RIPPLE SALVO… #151… HAIPHONG THERMAL POWER PLANT (WEST)… but first…
Good Morning: Day ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-ONE of a day-by-day look back at the 1965-1968 air war over North Vietnam…
30 JULY 1966… PAGE ONE OF THE HOME TOWN PAPER… New York Times…A sunny Saturday and a clear night ahead…
Page 1: “Airline Accord Reached After Johnson Steps In”…”President Johnson announced tonight a settlement of the 22-day airline strike about 12-hours after he intervened to prod negotiators for an accord. The President said the agreement between the striking machinist union and the five major airlines was ‘eventually within the general framework’ of recommendations made just last month by a Presidential emergency board and ‘will not be inflationary.’ The settlement is still subject to approval by a majority of the nation’s 35,400 striking mechanics and ground service workers. Airlines are ready to go within 6 hours of approval. The Airlines now grounded: National, TWA, United, Eastern and Northwest.”
Page 1: “Thant Sees Peril Of A Major War”…”Secretary General U Thant of the United Nations warned before leaving here (Moscow) for New York today that the Vietnam conflict might turn into a major war. Thant said: “The war might spill over the frontiers. I am increasingly convinced the Vietnam War will develop into a major war is the present trend continues.” He said his meetings with Premier Kosygin and Communist Party leader Brezhnev had been useful and very positive. However, Thant noted that Brezhnev was as unyielding as Kosygin had been in the early meeting during the trip”… Page 1: “Wreck of Lost U-2 Reported in Bolivia”…The charred wreckage of the united States U-2 that disappeared yesterday has been reported to have been found today on a hill in west central Bolivia. The pilot’s body was reported to have been shattered by the impact of a crash from great altitude.”…
Sports…1966…Baltimore Orioles ticket prices…Bleachers $.75, General Admission-$1.20, Lower Reserved-$2.20, Box Seats-$2.90…Hot dogs-$.30, Coke Giant size-$.25, Beer-$.40… Orioles leading the American League (and will go all the way–you an bet on it!!!)
30 July 1966…The President’s Daily Brief… CIA (TS sanitized)… North Vietnam: Hanoi may lose its major Free World source of convertible foreign exchange. The Japanese buyers of North Vietnamese coal are now seeking other suppliers, in part because of the unreliability of shipping from North Vietnam. Last year these coal sales to Japan provided Hanoi with about half its total hard currency earnings. This has financed much of the continued North Vietnamese purchasing in the Free World, principally Japan.
30 JULY 1966… OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER… New York Times: (31 July reporting 30 July ops)… “In North Vietnam, United States pilots flew 100 missions and struck eleven fuel depots.”…There were NO Losses in Southeast Asia on 30 July.
RIPPLE SALVO… #151…. A Vigilante Run On Haiphong… A quiet day– 30 July 1966 — so I have pulled out a flying story from my bag of collected stuff… An RA-5C Photo Reconnaissance run in and out of Haiphong to get BDA photography of a strike on the Haiphong Thermal Power Plant West…Pilot: LCDR DAVE NOTHWANG, and Reconnaissance Attack Navigator BILL FELDHAUS…
LCDR Nothwang and LTJG Feldhous were attached to RVAH-7 a squadron of Carrier Air Wing Nine embarked in USS Enterprise steaming in the South China Sea at Yankee Station.
On 26 May 1967 LCDR Nothwang and his reconnaissance attack navigator, LTJG Feldhaus, led a highly successful photo recce mission into the heavily defended Haiphong area of North Vietnam, The flight consisted of an unarmed RA-5C Vigilante aircraft and an armed F-4B escort whose objective was to photograph the Haiphong Thermal Power Plant (West). A carrier strike group had just executed a JCS Alpha Strike from the Rolling Thunder 56 target list. The mission was tasked to obtain bomb damage assessment photography to determine the effectiveness of the strike and the requirement for a restrike. The thermal power plants in the city of Haiphong were of significant strategic importance to the enemy as a source of 12% of the nation’s total electric power generating capability. The defenses were formidable: eighteen 85/100mm anti-aircraft sites; seventeen 37/57mm sites; countless automatic weapons; twelve fire control radar sites in the area for control of the nearly 200 gun barrels in the 35 large gun sites; and, dozens of SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missiles sited in at least 13 of the 28 confirmed SAM sites in the area.
LCDR Nothwang and LTJG Feldhaus spent the previous day carefully planning the mission to include the route and profile to take maximum advantage of their speed, knowledge of the target area from prior flights, the enemy Orders of Battle; and an inventory of target photography. They were prepared to execute the mission from memory. The planning included careful coordination with the Alpha Strike Group leader and element flight leaders in the group to ensure the mission was executed on a precise time plan without mutual interference. The F-4B escort crew of LTJGs Howard Nichol and Richard Marshall also attended these planning and coordination sessions.
On 26 May the four aviators carefully briefed the route of light, enemy order of battle, rendezvous procedures, communications plan, fuel requirements and special emergence procedures. Departure and rendezvous were routine and expeditiously executed according to plan, as was the en route path and profile to the planned coast in point (CIP). LTJG Feldhaus updated the aircraft inertial navigations system and confirmed the readiness of the unique and complex RA-5C photo systems so as to arrive at the CIP fully ready to execute the dangerous and important mission. In order to avoid detection by highly capable enemy radar systems LCDR descended to 100-feet MSL and closed the CIP at very low altitude and high speed. LTJG operated the complex navigation equipment and provided LCDR Nothwang minor navigational corrections. Combat checklists were completed. Iron hand elements of the strike group were alerted that the mission was on track and being executed. As LCDR Nothwang popped up to the hard altitude of 4000-feet required for the high speed pass around the required route to and from the target area intense AAA fire was noted in all quadrants. LTJG Feldhaus skillfully operated the navigation systems and provided steering information to his pilot, which became a critical necessity as the en route and target areas were obscured by intermittent clouds and haze. In order to acquire the target LCDR Nothwang dove the aircraft down to 2500-feeet to clear the clouds, all the while avoiding intense and readily visible barrage enemy AAA fire. This unplanned maneuver was completed just in time to put the aircraft at the precise point required to obtain the desired photography. LTJG Feldhaus ignored the violent maneuvering to operate his array of equipment. After passing through the target area LCDR Nothwang executed a hard high-G climbing turn to reverse course and head back to sea. In the turn two surface-to-air missiles passed with 500-yards of the Vigilanti. Intense tracking AAA followed the aircraft on the retirement requiring continued evasive maneuvering en route to coast out and “feet wet.”
The recommendation for medals –Distinguished Flying Cross– for this mission includes this summary of action:
“In spite of the intense AAA fire, clouds below the preplanned photo altitude in the target area, airborne missiles (SAMs), and the complexities of navigating at very high speed while violently maneuvering to evade enemy ground fire (and weather), this crew obtained complete and detailed BDA of the assigned target. (This vital intelligence eliminated the necessity for a restrike.) In addition, they were able to obtain numerous bonus targets (7) including occupied SAM sites, naval craft, new AAA sites, and several storage areas. Copies of these photos were personally reviewed by Vice Admiral Hyland and immediately sent to FICPACFAC by a jet courier.”… “LCDR NOTHWANG’s and LTJG FELDHAUS’s professional skill, great personal courage and devotion to duty in the face of grave personal dangers are deserving of special meritorious consideration.” …..OOHRAH!!!
Both of these warriors were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for their 26 May 1967 swing around Haiphong to take a few pictures… a few of which will be added to the rollingthunderremembered picture file in due course…
Dave and Bill, old Big “E” shipmates, I am honored to be able to add one of your memorable days to my journal of the air war in the history books known as Operation Rolling Thunder. Damn, you guys were good….
Lest we forget…. Bear ………. –30– ……….