Hawkey,

Nice shots!! Especially liked the Pedros. A number of my friends flew them in the base support/firefighting role in Vietnam, and then at Takhli when we moved there on 29 March 1973. It was a fun chopper to fly in with the open back. Great memories!

Thanks to all of you vets for your valiant service!! Happy 4th--and a great informative historical post by all!! dmd

Hello folks!

You guys have made this a most interesting thread. My dad has really enjoyed it as it has brought back alot of good memmories of good flying and freinds.

TNRat - Best rate-of-desent for the F-100 was 4,500 FPM. When my dad's airplane was hit, he was 2,000 feet above-ground-level so he had two seconds to make the decision and eject before the aircraft was too low for safe ejection.

Moxie - My dad says your recollection is correct. The F-100 had the M-39 20MM cannon. Rate-of-fire was 1,200 - 1,500 RPM. The 614TFS tuned their cannon to fire 1,500 RPM. The Vulcan cannon rate-of-fire was 6,000 RPM. Dad flew both the F-100D and the F-4D, and he says shooting 20MM is loads of fun; but, the four M-39s in the F-100 would tickle the tailbone! One day about dusk, dad was returning to Phan Rang when he ran a strafing pass on a VC village. The "village" was comprised several hooches on a valley floor. The weather was low overcast with light fog, and the light was almost gone. He rolled in on the village and pulled the trigger. He saw the HEI (high explosive, inindiary) rounds impact the ground immediately. He realized he was way too low, and he yanked the stick into his lap and lit the burner. He pulled out in a ditch down the center of "Main Street", and he could see the hooches on either side of him above his canopy. It turned out the hooches were just sheds, but the weather, terrain, and lighting conditions combined to make that group of shacks look like a village (which made him think he was much higher than he was). The squadron had to retire that particular aircraft, because it was severely over-stressed.

38-44HD45 - Dad was at Reese AFB from 1960-1965. He loved teaching students how to fly tactical jets. He never lost a student, but he had a reputation for being the most demenading instructor in the training command. He was also the instructor who inherited all the "unteachable" students from all the other instructors, because the commander of the training command knew my dad could teach anyone how to fly and would do whatever was necessary to make sure a student had mastered fying. He really enjoyed T-38s. It was easy to fly, and the controls were very light. It was an airplane designed to be fun to fly. Like you, he enjoyed watching the T-38s fill the traffic pattern at the end of the day. To signal my mom that he was in the pattern, he would open the fuel dump valve for a couple of seconds then light the burners. The fuel would ignite with a "boom!". The trail of fire would extend five hundred feet behind the aircraft. This was quite impressive at sunset.

Hawkeye - Those a great photos! My dad has hundreds of photos/slides of the base. He still clearly remembers those same views from the Officers' Club and the tall hill that looked like a small volcano on the base. My dad says the helo in the first photo is just like the aircraft that rescued him. He was shot down right before sunset. The 101st liason officer wanted to secure the area before attempting a rescue, but the base safety officer wanted to go see the crash site before the sun set, so he would not allow the army to secure the area. When the helo arrived on site, my dad had to wave off the RESCAP his squadron mates were preparing. The VC were in the tree line, and the helo landed 150 yards past my dad. The helo and he were taking fire. Fortunately, my dad was not hit. The helo took six rounds, one of which passed through the bottom bulkhead, bounced off the upper bulked, bounced off the instrument pannel, struck the base safety officer in the center of his forehead, and fell into his lap. He learned why the army liason wanted to secure the site before attempting a rescue.

When my dad was at Phan Rang, construction of the revetments had just begun, and the runway and aprons were aluminum sheet. The firebase on the hill did not yet exist, though the dirt road did. My dad knew an Army officer who ran up and down that road every day. Now, that's a guy who loved to run!

I hope you all have a wonderul Indepence Day.
God bless you, Rushbeau.

Rushbeau, Thanks to your dad for his service. This has been a good July 4th thread. I was Air Force also, but bad eyes kept me from flying, I was a munitions officer. I was too young for Vietnam, got out before Desert Storm. I guess I will have to just be a Cold War warrior. I remember the Combat Masterpiece well, I shot expert every time I qualified with it, same for the M16.

All the best to you and your dad!

Mod57,

My dad says the 15-2 was the revolver he carried. Yours looks like its been around the block more than a few times. I would think it would be a treasured piece. Thank you for sharing.

Slufstuff,

Thanks for the kind words. Your being a "Cold War Warrior" was no easy task. It took just as much dedication as being a "Hot War Warior". My dad spent alot of time sitting alert when he flew FB-111s. If he had to launch, it meant the nuclear war was underway. Today, he has more PTSD problems from cold war duties than he does from Vietnam. Being responsible for the deployment of nuclear weapons is an enormous responsibilty all USAF "Cold War Warriors" share. You certainly qualify as a warrior - Thank you. Congratulations on qualifying Expert with the Combat Masterpiece and the M-16. I qualified Expert with a worn-out Model 10 and the M-16 also.

Happy Independence Day,
Rushbeau

great photos thanks for posting them.now who was in the navy that can post pics of the F8 crusader?

Hi sw44spl,

I was in the Navy, but F-8s were before my time. My squadron flew F-18s, though there were two squadrons on the base that still flew A-7 Corsair IIs. This was 1990-1993. All the squadrons had completed transition to the F-18 by 1992.

Before my dad was assigned duty in Vietnam, he had orders to fly F-8s for the Navy as part of an exchange program. He really looked forward to flying Crusaders, but he had not yet been to Vietnam. The Air Force reviewed his record before letting him leave for his exchange tour and delayed his F-8 assignment until after he completed his Vietnam tour. By the time he completed his combat tour, the Navy had no positions open, but he had been assigned an exchange tour with the Royal Austrailian Air Force to fly Mirage 3s. But before he left, he was promoted to major, and the exchange slot was open only for captains. Ultimately, he wound up going to Clark AFB, Philppines to fly F-4Ds.

Best wishes,
Rushbeau

Best I can do Rushbeau. Crusaders were just going out when I came in. So here is a pic of the Navy's greatest fighter. Enjoy her in all her sweep wing glory.


regards,
Ralph

Mod57,

Nice looking Tomcat. That was a fun airplane to fly. About late 1992, CAG-14 decided it was about time for our F-14s to start dropping bombs so he directed our two squadrons to start training in ground attack. Up until then, the F-14 guys practiced primarily air intercepts with some ACM mixed in. They didn't know much about ground attack, so they started training with the RAG where they learned about low-level flying in two-seat F-18s. F-14 guys used to think anything below 5,000' AGL was "low-level". They weren't all that crazy about flying on the deck (tree-top level). A Tomact pilot once remarked to me that "this low-level stuff is for the birds"! It takes awhile to get used to flying 550 kts fifty feet above the ground.

Best wishes,
Rushbeau

yes the F 14 is nice but I like the older jets.In my youth I built many models of F8s,F4s,F100s,A4 skyhawks,F5s,F106s,F102s and the F105 THUD.This is a great topic about old vietnam era jets and the model 15. two of my favorite things.thanks for the story rushbeau.

I do not often post on any forum, but this is one of the best reads I have encountered on any forum.
I never served. When I went to enlist in the Marines with some friends they rejected me for phyical reasons. I was very insulted at the time, but God had his plans for me.

I thank each and every one of you for serving in my stead. Convey that to all readers relatives too.
I have just lost a friend who was captured in the Phillipines in WWII and survived the Battan death march and 41 months of being a POW in the Phillipines and Tokyo.

Thank all of you who served from one who stood for all of you here at home.
John

Rushbeau,
Can't take credit for that pic. I never served with the "Bowling Felix". My tours were mostly with VF-24, VF-114, VF-213. All flying out of old NAS Miramar. Did a short tour with VF-143 out of NAS Oceana. She just cost too much and took too many man hours to keep flying...damn shame.
regards,
Ralph

It is great to see others, photos of PRAB.
When we arrived there we lived in tents on the same hill as the officers, but our quarters were not quite as nice.
That was okay with me, I did not face the VC on a daily basis.
Our shop was on the east side of the runways and and the ramp area was the aluminun matting.
There was construction going on everywhere, and the dust was in places you could'nt imagine.
When it finally did rain the mud ran red, like thin gravy.
When the revetment were finished on the west side of the runways,
each FMS shop had specialist over on that side for maintence.
I remember seeing an F-100 land with hung bomb (the forward shackle had released, but not rear),
and you would not believe the excitment that generated.
Then there was the time somebody jettisoned full fuel tanks on the ramp, instead of dropping the tailhook.
Gosh, what memories are coming back.
Many thanks to you, and your dad.

Howdy folks,

SW44spl - I agree with you. I, too, really liked the older generation jets. My dad is blessed to have flown tactical jets during the Golden Age of aviation. He picked up every jet he flew (T-33, T-37, T-38, F-4, F-100, and FB-111) new at the factory. He had friends who flew F-80, F-84, F-86, F-101, F-102, F-104, F-105, and F-106. He flew with men such as Chuck Yeager and Robin Olds - men of great character and skill. He lost several friends in F-105s over North Vietnam - I remeber his receiving phone calls informing him one of his friends was killed during a mission as late as the early seventees. He had one friend who led a four-ship of F-105s on an unauthorized mission over Hanoi. His flight mimmicked a flight of B-52s (course, altitude, speed, and radio calls). Though they were F-105s, they were Wild Weasle-configured. As they approached the Hanoi IADS (Intergrated Air Defense System) perimeter, the target trackers lit up all over. They killed ten target trackers (for SA-2 Guidelines), including one in the Chinese embassy's front yard. Dad recalls his friend was almost courts marshalled over that.

When I was a kid, I built model airplanes. This was a serious hobby for me, and I would spend many days detailing my models. I now have a collection of all the airplanes my dad flew, including a T-34 Trojan (he made his solo flight in a T-34 in Jun59).

Spickar - You are right - God is soveriegn, and He does have a plan for your life. He tells us to " trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding; but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."

My condolances on the loss of your friend. He had it really tough during the war. The Battan Death March survivors lived misserable lives until we liberated the Philippines (and they still had it rough for the rest of their lives). He truly was a hero, and I am sure he blessed your life.

Mod57 - Boy are you right! By the time the Tomcat was phased out of service, maintenance hours exceeded flight hours. I visited the old Fighter Weapons School at NAS Miramar in the late eighties, and I lived at NAS Oceana when I worked at Dam Neck in the early nineties. The Officers' Club at Oceana had a great Friday night feast - the best Mongolian barbeque I've had since I lived on Yakota AFB, Japan.

Thanks to all of you for participating.

My dad is sixty-nine now, and I think it is time for me to begin the hunt for a Model 15 for him to carry on our hunting lease. Right now, he carries a Glock, but he really misses that good, old Smith and Wesson wheelgun. We go camping about once a month on our hunting lease, and we like to relax in the evening before bed while he reminices about flying and old friends. God has blessed me with a great dad.

Best wishes,
Rushbeau

my stepdad got to fly a F104 long enough to get it off the runway to do a brake test.when he worked for lockeheed.