Whether airborne or on alert, Rob Doremus was in his backseat almost every time. Air Force Magazine is the official publication of the Air Force Association, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, Va., 22209-1198. Louis Page Lt. John C. Smith Jun 17, 1965 Mig-17 F4-B, VF-21, CVW-2, CVW-41 Lt. Jack D. Batson Jr. LCDG Robert B. Doremus Jun 20, 1965 Mig-17 A-1H, VA-25, CVW-2, CVA-41, Lt. Clint Johnson A/C No. Of that total, about 10,600 were still on duty as of the evening of Jan. 21, NGB wrote in a…. Dave Baranek was a Grumman F-14 Tomcat RIO and Topgun instructor. F-4 Videos; Fighter Videos; Military Videos; Most Viewed. A few days later, on April 9, Navy F-4 crews from VF-96 engaged Chinese Shenyang J-5s (license-built MiG-17s) near Hainan Island. The list includes all the Vietnamese credited as aces. The Air Force did not have anything comparable until its Red Flag program began in 1975. Page and Smith put a lot of thought into the ROE and the requirement for a VID. auser January 18, 2018 at 7:32 am - Reply. Whereas the large majority of Air Force encounters were with MiG-21s, about half of the Navy engagements were against MiG-17s and -19s. One of the enduring legends of the war was “Colonel Toon,” supposedly the greatest of all North Vietnam’s MiG pilots with 13 small red victory stars on the fuselage of his airplane, signifying US fighters shot down. Asked by Wiki User. The Navy cajoled him into first going to the training command as an instructor “for just one year.” When the year was up, Navy detailers, doubtless swamped by the war’s demands, doubled down on the training command orders, but Batson exercised his option to leave. The ultimate USAF model was the F-4E, introduced in 1968 and adding a 20 mm cannon to the existing armament of air-to-air missiles. Overall, Momyer said, “most of our kills were made with missiles, and in fact, 57.5 percent were made with Sparrows. This made the odds very tough for aircrews, who had to fly 100 missions to complete a full combat tour. They were Midway–based A-1s at that. 12, 1973, the last air-to-air kill of the Vietnam War. As explained by Wayne Mutza in his book The A-1 Skyraider in Vietnam, the first Spad-MiG encounter occurred on Jun. More air-to-air losses were allegedly attributed to surface-to-air … “The MiG-21s were operated under tight ground control,” said historian Boyne. The research is thorough, the individual accounts are detailed, and the descriptions and discussions of 1960s-era air-to-air combat weapons and tactics are educational. In Vietnam, his 339 missions, 800 combat hours, totaling over 4,000 hours in the air, resulted in his receiving nearly every award the Air Force offers. Naval aviation had been bloodied, with dozens of aircraft damaged or destroyed in combat and several aircrews lost or taken prisoner. 2008-12-18 21:29:04. The coronavirus pandemic has delayed release of the Pentagon’s new joint combat guidelines until the spring, complicating efforts to put the armed forces on the same path to better communication and faster decision-making, the military’s No. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. The combination of MiGs, SAMs and guns was so effective that in 1966, the USAF loss rate in Route Pack Six, around Hanoi and Haiphong, was one aircraft per 40 sorties. Wiki User Answered . “I felt very comfortable, it was an amazing feeling.” His 800-plus flight hours in the F-4 doubtless contributed to his confidence, an important factor as the converging aircraft covered the 10-mile separation in less than 40 seconds. After attending Doremus’ funeral, he pulled himself together and continued fighting the war, though the loss remained with him. Copyright 2020. MiG Killers will serve any reader—historian, aviation enthusiast, or fighter pilot—who wants a comprehensive summary of American MiG kills during the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War, thousands of U.S. aircraft were lost to antiaircraft artillery (AAA), surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and fighter interceptors ()s.The great majority of U.S. combat losses in all areas of Southeast Asia were to AAA. Édouard Manet, French impressionist painter best known for Luncheon in the Grass. Recommended reading: MiG Killers of Yankee Station, by Michael O’Connor, and US Navy F-4 Phantom II Units of the Viet­nam War 1964-68 and USN F-4 Phantom II vs VPAF MiG-17/19: Vietnam 1965-73, both by Peter E. Davies. From left: Batson, Page, Doremus and J.C. Smith recount details of the mission for an intelligence officer. Author Michael O’Connor describes the incident in MiG Killers of Yankee Station, highlighting the confusion and frustration surrounding the engagement and debrief. Batson (left) and RIO Doremus pose for a victory photo in their F-4B after returning from their MiG encounter. In Operation Bolo, the famous “MiG Sweep” of January 1967, a force of F-4Cs from Ubon entered North Vietnam pretending to be bomb-carrying F-105s. Air Force and Navy officers assigned to the back seat of the Phantom were not required to be pilots, and full credit for a MiG was awarded to the airmen in both seats. Seldom emphasized about the second Skyraider-MiG encounter of the Vietnam War is the probability that three MiGs were destroyed by Spads. “The objective was to protect the strike force. They followed Thud ingress routes, and their radio calls simulated Thuds. Doremus stayed in search mode while Batson “did my pilot things: turned on the CW illumi­­nator [continuous wave radar guidance for the AIM-7], waited for green lights, then turned on master arm and fuel transfer. Air strikes shifted from ad hoc events to a sustained campaign. Norman F. Conant, Jr., sent me an email message that contained a Robin Olds story. This fighter aircraft, flown by various pilots, was credited for 14 kills during the Vietnam War. He had served his country, and done his duty well. Only three USMC MIG kills There were three (3) confirmed MiG kills credited to U.S. Marines during the Vietnam War. But then events veered from the normal. A number of Air Force aircrews credited Red Crown with vital assistance to them as well. Batson observed the launch and knew lead’s missile was guiding. A North Vietnamese MiG-21, NATO codename “Fishbed”, at the military museum in Hanoi, Vietnam. Planning for a forward-quarter intercept (head-on approach), they decided the aircraft with the first radar contact would become the tactical lead, and the wingman would slide into a three-to four-mile trail. Batson recalled that one of the F-4 crewmen remarked, “Well, there’s two years of training down the drain.”. Although the war was instigated, directed, supplied, reinforced, and sustained from the North, US policy was that the outcome would be decided in the south. A three-month continuing resolution that ended in December inflicted less pain on the Department of the Air Force than it had expected, as procurement and construction continue in the new year. Richard S. “Steve” Ritchie and Navy Lt. Randall H. Cunningham­—were pilots. This was the 'Hun' in which Capt. (USN Photo) June 20, 1965 ~ A-1 Skyraider MiG Killers . “Even if fighters could have been spared for daily sweeps, the shortage of tankers would have precluded such a tactic.”, “US Air Force coverage ranged from spotty to nonexistent over assigned strike routes,” said military analyst William Sayers, writing in Vietnam Magazine. U.S. Air Force pilots encountered four primary Soviet combat aircraft over North Vietnam: the MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, and MiG-21. NE102 was carrying two Sparrows on belly stations and one on the right wing. At the merge, the lead would visually identify the target and “disengage in the vertical” using the Phantom’s powerful thrust while the wingman launched a radar-guided Sparrow. Most of the fighter pilots who flew into North Vietnam never engaged a MiG. US pilots and aircraft were clearly superior, and they had an overwhelming advantage in numbers. Training became more intense. Flying from smaller Essex-class carriers, the F-8 was used in fewer numbers than the larger F-4 Phantom II. For reasons of security, the MiGs were based across the border in southern China and did not deploy to Phuc Yen Air Base near Hanoi until August 1964, after the buildup of US forces in Southeast Asia following an attack on US ships in the Tonkin Gulf. This website uses cookies to improve your browsing experience. Admiral William F. Bringle (seated) how a MiG-17 jet fighter was shot down over North Vietnam. The fraternity of Vietnam era fighter pilots who actually engaged a MiG in life or death aerial combat is very small and very elite. The strike launched at 9 a.m. and refueled from a Douglas KA-3B tanker. Launch range was about three miles. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. There have been quite a few more kills whose claims were denied by PACAF Headquarters, one of the more spectacular being the unconfirmed kill by LTC (Ret.) U.S. Navy McDonnell F-4B Phantom II pilot Dave Batson fires an AIM-7 Sparrow missile at a pair of MiG-17s, with an assist from his radar intercept officer, Rob Doremus. At the optimum range, when the circle was biggest, Batson squeezed the trigger. Several factors contributed to the difference. But they were not concerned that the wingman’s Sparrow would target his leader because their radar tracked Doppler, or closure speed, and only the approaching targets would be closing. “After action reports found that 65 percent of Air Force losses were suffered by aircraft fighting from a defensive posture, which required a fighter under attack to reverse positions to get a kill, a very difficult maneuver to make,” Sayers said. Robin Olds had 4 kills in Vietnam, making him a lifetime triple-ace with 16 kills, including the 12 he registered in World War II. (U.S. Navy via Batson). Some sources credit Lieutenant Terry Murphy and Ensign Ron Fegan, who were lost during the fight, with a MiG kill that day, but it is best described as uncertain. The F-4 was developed by the Navy and entered service in 1962. Jack David Batson grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., and set his sights on flying. Teaball screened, combined, and analyzed a large volume of data in order to provide the earliest possible MiG warning to the strike forces. Aces and Aerial Victories, a 1976 publication by the Air Force Office of History, did not mention this possibility in its account of the event, saying MiGs “downed two [F-105s] with cannon fire and escaped at high speed.” Author Robert F. Dorr, however, made a strong case for the kill in a 2014 online article. Thanks. The crew later determined that the lead MiG, which Batson and Doremus were locked on, tried a wingover turn. Page’s flight was headed south and could have followed the strikers out, but Page said, “Let’s make one more pass north.”, “We came around the corner and there they were: two targets, 37 miles,” recalled Batson. However, they had better luck the next day. He earned his wings of gold in September 1962 and reported to Fighter Squadron 121 (VF-121), the Navy’s West Coast training squadron for the new McDonnell F-4 Phantom II, in October. MiG Killers: A Chronology of U.S. Air Victories in Vietnam 1965-1973 tells the dramatic story of U.S. Air Force and Navy flight crews who battled the Soviet-built enemy MiGs in the war-torn skies over Southeast Asia. Austin, who retired in 2016 as the four-star commander of U.S. Central Command…, The Biden administration is reportedly tapping Stefanie Tompkins to run the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, spurring the third leadership change at the secretive Pentagon organization since January 2020. MiG Killers will serve any reader-historian, aviation enthusiast, or fighter pilot-who wants a comprehensive summary of American MiG kills during the Vietnam War. Defense One first reported Tompkins’s “pre-decisional” appointment to the post on Jan. 19. There they sighted the smoke trails from both missiles—a memorable image—and Smith saw one parachute. Furthermore, many of the Navy targets were near the coast and did not require extensive time to be spent in enemy territory. Thirteen of the North Vietnamese aces flew the MiG-21 and three flew the MiG-17. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. (Istvan Toperczer). From beginning to end—from Operation Rolling Thunder early in the war to Linebacker in the finale—the strike forces got through to their targets. After the deployment, Batson planned to attend the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., to pursue a master’s degree in computer science. Rob Doremus was shot down on August 24, 1965, while flying with VF-21 skipper Bill Franke. In the beginning, the North Vietnamese air force was a rag-tag operation with obsolete, cast-off equipment. The Thuds, carrying heavy bomb loads, were unable to react. Reggie Taylor, Capt. by propeller-driven A-1 Skyraiders of Attack Squadron 25 (VA-25). Their wingman did not see any parachutes and no beepers were heard (ejection seats have small radios that transmit upon ejection), so the pair was declared killed in action. Over the coast the naval aviators were not yet threatened by surface-to-air missiles, though they faced dangerous anti-aircraft artillery. The North Vietnamese believed, erroneously, that they had destroyed two of the Crusaders. This kill took place before VF-21 got their MIGs. “There weren’t enough fighters available to conduct random fighter sweeps and also protect the strike force during their specified times in the target area,” Momyer said. On 18 December 1972 near Hanoi , North Vietnam SSgt Turner, a B-52 Fire Control Operator (Gunner), shot down a MIG-21. Of course we also refreshed carrier quals.” But he added: “Things changed after August 2, 1964. Batson had been on 30 combat missions by then, and this one was going smoothly. While training at VF-121, Batson was paired with backseater Lieutenant Rob Doremus. The legend was embellished with the supposition that on May 10, 1972, Randy Cunningham­—on the mission in which he became an ace—shot down Colonel Toon. Midway’s crew knew they were sailing for a combat zone as they left San Francisco Bay on March 6, 1965. Carrier Air Wing 2 on Midway suffered its share of losses. James Lynne, Lt. Clint Johnson, and Lt. Charles Hartman, were launched from the USS Midway on a ResCAP mission over North Vietnam. It was less maneuverable than the MiG-17 and slower than the MiG-21. VF-21 got the 1st to MiG Kills of the Vietnam War! I could not locate it on your website. The principal MiG base at Phuc Yen was not struck until 1967, and Gia Lam was never struck. Rule number two was that you had to have visual identification [VID].”, These two requirements, while prudent in light of multiservice air operations and the command-and-control situation, nullified several of the Phan­tom’s strengths. The MiG-21 N. 4324 of the Vietnam People's Air Force. Colonel Ferguson’s F-4D that he flew back to Kunsan AB, Korea, in October 1972 when the 35 TFS RTBd. “I experienced the clock slowing down,” he said. You’ll have to wait. An F-4 crew admires a fifth aerial kill marked on their F-4 Phantom. During the conflict, the F-8 achieved a kill ratio of 19:3, as the type downed 16 MiG-17s and 3 MiG-21s. In a swirling 15-minute dogfight, the Phantoms shot down seven MiG 21s—almost half of the total possessed by North Vietnam—with no loss of F-4s. The Phantom crews were greeted by cheers as they walked to their ready room, and Page was diverted to the flag bridge (a level in the ship’s island where an admiral and other VIPs could observe ops). The Navy had scored the first confirmed American air-to-air victories of the Vietnam War. It's April 1972, and a team of F-4 Phantoms are on a hunting mission, high above the skies of Vietnam. The North Vietnamese offset their vulnerabilities by picking their times to fight. “MiG killing was not our objective,” said Maj. Gen. Alton D. Slay, deputy chief of staff for operations at 7th Air Force. During the flight back to the ship, Batson was “in the moment, still flying,” but the Midway crewmen knew they had scored kills. Navy fighters, on the other hand, made almost all of their kills with the Sidewinder.”, The Navy kills, Momyer said, “were predominately MiG-17s and they were made in close-in engagements. As a result, US Air Force aircraft usually entered engagements from a defensive and reactive posture.”. His years of naval service with talented teammates, not to mention his MiG kill, gave him the best story around the coffee pot. They followed Thud ingress routes, and their radio calls simulated Thuds. This aircraft is attributed to a pilot named “Major Pham Tuan” and credited with several kills including a B-52 on December 26, 1972 during the Linebacker II strategic bombing campaign. In World War II, hundreds of US airmen became aces, credited with five or more aerial victories. The purpose of US fighters engaging the MiGs was to protect the strike flights. The F-105 packed a fast-shooting 20 mm cannon, but early models of the F-4 did not have a gun. Controllers notified aircrews not only of the location of a MiG, but also whether it was a MiG-17, -19, or -21. Don Kilgus aboard F-100D 55-2894. Batson was part of VF-21’s first deployment with the F-4, aboard the aircraft carrier Midway, departing Naval Air Station Ala­meda on November 8, 1963. U.S. officials say they lost 245 aircraft in air-to-air combat during the war. Kilgus scored his probable MiG Kill Capt Don Kilgus pursued a MiG-17 in a steep dive from 20,000 ft down to 7000 ft, firing several bursts from his 20 mm cannons and observing hits on the fighter’s right stabilator. At those speeds and close range the geometry changed quickly, so the calls to “fly the dot” and “go down” weren’t unusual. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Inspired by a Navy ROTC instructor, he was soon hooked and longed to fly the Navy jets he saw at airshows and in magazines. For their part, the North Vietnamese employed MiGs specifically to stop the strike flights. “I was busy flying,” he said. As explained by Peter E Davies in his book U.S. Navy F-4 Phantom II Units of the Vietnam War 1969-73, the 197th, and last, MiG kill of the Vietnam War occurred at 1253 hrs on Jan. 12, 1973 when two VF-161 ‘Chargers’ F-4Bs, flying a Barrier Combat Air Patrol (BARCAP) mission from USS Midway (CVA-41), intercepted a lone MiG-17. (j.g.) The original Phantom was modified and employed in Vietnam as the Air Force F-4C and F-4D and the Navy F-4B and F-4J. “The small, hard-to-see MiGs typically made one-pass attacks at high speed, then escaped to a sanctuary.”. “Both RIOs seemed to obtain contact at the same time. The first unit was formed in 1959. Photo: Vietnamese News Agency. “The underlying assumption was that nuclear weapons would make conventional wars obsolete and that as a result, air combat maneuvering (ACM) was dead, overtaken by the interception mission, which required supersonic speed, high technology sensors, and missile weaponry.”. The MiG-21s had guns but relied mainly on their Atoll heat-seeking missiles. (U.S. Navy vis Batson). Sparrow had an effective range of more than 10 miles, compared to about two miles for Sidewinder. USAF combat losses in Vietnam were distributed as 67 to MiGs, 110 to surface-to-air missiles, and 1,443 to antiaircraft artillery. Charles DeBellavue, Sgt. It is David B. Waldrop’s story of the day over North Vietnam when he and his F-105 Thunderchief shot down two MiGs, one of which was moments away from becoming then Col. Robin Olds’ 5th MiG kill. “MiG pilots only attacked under ideal circumstances, such as when USAF aircraft were bomb-laden, low on fuel, or damaged,” an Air Force statement said. The North Vietnamese gained extra advantages from the sanctuaries and rules of engagement created by US policy. It bested several capable challengers to emerge as a mainstay fighter and attack aircraft for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, as well as many allied nations. Richard Ritchie, and SSgt. Though Rolling Thunder was new, the war had been gaining intensity in the eight months since the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. John T. Correll was editor in chief of Air Force Magazine for 18 years and is a frequent contributor. Photo: USAF. Gen. John E. Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint…, The Senate on Jan. 21 confirmed Lloyd Austin to become the nation’s first Black Defense Secretary, one day after approving a waiver allowing him to lead the Pentagon just about five years after retiring from Active Duty. “I was concentrating on keeping the target illuminated [by radar]. Except for DeBellevue, the US aces had five MIG credits each. “The principal MiG mission was to interfere with bombing attacks, seeking to force the incoming F-4s and F-105s to jettison their bombs before getting on target, a strategy that took full advantage of the encumbrance of US rules of engagement and prevented the F-4s from mixing it up with the MiGs,” said Air Force historian Walter J. Boyne. Batson graduated from Brown University in 1961 and was commissioned as an ensign through NROTC, entering Navy flight training on July 3. American airmen shot down 196 MiGs—137 by the Air Force, 59 by the Navy and the Marine Corps—and sustained 83 losses. In broad context, the US fighters in Vietnam succeeded in their air-to-air objectives, and the MiGs did not. The 26-year-old Batson found himself flying combat missions about once a day. Photo: USAF, Despite the success of the Bolo operation, the Air Force did not conduct any more fighter sweeps. “We forfeited our initial advantage of being able to detect a MiG at 30- to 35-mile range,” said Gen. William W. Momyer, commander of 7th Air Force from 1966 to 1968. Implementing their plan, he locked onto the trail target and told Doremus to lock the lead, which they confirmed by radio. 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