X-Virus-Scanned: clean according to Sophos on Logan.com Return-Path: Sender: To: lml@lancaironline.net Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2011 07:47:42 -0400 Message-ID: X-Original-Return-Path: Received: from imr-db03.mx.aol.com ([205.188.91.97] verified) by logan.com (CommuniGate Pro SMTP 5.4.1) with ESMTP id 5121180 for lml@lancaironline.net; Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:50:25 -0400 Received-SPF: pass receiver=logan.com; client-ip=205.188.91.97; envelope-from=vtailjeff@aol.com Received: from mtaomg-db05.r1000.mx.aol.com (mtaomg-db05.r1000.mx.aol.com [172.29.51.203]) by imr-db03.mx.aol.com (8.14.1/8.14.1) with ESMTP id p8C1nh0e028887 for ; Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:49:43 -0400 Received: from core-mnc004b.r1000.mail.aol.com (core-mnc004.r1000.mail.aol.com [172.29.106.205]) by mtaomg-db05.r1000.mx.aol.com (OMAG/Core Interface) with ESMTP id 41BE9E00008C for ; Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:49:43 -0400 (EDT) References: <8CE3BE52AFC7452-3C8-6B199@Webmail-d116.sysops.aol.com> <4E6CF5CE.60709@verizon.net> X-Original-To: lml@lancaironline.net Subject: Fwd: Back Seaters In-Reply-To: <4E6CF5CE.60709@verizon.net> X-MB-Message-Source: WebUI MIME-Version: 1.0 From: vtailjeff@aol.com X-MB-Message-Type: User Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="--------MB_8CE3F05604730AD_1FEC_3CD70_webmail-m062.sysops.aol.com" X-Mailer: AOL Webmail 34078-STANDARD Received: from 24.107.65.42 by webmail-m062.sysops.aol.com (64.12.158.162) with HTTP (WebMailUI); Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:49:42 -0400 X-Original-Message-Id: <8CE3F05603425AD-1FEC-1B018@webmail-m062.sysops.aol.com> X-Originating-IP: [24.107.65.42] X-Original-Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2011 21:49:43 -0400 (EDT) x-aol-global-disposition: G X-AOL-SCOLL-SCORE: 0:2:463457472:93952408 X-AOL-SCOLL-URL_COUNT: 0 x-aol-sid: 3039ac1d33cb4e6d653779dc This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ----------MB_8CE3F05604730AD_1FEC_3CD70_webmail-m062.sysops.aol.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" -----Original Message----- From: Rick Hadden To: Mr. Daniel R. Bott ; Jeff Edwards ; Bill Hinson ; Russell Schulz ;= Alan Shaw ; Mr. Richard Tems ; M= r. Warren A. Wilbur, III ; Paul Ziemer Sent: Sun, Sep 11, 2011 12:54 pm Subject: Fwd: Back Seaters A tale worth the read! I nominate this guy to the F-8 Crusader Assn! Rick True Story! For you non-aircrew guys, just call this "Four Beers!" ~~ (I = was=20 here at the same time...Bill)~~("Aeroplane" is the correct British/Canadian= =20 ord). ne of the best flying tales I've read in a long time. It's from the Osprey = book=20 -57 ~ Canberra Units of the Vietnam War. The B-57 was in high demand due t= o=20 ts loiter time, weapons loads and usually its accuracy. It was one of the = few=20 /c that carried the M35/M36 Funny Bomb that was a good weapon against truck= =20 argets.=20 THE RELUCTANT BACK-SEATER=20 Ed Rider was a Canberra pilot who had come up through the enlisted ranks, h= aving=20 one a stint as an Airborne Electronics Technician on the B-57 in the late= =20 950s. Ten years later he was a captain flying the Canberra out of Phan Ran= g. =20 ider was known for his aggressive flying and his own particular tactics tha= t=20 ere more suited to a nimble fighter-bomber than the big B-57. And by Rider= 's=20 wn admission, 'there were only about two navigators left who would fly with= =20 e'. Before the war was allover he had completed more than 400 combat missi= ons.=20 he following is Rider's account of one such mission in 1968:=20 'The "Yellowbirds" were back at Phan Rang flying night interdiction mission= s in=20 he southern part of North Vietnam and along the supply routes down through= =20 aos. I had a patch on my party flight suit that said "Laotian Highway=20 atrol". 'Other than the two navigators in the squadron who would willingly= fly=20 ith me, the others did not like my highly unorthodox tactics. I tried to po= int=20 ut to them that other pilots were getting shot up =E2=80=94 or shot down = =E2=80=94 while I=20 ever took hits and killed more trucks than most. Those idiots were coming b= ack=20 ith their aeroplanes full of holes and getting medals for it. Anyway, my=20 avigator came down with a bad case of "Ho's Revenge" and the other navigato= r=20 as already flying, so someone had to be volunteered. The hand of fate laid= its=20 lammy finger on Bill. After an earlier adventure that ended in a belly land= ing=20 ue to hydraulic failure, he had sworn never to fly with me again. We had to= =20 rag him scratching and spitting, so to speak, to the aeroplane.=20 'We were taking off at midnight to hit a truck park way up in Laos. I aske= d the=20 rew chief if his aeroplane was ready, and when he said yes I gave him four= =20 eers to put into the rear compartment and told him to button it up (close a= ll=20 nspection doors). I didn't insult him by inspecting the jet. The crew chie= fs=20 iked for me to fly their aeroplanes and I never had one let me down. I went= =20 round with the armourer and checked the fuzes on the bombs for proper setti= ngs=20 nd the arming wires for proper routing. Then I spread my maps on the ramp = and=20 howed the crew chief and armourer where we were going and what we were supp= osed=20 o hit.=20 'We were in the northeast monsoon season and had 40 knots of wind blowing d= own=20 he runway. The standard night departure called for a right turn to the sou= th=20 fter take-off until reaching the coast, then a turn to the east and then fo= llow=20 he coast to Cam Ranh Bay and turn on course. This was supposed to keep you = out=20 f the outgoing artillery, but it wasted about 3000 lbs of fuel, so natura= lly=20 didn't follow it. After I raised the gear I turned off all external lights= so=20 hat the air traffic controllers in the tower could not see me. When I was h= igh=20 nough to drop a wing, I turned right 270 degrees so as to cross the west en= d of=20 he runway headed northwest. I roared across the 101st Airborne encampment = and=20 hook all the grunts out of bed and then headed up the valley that led to= =20 alat in the mountains. The hills on either side were invisible as there wer= e no=20 ights on the ground, but if I maintained the proper heading I would not run= =20 nto any rocks before I got high enough to clear them. Bill was somewhat unh= appy=20 ith this exercise. In due course we climbed out of the valley and turned no= rth=20 o Pleiku, and points north.'=20 'We checked in with "Blind Bat", our C-130 "flare ship", and from more than= 50=20 iles out we could see his flares and the anti-aircraft fire he was attracti= ng.=20 he gunners must have just gotten a fresh supply of ammo because they were e= ven=20 hooting at his flares. We let down and coordinated altitudes so that we wou= ld=20 ot run into each other. We made eight vertical dive-bomb passes dropping o= ur=20 funny bombs" =E2=80=94 this was the name that FACs gave to the M35 fire bom= b.=20 'This was the same bomb used to start the firestorms in Tokyo in World War = 2. =20 t was a large cluster bomb that opened up a few thousand feet above the gro= und. =20 he falling bomblets made a fiery waterfall until they hit the ground. Then= =20 hey spewed out burning white and yellow phosphorus like roman candles. Rea= lly=20 omething to see at night.=20 'We stirred up a hornets' nest and the flak was thick - when it got close y= ou=20 ould hear it popping like popcorn. We left the "flare ship" to count the= =20 urning trucks and then headed for home. Just another routine mission. But = we=20 till had our 20 mm ammo left and I hated to take it home. I called the airb= orne=20 ommand post and asked if they had any gun targets. They told me to contact= a=20 AC at Tchepone. He had spotted trucks on a ferry crossing the river there.= =20 'We contacted the FAC to coordinate altitudes before we got into his area. = We=20 sed a secret "base" altitude which changed every 12 hours so that the ene= my=20 ould not listen in and find out our heights and then set the fuzes on his= =20 hells for that altitude. That night base altitude was 8000 ft. He said he w= as=20 t base plus four, or 12,000 ft. I said. "You must mean minus four?" He sa= id=20 o. I asked what the hell he was doing way up there and he replied that his= =20 essna O-2 wouldn't climb any higher! His flares were floating so high tha= t=20 hey did not illuminate the ground, and I had to circle until I got their=20 eflection on the river before I could see it. Bill kept saying something a= bout=20 bingo" fuel (the minimum required to get back home with 2000 lbs of fuel=20 emaining). 'A few guns were shooting at our sound, but not coming close. = I=20 new there were no radar-controlled guns because otherwise we would have bee= n=20 racked and fired on accurately while we were circling. I finally got it wor= ked=20 ut and caught the ferry in the flare reflection on the river and rolled in.= I=20 ired about a three-second burst in a 30-degree dive from about 1500 ft. The= =20 uzzle flashes lit us up like a Christmas tree and said, "Here I am! Shoot m= e!"=20 nd did they ever! Now I knew why that FAC was so high. I pulled about 5Gs= to=20 et pointed straight up. 'A small part of my mind registered a red light=20 lashing somewhere in the cockpit but I was too busy to look at it. When I = ran=20 ut of airspeed at the top and had figured out up from down and was upright= =20 gain the light was out.=20 'The FAC was encouraging, saying he had seen lots of hits on the ferry with= his=20 ight vision scope, so I got set up to go in again. Bill didn't think it was= a=20 ood idea. Indeed, there were lots of guns protecting the ferry. Most of the= m=20 ere twin barrel 37 mm weapons. I could tell because the "red hot beer can= s"=20 treaking past the aeroplane came up in strings of eight. The 37 mm gun fir= ed=20 lips of four rounds, so eight meant twin barrels. I was worried about=20 adar-controlled 57 mm twin barrel units mounted on tracked vehicles that of= ten=20 ccompanied large truck convoys, but there was no evidence of them. The most= =20 pectacular show was provided by the many 23 mm ZSU units. These were four= =20 arrels mounted on a tracked vehicle, and they put out a string of tracers t= hat=20 aved around the sky like a kid playing with a high-pressure water hose.=20 'My normal tactic at night over a well-defended target was to get directly = over=20 t at about 8000 ft, roll inverted, and pull the nose down to the target, dr= op=20 y bomb at about 5000 ft and then pull up into a vertical climb (essentially= a=20 oop beginning at the top). Just before I ran out of airspeed, I would pull= the=20 ose down to level and roll upright. This faked out the gunners because th= ey=20 xpected me to be off to the side of the target. I was only vulnerable in = the=20 irst part of my pull-up. Under very heavy fire I sometimes varied this by n= ot=20 ulling up immediately but by turning 90 degrees and continuing down to lo= w=20 ltitude with low power and coasting a few miles away from the target (and t= he=20 uns). When using my guns, I would dive slightly off to the side, go lowe= r=20 nd pull up to a 30-degree dive before firing. 'Bill kept bothering me with= =20 his "bingo" fuel business but I didn't have time to discuss it with him. On= my=20 econd pass, I had to use the same heading as the first run in order to see = the=20 arget - not a very smart thing to do. When our muzzle flashes lit us up aga= in,=20 had the feeling that if I pulled up as usual every gun would be aimed at= our=20 ecovery path, so I didn't pull up. I used my alternate tactic. The sky be= hind=20 nd above us was filled with a spectacular display of fireworks. The FAC was= =20 iguratively jumping up and down because we had torched off some of the truc= ks=20 n the ferry and on the south shore of the river, where the vessel was now= =20 esting. Now we did not have to circle around to catch the reflection of the= =20 lares to locate the target.=20 'We still had 600 rounds left =E2=80=94 six seconds worth of firing. We cou= ld approach=20 rom any direction since we could see the burning target. Bill was getting a= =20 ittle shrill now and yelling something about "bingo minus two". I told him = I=20 ould wind it up with two more passes and then go home. After each pass, whe= n I=20 as pulling 5-6Gs to fake out the gunners, there was that pesky red light in= the=20 ockpit. I was so busy trying not to join up with those strings of "red ho= t=20 eer cans" that I didn't notice what it was. We left the FAC to add up the= =20 amage and headed home. 'Relieved of all ordnance and most of its fuel, the= =20 -57 climbed like a homesick angel. In short order we were passing 35,000 ft= and=20 had Bill tighten his oxygen mask and check his system for pressure breathi= ng.=20 s we passed 45,000 ft, we had to forcefully breathe out and just relax an= d=20 et the pressure blow up our lungs to breathe in. At 53,000 ft we were abov= e=20 ver 95 percent of the atmosphere. At that altitude the engines used very li= ttle =20 uel. When we arrived over Pleiku we were 150 nautical miles from home and h= ad=20 ust 800 lbs of fuel! Normally, when you land with 2000 lbs that is conside= red=20 n emergency, but I had been through this many times before, and was only=20 oncerned with having enough fuel to taxi to the ramp.=20 'At that altitude, when you reduce power to idle, it only reduces slightly= =20 ecause the engines cannot reduce fuel consumption very much without flaming= =20 ut. So, in order to reduce power and expedite our decent, I had to shut off= one=20 ngine. I shut down the right engine because we would be flying a left hand = =20 raffic pattern. Bill was somewhat unhappy. I maintained a 0.84 Mach descen= t, =20 hich meant that the descent got progressively steeper as you got into the= =20 enser air at low altitude. This let us down inside the hole of the artiller= y=20 oughnut at 12,000 ft, keeping us out of the arc of outgoing artillery fire.= We=20 ere approaching from the north and had to land to the east. Once inside the= =20 ole, I extended speed brakes and pushed the nose over to maintain speed. = =20 xtending speed brakes at 500 knots is like running into a brick wall, and w= e=20 ere thrown forward hard enough to lock our automatic shoulder harnesses. T= hat=20 s when that pesky red light in the cockpit came on again. This time I=20 etermined what it was. It was the low fuel pressure light. This was confir= med=20 y the unwinding of the left engine.=20 'I was at a critical point in my traffic pattern and had no time to deal wi= th a=20 ouble engine flameout, so I shut off the left throttle, banked 90 degrees r= ight=20 nd pulled the nose around to a heading 180 degrees from the landing headi= ng.=20 hen I rolled inverted, and with about 5Gs pulled the nose down the line o= f=20 pproach lights to the end of the runway and then up the centre-of the run= way=20 ights, varying the Gs to complete my split-ess at about 1500 ft and at abou= t=20 00-450 knots. 'While I was busy doing this I asked Bill to inform the towe= r=20 hat we had a double engine flameout and might need a tug to tow us in. Bi= ll=20 ad lost his voice and never did make the call. When I leveled off from my= =20 plit-ess I hit both air-start ignition switches and advanced both throttles= to=20 dle. After a 4G break to downwind, I lowered gear and flaps and both engine= s=20 ere making the low moaning sound they made when running at idle. After=20 ouchdown I raised the flaps and added power so I could hold the nose up. = With=20 0 knots of headwind it was a long taxi to the far end of the runway. I trie= d to=20 et Bill interested in betting on whether I could make it all the way into t= he=20 e-arming area without lowering the nose wheel to the ground. For some reaso= n he=20 as not interested. Anyway, I did make it with the nose wheel in the air, an= d=20 cared the bejesus out of the de-arming troops.=20 'While they were de-arming my guns I figured it out. It had to be an inoper= ative=20 orward boost pump in the main fuel tank. When I went to full power and pull= ed=20 ots of Gs at Tchepone, one fuel pump could not handle the load and the pres= sure=20 ropped =E2=80=94 not enough, thank God, to flame out the engines. When I e= xtended the=20 peed brakes in my descent to Phan Rang, what little fuel we had left splash= ed=20 gainst the forward wall of the tank, uncovering the rear fuel pump and=20 esulting in a flameout. There is an old saying, "There are old pilots and= =20 here are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots". Not so, but we bo= ld=20 ilots need more luck than most.=20 'We had enough fuel to make it back to the ramp. After we had parked and=20 eplaned, I made an inspection tour with the crew chief, armed with powerful= =20 lectric torches. Not a scratch on her! Again, skill and cunning triumphs o= ver=20 gnorance and stupidity. The crew chief brought out the four beers from the= =20 ail compartment, ice cold from their sojourn at 50,000 ft, and I spread m= y=20 aps on the ramp, giving a blow-by-blow description of the mission for my cr= ew=20 hief and armourer. I had an additional audience of most of the crew chiefs= and=20 rmourers on the ramp who were not otherwise busy. Bill did not want his bee= r so=20 drank it too. Needless to say, Bill never got into an aeroplane with me= =20 gain.'=20 ----------MB_8CE3F05604730AD_1FEC_3CD70_webmail-m062.sysops.aol.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8"



= -----Original Message-----
From: Rick Hadden <rickhadden@verizon.net>
To: Mr. Daniel R. Bott <dbottaz@earthlink.net>; Jeff Edwards <vtai= ljeff@aol.com>; Bill Hinson <Willhinson@aol.com>; Russell Schulz &= lt;RKS64MRS@aol.com>; Alan Shaw <alan.shaw@vaxinnate.com>; Mr. Ric= hard Tems <richrov@aol.com>; Mr. Warren A. Wilbur, III <warrenwilb= ur@comcast.net>; Paul Ziemer <PLZJ@aol.com>
Sent: Sun, Sep 11, 2011 12:54 pm
Subject: Fwd: Back Seaters

A tale worth the read!  I nomin= ate this guy to the F-8 Crusader Assn!

Rick
 
True S=
tory!   For you non-aircrew guys, just call this "Four Beers!" ~~ (I was=20
there at the same time...Bill)~~("Aeroplane" is the correct British/Canadia=
n=20
word).
=20
One of the best flying tales I've read in a long time. It's from the Osprey=
 book=20
B-57 ~ Canberra Units of the Vietnam War.  The B-57 was in high demand due =
to=20
its loiter time, weapons loads and usually its accuracy.  It was one of the=
 few=20
a/c that carried the M35/M36 Funny Bomb that was a good weapon against truc=
k=20
targets.=20

THE RELUCTANT BACK-SEATER=20

Ed Rider was a Canberra pilot who had come up through the enlisted ranks, h=
aving=20
done a stint as an Airborne Electronics Technician on the B-57 in the late=
=20
1950s.  Ten years later he was a captain flying the Canberra out of Phan Ra=
ng. =20
Rider was known for his aggressive flying and his own particular tactics th=
at=20
were more suited to a nimble fighter-bomber than the big B-57.  And by Ride=
r's=20
own admission, 'there were only about two navigators left who would fly wit=
h=20
me'.  Before the war was allover he had completed more than 400 combat miss=
ions.=20
The following is Rider's account of one such mission in 1968:=20

'The "Yellowbirds" were back at Phan Rang flying night interdiction mission=
s in=20
the southern part of North Vietnam and along the supply routes down through=
=20
Laos.  I had a patch on my party   flight suit that said "Laotian Highway=
=20
Patrol".  'Other than the two navigators in the squadron who would willingl=
y fly=20
with me, the others did not like my highly unorthodox tactics. I tried to p=
oint=20
out to them that other pilots were getting shot up =E2=80=94 or shot down =
=E2=80=94 while I=20
never took hits and killed more trucks than most. Those idiots were coming =
back=20
with their aeroplanes full of holes and getting medals for it. Anyway, my=
=20
navigator came down with a bad case of "Ho's Revenge" and the other navigat=
or=20
was already flying, so someone had to be volunteered.  The hand of fate lai=
d its=20
clammy finger on Bill. After an earlier adventure that ended in a belly lan=
ding=20
due to hydraulic failure, he had sworn never to fly with me again. We had t=
o=20
drag him scratching and spitting, so to speak, to the aeroplane.=20

'We were taking off at midnight to hit a truck park way up in Laos.  I aske=
d the=20
crew chief if his aeroplane was ready, and when he said yes I gave him four=
=20
beers to put into the rear compartment and told him to button it up (close =
all=20
inspection doors).  I didn't insult him by inspecting the jet. The crew chi=
efs=20
liked for me to fly their aeroplanes and I never had one let me down. I wen=
t=20
around with the armourer and checked the fuzes on the bombs for proper sett=
ings=20
and the arming wires for proper routing.  Then I spread my maps on the ramp=
 and=20
showed the crew chief and armourer where we were going and what we were sup=
posed=20
to hit.=20

'We were in the northeast monsoon season and had 40 knots of wind blowing d=
own=20
the runway.  The standard night departure called for a right turn to the so=
uth=20
after take-off until reaching the coast, then a turn to the east and then f=
ollow=20
the coast to Cam Ranh Bay and turn on course. This was supposed to keep you=
 out=20
of the outgoing artillery, but it wasted about 3000 lbs of   fuel, so natur=
ally=20
I didn't follow it. After I raised the gear I turned off all external light=
s so=20
that the air traffic controllers in the tower could not see me. When I was =
high=20
enough to drop a wing, I turned right 270 degrees so as to cross the west e=
nd of=20
the runway headed northwest.  I roared across the 101st Airborne encampment=
 and=20
shook all the grunts out of bed and then   headed up the valley that led to=
=20
Dalat in the mountains. The hills on either side were invisible as there we=
re no=20
lights on the ground, but if I maintained the proper heading I would not ru=
n=20
into any rocks before I got high enough to clear them. Bill was somewhat un=
happy=20
with this exercise. In due course we climbed out of the valley and turned n=
orth=20
to Pleiku, and points north.'=20

'We checked in with "Blind Bat", our C-130 "flare ship", and from more than=
 50=20
miles out we could see his flares and the anti-aircraft fire he was attract=
ing.=20
The gunners must have just gotten a fresh supply of ammo because they were =
even=20
shooting at his flares. We let down and coordinated altitudes so that we wo=
uld=20
not run into each other.  We made eight vertical dive-bomb passes dropping =
our=20
"funny bombs" =E2=80=94 this was the name that FACs gave to the M35 fire bo=
mb.=20

'This was the same bomb used to start the firestorms in Tokyo in World War =
2. =20
It was a large cluster bomb that opened up a few thousand feet above the gr=
ound. =20
The falling bomblets made a fiery waterfall until they hit the ground.  The=
n=20
they spewed out burning white and yellow phosphorus like roman candles.  Re=
ally=20
something to see at night.=20

'We stirred up a hornets' nest and the flak was thick - when it got close y=
ou=20
could hear it popping like popcorn.  We left the "flare ship" to count the=
=20
burning trucks and then headed for home. Just another routine mission.  But=
 we=20
still had our 20 mm ammo left and I hated to take it home. I called the air=
borne=20
command post and asked if they had any gun targets.  They told me to contac=
t a=20
FAC at Tchepone. He had spotted trucks on a ferry crossing the river there.=
=20

'We contacted the FAC to coordinate altitudes before we got into his area. =
We=20
used a secret "base" altitude which changed every 12 hours so that   the en=
emy=20
could not listen in and find out our heights and then set the fuzes on his=
=20
shells for that altitude. That night base altitude was 8000 ft. He said he =
was=20
at base plus four, or 12,000 ft. I said. "You must mean   minus four?" He s=
aid=20
no. I asked what the hell he was doing way up there and he replied that his=
=20
Cessna O-2 wouldn't climb any higher! His flares were   floating so high th=
at=20
they did not illuminate the ground, and I had to circle until I got their=
=20
reflection on the river before I could see it.  Bill kept saying something =
about=20
"bingo" fuel (the minimum required to get back home with 2000 lbs of fuel=
=20
remaining).   'A few guns were shooting at our sound, but not coming close.=
 I=20
knew there were no radar-controlled guns because otherwise we would have be=
en=20
tracked and fired on accurately while we were circling. I finally got it wo=
rked=20
out and caught the ferry in the flare reflection on the river and rolled in=
. I=20
fired about a three-second burst in a 30-degree dive from about 1500 ft. Th=
e=20
muzzle flashes lit us up like a Christmas tree and said, "Here I am! Shoot =
me!"=20
and did they ever!  Now I knew why that FAC was so high.  I pulled about 5G=
s to=20
get pointed straight up.  'A small part of my mind registered a red light=
=20
flashing somewhere in the cockpit but I was too busy to look at it.  When I=
 ran=20
out of airspeed at the top and had figured out up from down and was upright=
=20
again the light was out.=20

'The FAC was encouraging, saying he had seen lots of hits on the ferry with=
 his=20
night vision scope, so I got set up to go in again. Bill didn't think it wa=
s a=20
good idea. Indeed, there were lots of guns protecting the ferry. Most of th=
em=20
were twin barrel 37 mm weapons. I could tell because the "red   hot beer ca=
ns"=20
streaking past the aeroplane came up in strings of eight.  The 37 mm gun fi=
red=20
clips of four rounds, so eight meant twin barrels. I was worried about=20
radar-controlled 57 mm twin barrel units mounted on tracked vehicles that o=
ften=20
accompanied large truck convoys, but there was no evidence of them. The mos=
t=20
spectacular show was provided by the many 23 mm ZSU units. These were four=
=20
barrels mounted on a tracked vehicle, and they put out a string of tracers =
that=20
waved around the sky like a kid playing with a high-pressure water hose.=20

'My normal tactic at night over a well-defended target was to get directly =
over=20
it at about 8000 ft, roll inverted, and pull the nose down to the target, d=
rop=20
my bomb at about 5000 ft and then pull up into a vertical climb (essentiall=
y a=20
loop beginning at the top).  Just before I ran out of airspeed, I would pul=
l the=20
nose down to level and roll upright. This faked out the   gunners because t=
hey=20
expected me to be off to the side of the target. I was   only vulnerable in=
 the=20
first part of my pull-up. Under very heavy fire I sometimes varied this by =
not=20
pulling up immediately but by turning 90 degrees   and continuing down to l=
ow=20
altitude with low power and coasting a few miles away from the target (and =
the=20
guns).  When using my guns, I would dive   slightly off to the side, go low=
er=20
and pull up to a 30-degree dive before firing.  'Bill kept bothering me wit=
h=20
this "bingo" fuel business but I didn't have time to discuss it with him. O=
n my=20
second pass, I had to use the same heading as the first run in order to see=
 the=20
target - not a very smart thing to do. When our muzzle flashes lit us up ag=
ain,=20
I had the feeling that   if I pulled up as usual every gun would be aimed a=
t our=20
recovery path, so I   didn't pull up. I used my alternate tactic. The sky b=
ehind=20
and above us was filled with a spectacular display of fireworks. The FAC wa=
s=20
figuratively jumping up and down because we had torched off some of the tru=
cks=20
on the ferry and on the south shore of the river, where the vessel was now=
=20
resting. Now we did not have to circle around to catch the reflection of th=
e=20
flares to locate the target.=20

'We still had 600 rounds left =E2=80=94 six seconds worth of firing. We cou=
ld approach=20
from any direction since we could see the burning target. Bill was getting =
a=20
little shrill now and yelling something about "bingo minus two". I told him=
 I=20
would wind it up with two more passes and then go home. After each pass, wh=
en I=20
was pulling 5-6Gs to fake out the gunners, there was that pesky red light i=
n the=20
cockpit. I was so busy trying not to   join up with those strings of "red h=
ot=20
beer cans" that I didn't notice what it was.  We left the FAC to add up the=
=20
damage and headed home.  'Relieved of all ordnance and most of its fuel, th=
e=20
B-57 climbed like a homesick angel. In short order we were passing 35,000 f=
t and=20
I had Bill tighten his oxygen mask and check his system for pressure breath=
ing.=20
As we   passed 45,000 ft, we had to forcefully breathe out and just relax a=
nd=20
let the pressure blow up our lungs to breathe in.  At 53,000 ft we were abo=
ve=20
over 95 percent of the atmosphere. At that altitude the engines used very l=
ittle  =20
fuel. When we arrived over Pleiku we were 150 nautical miles from home and =
had=20
just 800 lbs of fuel!  Normally, when you land with 2000 lbs that is consid=
ered=20
an emergency, but I had been through this many times before, and was only=
=20
concerned with having enough fuel to taxi to the ramp.=20

'At that altitude, when you reduce power to idle, it only reduces slightly=
=20
because the engines cannot reduce fuel consumption very much without flamin=
g=20
out. So, in order to reduce power and expedite our decent, I had to shut of=
f one=20
engine. I shut down the right engine because we would be flying a left hand=
  =20
traffic pattern. Bill was somewhat unhappy.  I maintained a 0.84 Mach desce=
nt,  =20
which meant that the descent got progressively steeper as you got into the=
=20
denser air at low altitude. This let us down inside the hole of the artille=
ry=20
doughnut at 12,000 ft, keeping us out of the arc of outgoing artillery fire=
.  We=20
were approaching from the north and had to land to the east. Once inside th=
e=20
hole, I extended speed brakes and pushed the nose over to maintain speed. =
=20
Extending speed brakes at 500 knots is like running into a brick wall, and =
we=20
were thrown forward hard enough to lock our automatic shoulder harnesses.  =
That=20
is when that pesky red light in the cockpit came on again.  This time I=20
determined what it was.  It was the low fuel pressure light. This was confi=
rmed=20
by the unwinding of the left engine.=20

'I was at a critical point in my traffic pattern and had no time to deal wi=
th a=20
double engine flameout, so I shut off the left throttle, banked 90 degrees =
right=20
and pulled the nose around to a heading 180 degrees from the landing   head=
ing.=20
Then I rolled inverted, and with about 5Gs pulled the nose down the   line =
of=20
approach lights to the end of the runway and then up the centre-of   the ru=
nway=20
lights, varying the Gs to complete my split-ess at about 1500 ft and at abo=
ut=20
400-450 knots.  'While I was busy doing this I asked Bill to inform the tow=
er=20
that we had a   double engine flameout and might need a tug to tow us in. B=
ill=20
had lost his voice and never did make the call. When I leveled off from my=
=20
split-ess I hit both air-start ignition switches and advanced both throttle=
s to=20
idle. After a 4G break to downwind, I lowered gear and flaps and both engin=
es=20
were making the low moaning sound they made when running at idle. After=20
touchdown I   raised the flaps and added power so I could hold the nose up.=
 With=20
40 knots of headwind it was a long taxi to the far end of the runway. I tri=
ed to=20
get Bill interested in betting on whether I could make it all the way into =
the=20
de-arming area without lowering the nose wheel to the ground. For some reas=
on he=20
was not interested. Anyway, I did make it with the nose wheel in the air, a=
nd=20
scared the bejesus out of the de-arming troops.=20

'While they were de-arming my guns I figured it out. It had to be an inoper=
ative=20
forward boost pump in the main fuel tank. When I went to full power and pul=
led=20
lots of Gs at Tchepone, one fuel pump could not handle the load and the pre=
ssure=20
dropped =E2=80=94 not enough, thank God, to flame out the engines.  When I =
extended the=20
speed brakes in my descent to Phan Rang, what little fuel we had left splas=
hed=20
against the forward wall of the tank, uncovering the rear fuel pump and=20
resulting in a flameout.  There is an old saying, "There are old pilots and=
=20
there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots".  Not so, but we b=
old=20
pilots need more luck than most.=20

'We had enough fuel to make it back to the ramp. After we had parked and=20
deplaned, I made an inspection tour with the crew chief, armed with powerfu=
l=20
electric torches.  Not a scratch on her! Again, skill and cunning triumphs =
over=20
ignorance and stupidity.  The crew chief brought out the four beers from th=
e=20
tail compartment, ice cold from their sojourn at 50,000 ft, and I spread   =
my=20
maps on the ramp, giving a blow-by-blow description of the mission for my c=
rew=20
chief and armourer.  I had an additional audience of most of the crew chief=
s and=20
armourers on the ramp who were not otherwise busy. Bill did not want his be=
er so=20
I drank it too.  Needless to say, Bill never got into an aeroplane with me=
=20
again.'=20

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