COMMEMORATING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIETNAM WAR… and honoring the indefatigable Naval Aviators, Naval Flight Officers and air crewmen who penetrated layered and integrated air defenses to destroy military targets in the heartland of North Vietnam in the years of Operation Rolling Thunder (1965-1968)…

GOOD EVENING. Faithful Scribe has another tale to tell: the devastation of a surface-to-air missile holding area 35 miles southwest of Hanoi on 7 June 1967 by Carrier Air Wing NINE…

WHEN NAVAL AVIATION ROARED. Tale #17 from Faithful Scribe’s cache of notes from the Vietnam War awards files of CINCPACFLT, including CINCPACFLT letter FF 1-1, 1650 ser 102/PD of November 16, 1967. On 6 June 1967 an RVAH-7 RA-5C Vigilante from USS ENTERPRISE zipped through the area 30-35 miles south and southwest of Hanoi at 600-knots to photo the five SAM sites that were covering the approaches to the capital city from that direction. Two of those sites had scored kills on ENTERPRISE strike groups a few weeks earlier. While both of those firing sites were hit hard by ENTERPRISE after their successes, the RVAH-7 Viggie was there to ensure the status of all five of the enemy SAM sites was known for ongoing strike operations against military targets near Hanoi and in the Red River Valley. The film from the Viggie’s 6 June pass was the immediate object of the squadron’s photo interpreters on ENTERPRISE. A sharp-eyed PI detected a storage and assembly area in the trees and bushes about three-quarters of a mile from the unoccupied VN-94 SAM site. The area contained nine enemy missiles on transporters and a FAN SONG radar van hidden and camoflaged in the wooded area. A strike on the lucrative target was immediately set in motion. Unfortunately, dusk and bad weather, including massive thunderstorms, postponed the execution of the strike until the afternoon of 7 June. This is the story of that mission…

THE MISSION. Destroy the concentration of enemy surface-to–air missiles, vans and enemy personnel detected by the RVAH-7 reconnaisance.

THE DEFENSES. The target of the strike group was situated in the center of an extremely active and effective enemy SA-2 missile area. As many as twenty-five missiles had been fired from the five sites in the area during the preceding month. Two ENTERPRISE aircraft were lost in the area on May 19. In addition to heavy missile defenses in the area the strike group had to penetrate about 75 miles of hostile enemy territory to reach the target. Within five miles of the target the attackers would be opposed by three active and confirmed 37/57mm, one 85mm and several automatic weapon sites. The target area was 35 miles from Hanoi and 45 miles from MiG airfields.

THE PLAN. Commander Carrier Air Wing-NINE, CAPTAIN James L. SHIPMAN opted to plan, brief and lead the quick reaction strike flying an A-4C of the VA-113 Stingers. The strike group was composed of: four VA-113 A-4Cs, each armed with three pods of 2.75 rockets; three VA-56 A-4Cs, the lead aircraft armed with four CBU-24s and two wingmen, each armed with four MK-117 750-pound bombs; three F-4Bs from VF-92/VF-96, each carrying ten MK-82 500-pound bombs, two Sidewinders and two Sparrows; and, one VA-35 A-6A armed with 22 MK-82s. Weather limited the size and employment ot the strike group to eleven aircraft and required a variety of ordnance to meet a full range of weather possibilities at the target. A weather abort was not an option.

EXECUTION. Launch, rendezvous, and navigation to the coast-in point south of Haiphong by the eleven aircraft strike force went as briefed. An E-2A aircraft provided vectors to assist CAPTAIN SHIPMAN with navigation as he penetrated deep into enemy territory below an overcast and above several broken cloud layers. Navigation assistance was also provided by the F-4B and A-6A crews as CAPTAIN SHIPMAN circumnavigated several thunderstorms along the planned route. Avoidance of dangerous concentrations of enemy defenses was attempted with limited success as the flight was under fire for several miles of the path to the target. Fifteen miles southeast of the target the F-4B division accelerated ahead of the strike group to locate the target and determine if the enemy missiles were still in position or had been moved. A cloud-covered ridge line was used by CAPTAIN SHIPMAN to mask the strike group’s approach until just south of the target. The valley in which the target was located was clear of clouds below 10,000-feet. As the strike group popped up and positioned for the attack, the F-4B division, led by LCDR Morton WINCHESTER located the targeet, confimed the presence of the missiles and vehicles and commenced the initial attack. CAPTAIN SHIPMAN followed with his four rocket shooters. The F-4B bombs ignited two enemy missiles which twisted above and impacted the storage area. The four rocket shooters pressed their attacks to minimum altitude to score direct hits on six more of the missiles, and the four bombers–3 A-4Cs and an A-6A followed with the delivery of 22 MK-82s, 6 M-117s and four CBU-24s on the area. Three secondaries exploded out of the towering fire and smoke to completely devastate the area occupied by the enemy SAM battalion. The CVW-9 attack was met with intense 37mm fire and automatic weapon fire but avoided by all eleven aircraft in the strike force. The extremely poor weather and numerous thunderstorms apparently cancelled out both enemy SAM and MiG opposition. The RVAH-7 post BDA photo bird was less fortunate than the strike birds and sustained a direct hit from a 37mm projectile. The RA-5C returned safely to the carrier with photos of the site on fire. CAPTAIN SHIPMAN remained over the target area to determine if a restrike was required and reported “total destruction, no restrike required,” an assessment confirmed by the post-strike photos.

DAMAGE ASSESSMENT. Confirmed damage: Nine SAMs on their transporters destroyed, one FAN SONG radar van and one POL truck destroyed.

The skipper of USS ENTERPRISE, CAPTAIN James L. HOLLOWAY III subsequently wrote of the successful strike: “This operation was a classic demonstration of the capability of the ENTERPRISE team. The remarkable reconnaisance and photographic interpretation that located this important target, and the swift, accurate and effective strike that destroyed the target, are commendable feats. The flight crews who participated in this totally successful mission against a lucrative target deep in enemy territory displayed unusual determination, professional competency and personal courage. The mission received a ‘well done’ from Commander SEVENTH FLEET and Commander Task Force SEVENTY-SEVEN.”

BITS OF RIBBON. Medals all around. DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSSES for: CAG SHIPMAN ( His second of the cruise–he let his Squadron Commanders lead the big Alphas); LCDR WINCHESTER, VF-96; LCDR E. James BOCK, VF-92; and LCDR David WINIKER, VA-56. INDIVIDUAL AIR MEDAL: LCDR Jeremy TAYLOR, VA-113; LTJG David FORMO, VF-92; LTJG Charles E. BOEMER, VF-96; LTJG Rodney BANKSON, VA-35; and LCDR Dale DOSS, VA-35. NAVY COMMENDATION MEDALS with Combat V:  LCDR Robert BRENNOCK, VA-113; LCDR Lawerence E. WEAR, VF-96; LCDR John E. HAMMACK, VA-56; LTJG Dennis a. LAWRENCE, VA-56; LTJG Michael L. McGRAW, VA-113 (CAG’s Wingman–rated a DFC!); and ENSIGN Kenneth L. ROBERTS, VF-96…

END NOTE. Faithful Scribe was a steady letterwriter on my cruises on ENTERPRISE. When I opted to tell this CVW-9 story from 7 June 1967, I dug out the letter I wrote to my wife that evening to refresh my memory of that day 53 years ago. It is quoted in part here…

“Two very good hops today #s 94 and 95 for the cruise. I’ve flown five in three days…

“The first was a 0500 brief to lead four Stingers on an airborne RESCAP (rescue cover)–that’s where somebody else goes in and bombs Hanoi and we hold off the coast to go in only if somebldy goes down and needs help. Nobody went down although 3 of the 15 planes were hit, so I ended up leading my guys on some barges south of Haiphong. Very good run and hits.

“The second one was in a gagle of eleven airplanes into ‘SAM Valley’ about 35 miles southwest of Hanoi. We hit a missile storage area about 3 miles from where I had my duel with a SAM site on 19 May. A photo plane got a pix yesterday that a fine eye spotted ten missiles hidden in the bushes. We charged in under marginal weather and thank goodness no missiles came up at us–so we found the spot and hit it. Did we hit it! I put my 57 rockets right in there along with almost everybody else and we had missiles frizzling up through the air, skittering along the ground, and blowing up on their trucks. It was great. There were ten, we got nine and two radar vans and an oil truck. There was some AAA but not enough to dim our glee. It was great fun.

“I took home-movies of both hops and together with a couple of Bullpup runs yesterday and a carrier landing this reel should be my best spool of film for the cruise. Unfortunately, my pix of a SAM twirling up through the air as I dove on the site today interested the intelligence people so they requested ‘I loan them the film.’ They assured me I’ll get it back. I’ll be worrying for months, then begging them for years to return the film (fifty-three years later I’m still waiting)…”... End quote from letter…

(Webmaster note: This mission, as well as the mission of 19 May 1967 to Van Dien that preceded it, are covered in chapter one of my book Across the Wing)

NEXT POST: Tales of the Brave and Bold #18 USS CORAL SEA and CVW-15 surgically remove the railway/highway bridge in downtown Haiphong on 17 September 1967. This mission was earlier reported, in part, in my RTR post covering 17-18 September 1967 (Ripple Salvo #561)…

Lest we forget…     Bear