reverse to their inbound navigation route. The low-level, straight path attacks were to be made using the on-board radar systems, requiring Bombardier/Navigators MURPHY and KOLIPANO to establish prominent off-set aim points in the Thai Nguyen area for use in identifying and striking their respective specific structures in the steel mill complex. Ordnance for the two bombers was 26 MK-82s on each (13,000#) with the IRON HAND aircraft loaded with six AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missiles…
EXECUTION. The night strike launched, rendezvoused and topped off their fuel before proceeding on their individual navigation routes to briefed coast-in points. BURRIDGE/BURNS and METZ/KOLIPANO headed north over the Gulf of Tonkin together, then separated as they coasted-in south of the Chinese border, descending independently through solid cloud conditions to low altitude for the long flight through clouds and mountainous terrain. About midway to the Thai Nguyen target area, METZ/KOLIPANO picked up enemy radar and gained altitude required to provide IRON HAND protection (in other words, make their presence known and be prepared to fire Shrikes at bold transmitters–a standoff duel by any definition). They maintained this vulnerable position for the period of the strike and effectively fired all six of their Shrikes at radiating targets during the execution phase of the strike. In each case, the radiating target was silenced thereby substantially reducing the enemy capability to counter the two strikers operating at very low altitude. Both BURRIDGE/BURNS and MULLEN/MURPHY successfully executed their attacks almost as planned, striking their targets almost simultaneously while negotiating moderate to heavy 37mm/57mm anti-aircraft fire in their respective bombing runs. Enemy opposing fire for the last five miles approaching bomb release was described by both crews as “intense.” All 52 500-pounders were delivered on the structures in the steel mill complex in minimum weather conditions. BURRIDGE/BURNS aircraft sustained minor AAA shrapnel damage during the bombing run. MULLEN/MURPHY fared better, but were required to violently maneuver at low altitude to avoid five North Vietnamese surface-to-air missiles on their approach to the target from the south. (See CTF-77 message below) There were no easy days, or nights, for gallant Intruder crews. All three Intruders returned to KITTY HAWK to make flawless night traps…
BITS OF RIBBON. The SILVER STAR was recommended for LCDR Wendy MULLEN and LTJG Tom MURPHY. CINCPACFLT awarded DFCs. LT George BURRIDGE and LTJG Joe BURNS, Jr., were recommended and awarded DFCs. Individual AIR MEDALS were recommended and approved for LCDR Fred METZ and LTJG Dante KOLPANO. There was another accolade: an attaboy from the Commander of Task Force 77. It read: quote:
“Please convey to LCDR C.W. MULLEN and LTJG T.P. MURPHY of VA-85 my admiration for the skill and determination exhibited by this aircrew in their attack against the Thai Nguyen Steel Mill during the early morning of 26 March.
“It is noted that five surface-to-air missiles were fired against the A-6 flown by these officers, that these missiles were avoided by a series of high ‘G’ 90-degree turns at very low altitude at night, with a fully loaded airplane carrying 13,000 pounds of bombs. Throughout these violent maneuvers the Bombardier/Navigator continued to maintain the navigational track and immediately provided correct data to continue the attack. As a result of evasive tactics used it was necessary to approach the target from an unplanned heading. Despite this LTJG MURPHY was able to acquire the target and the crew completed a successful all-weather systems attack. Had the pilot elected to abort his mission while under heavy attack he could have appreciably increased his probability of survival by jettisoning his load of bombs. That this aircrew continued on to complete the attack is a tribute to their courage, skill and determination to accomplish their mission despite the most immediate and urgent hazard of the five surface-to-air missiles exploding in rapid succession at close quarters. The fact that this was the second time that this crew had accomplished a similar feat is further testimony to their dedication and devotion to duty.” Rear Admiral Richardson.
END NOTE. Two days prior to the VA-85 strike on Thai Nguyen there was another VA-85 mission that did not end nearly as well. That, too, is a mission that needs to be included in this journal of Rolling Thunder remembrances. On 24 March 1967 LCDR John Cooley “Buzz” ELLISON and B/N LTJG James E. PLOWMAN participated in a four-plane (A-6s) strike on the Bac Giang Thermal Power Plant in North Vietnam, call sign Buckeye. Coming off target, visual and aural contact with LCDR ELLISON and LTJG PLOWMAN was lost. The Combat Information Center tracking their aircraft reported that their track went 11 miles north of the planned exit route, and radar was lost in the vicinity of Ha Bac Province, North Vietnam, very near the Chinese border. Although the two downed aviators were reported to have made contact with rescuers, there was no additional contact by radio, beeper or visual, and the search-and-rescue operation was terminated. Both VA-85 Intruder aviators were listed as Missing-in-Action. Neither showed up, as hoped, with the POWs during “Homecoming” in March 1973. In 1980 they were declared administratively Killed-in-Action. When the walking encyclopedia of POWs held in North Vietnam, Navy Seaman Douglas HEGDAHL was granted an early release, he included in his intel debrief “Buzz” Ellison among the prisoners he remembered meeting in the Hilton Hanoi or at some time during his years in captivity. The North Vietnamese never admitted capturing either ELLISON of PLOWMAN. In 1996 a joint U.S and Vietnamese team located and excavated an A-6 crash site and recovered remains which were later identified as those of LTJG PLOWMAN. CAPTAIN “Buzz” ELLISON remains missing to this day and his case is assessed by the DPAA to be in the category of “Active Pursuit.”… His memory is honored with an appropriate marker at the Arlington national Cemetery and at the Naval Academy… LCDR James E. PLOWMAN rests in peace at Arlington National Cemetery awaiting the return of his pilot…
“Gangway Intruder Crew”…..
NEXT POST by Faithful Scribe: Tale #16 of the brave and bold. USS BON HOMME RICHARD (CVA-34) and VA-192 tickle the Thanh Hoa Bridge, the “The Dragon’s Jaw,” with AGM-12B Bullpups early in Rolling Thunder–17 June 1965…
Lest we forget… Bear
