Vietnam Air War
TOPGUN – Book Recommendation (2)
Highest recommendation for Dan Pedersen’s (CAPT. USN, Ret) just released book TOPGUN; An American Story … we sent our people out there not trained for dogfighting. We sent the aircraft out there not equipped for dogfighting… and we got into nose-nose combat situations where neither the guy flying the airplane nor the airplane itself had ever fired a missile. Further, based on the expected nature of air war and our technical developments to intercept bombers at long range, we have lost expertise and continuity in ‘being dogfighters’ … there is a need to establish a fighter weapons school to reverse this trend [...]
Scream of Eagles – Happy Birthday TOPGUN (1)
As the first of two parts recognizing 50 years of training fighter pilots/instructors the below is a modified version of the article written for TOPGUN’s 40th anniversary and serves as introduction for a book review of TOPGUN; An American Story by Captain Dan Pederson USN, Retired, the founder and first Officer -In -Charge. Fifty years ago, the first Fighter Weapons School -TOPGUN – class was in their second week of“graduate level” fighter pilot education and training in an old trailer next to the VF-121 hangar at Naval Air Station Miramar. (3 March 1969 start date) They were there because eagles screamed. [...]
Veterans Day 2017: What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me?
Burns and Novick The Vietnam War – A Counter Anthology The PBS documentary The Vietnam War by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick has received critical acclaim and has been recommended for showing in schools. It follows Burns reputation well as a work of film art. For all its ‘truth telling,’ I simply cannot get in tune with its overall context. This Veterans Day post focuses on the Vietnam veteran with remembrance of all. “This documentary succeeds in vividly evoking sadness and frustration. But that is not all there was to the story. “The Vietnam War” strives for a moral equivalence [...]
The 4th of June – Remembered Sky Day
Blown Slick Series#5 The A-7 Corsair II carried a healthy fuel load for a carrier based strike aircraft. On major strikes – those to significant, highly defended targets – into North Vietnam called “Alpha Strikes” with 30 -40 A-7,s, A-6’s, F-4’s, bombers, fighters, Iron-Hand MiG Cap, tankers, Electronic Warfare birds and an E-2 control – the A-7’s mostly took off first, landed last. The strike group launched and rendezvoused in a circle above the USS Midway before heading into as we non-PC called it, Indian Country. It took a bit and once joined on my flight lead, it was both a time of anticipation and building [...]
Memorial Day 2015: Mondo and Arlo
Sometimes on days like today, I find myself lost in the abstract -service to country, freedom, sacrifice, the flags, the tombstones of Arlington. The feelings are not wrong, indeed they are most important and necessary, but at the base are people who laughed, cried, drank beer - sometimes too much - told dirty jokes, howled at the moon, chased women, and jousted at a few dragons, all the while loving their wives, kids, dogs, squadron mates, .... and their country. The video below was just published on You-Tube on 14 May. It provides the memorial service on USS Midway in [...]
BLOWN SLICK – Light Attack Fast Pursuit; Airpower Analysis by Boris
Blown Slick Series#4 “… it has been decades since the last significant contribution to airpower theory. Given the shifting character of war and rapid technological change, a solid modern airpower theory will be required for the West to achieve strategic success in future conflicts.” Reviewing Airpower Reborn;The Strategic Concepts of John Warden and John Boyd by JP ‘Spear’ Mintz Out of the process of reading, researching, communicating with old airwing friends, and in addition reaching out for the Air Force side – leveraging the “Rats” of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, plus all the while observing the more [...]
The “Fighter Pilot”
Blown Slick Series #2 The first post for the Blown Slick series made the point that the series is about attack – missions and pilots, so you might ask why “fighter pilots?” Words in this case can deceive. Please read till the end. Terminology needs to be addressed so the series can move on. “Say what you will about him: arrogant, cocky, boisterous, and a fun loving fool to boot. He has earned his place in the sun. Across the span of 95 years he has given his country some of its proudest moments and most cherished military [...]
The Mission of “Attack” – The Blown Slick Series Introduction
Blown Slick Series #1 (See also : Preface to Blown Slick -the series: The evolution of fighter, attack, and strike warfare) He would go on to be Vice Chief of Naval Operations and head the FAA, but in mid-December 1971 Navy Captain Jim Busey was Commanding Officer of Attack Squadron 125 (VA-125), the squadron responsible for transitioning Naval Aviators into the A-7A/B Corsair II en route to their future combat squadrons, airwings and carriers. He had two combat tours (189 missions) in Vietnam under his belt in the A-4 Skyhawk and was the recipient of the Navy Cross, and three [...]
The Last Corsair: Fly Low, Hit Hard
The Helenic Air Force will retire the last A-7 Corsair II on October 17, 2014 after 39 years in Hellenic skies and 49 years of global service. The videos below highlight some great low level flying and include US Navy flights in Vietnam. Since 2007, the 336 Bomber Squadron has been the last squadron in the world flying the A-7 Corsair II. Spirit of attack born of a brave heart.
153241
I can never pass up the artist booths at airshows. Last weekend at the Camarillo Air Show (lead guy was Bill Thomas, President of the Corsair II Association) I visited Christopher Cross's both of airbrush aviation art. Picture above caught my attention. 153241 is an A-7A currently under restoration in northern California - site escapes me. When I got home checked my logbook and found that "241" had been assigned to VA-56 in the spring of '73 after USS Midway/CAG 5 returned from Vietnam and began prepping for the move to Japan. I have 10.1 hours, 3 traps and flew [...]
Blogroll
Vietnam Air War
TOPGUN – Book Recommendation (2)
Highest recommendation for Dan Pedersen’s (CAPT. USN, Ret) just released book TOPGUN; An American Story … we sent our people out there not trained for dogfighting. We sent the aircraft out there not equipped for dogfighting… and we got into nose-nose combat situations where neither the guy flying the airplane nor the airplane itself had ever fired a missile. Further, based on the expected nature of air war and our technical developments to intercept bombers at long range, we have lost expertise and continuity in ‘being dogfighters’ … there is a need to establish a fighter weapons school to reverse this trend [...]
Scream of Eagles – Happy Birthday TOPGUN (1)
As the first of two parts recognizing 50 years of training fighter pilots/instructors the below is a modified version of the article written for TOPGUN’s 40th anniversary and serves as introduction for a book review of TOPGUN; An American Story by Captain Dan Pederson USN, Retired, the founder and first Officer -In -Charge. Fifty years ago, the first Fighter Weapons School -TOPGUN – class was in their second week of“graduate level” fighter pilot education and training in an old trailer next to the VF-121 hangar at Naval Air Station Miramar. (3 March 1969 start date) They were there because eagles screamed. [...]
Veterans Day 2017: What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me?
Burns and Novick The Vietnam War – A Counter Anthology The PBS documentary The Vietnam War by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick has received critical acclaim and has been recommended for showing in schools. It follows Burns reputation well as a work of film art. For all its ‘truth telling,’ I simply cannot get in tune with its overall context. This Veterans Day post focuses on the Vietnam veteran with remembrance of all. “This documentary succeeds in vividly evoking sadness and frustration. But that is not all there was to the story. “The Vietnam War” strives for a moral equivalence [...]
The 4th of June – Remembered Sky Day
Blown Slick Series#5 The A-7 Corsair II carried a healthy fuel load for a carrier based strike aircraft. On major strikes – those to significant, highly defended targets – into North Vietnam called “Alpha Strikes” with 30 -40 A-7,s, A-6’s, F-4’s, bombers, fighters, Iron-Hand MiG Cap, tankers, Electronic Warfare birds and an E-2 control – the A-7’s mostly took off first, landed last. The strike group launched and rendezvoused in a circle above the USS Midway before heading into as we non-PC called it, Indian Country. It took a bit and once joined on my flight lead, it was both a time of anticipation and building [...]
Memorial Day 2015: Mondo and Arlo
Sometimes on days like today, I find myself lost in the abstract -service to country, freedom, sacrifice, the flags, the tombstones of Arlington. The feelings are not wrong, indeed they are most important and necessary, but at the base are people who laughed, cried, drank beer - sometimes too much - told dirty jokes, howled at the moon, chased women, and jousted at a few dragons, all the while loving their wives, kids, dogs, squadron mates, .... and their country. The video below was just published on You-Tube on 14 May. It provides the memorial service on USS Midway in [...]
BLOWN SLICK – Light Attack Fast Pursuit; Airpower Analysis by Boris
Blown Slick Series#4 “… it has been decades since the last significant contribution to airpower theory. Given the shifting character of war and rapid technological change, a solid modern airpower theory will be required for the West to achieve strategic success in future conflicts.” Reviewing Airpower Reborn;The Strategic Concepts of John Warden and John Boyd by JP ‘Spear’ Mintz Out of the process of reading, researching, communicating with old airwing friends, and in addition reaching out for the Air Force side – leveraging the “Rats” of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, plus all the while observing the more [...]
The “Fighter Pilot”
Blown Slick Series #2 The first post for the Blown Slick series made the point that the series is about attack – missions and pilots, so you might ask why “fighter pilots?” Words in this case can deceive. Please read till the end. Terminology needs to be addressed so the series can move on. “Say what you will about him: arrogant, cocky, boisterous, and a fun loving fool to boot. He has earned his place in the sun. Across the span of 95 years he has given his country some of its proudest moments and most cherished military [...]
The Mission of “Attack” – The Blown Slick Series Introduction
Blown Slick Series #1 (See also : Preface to Blown Slick -the series: The evolution of fighter, attack, and strike warfare) He would go on to be Vice Chief of Naval Operations and head the FAA, but in mid-December 1971 Navy Captain Jim Busey was Commanding Officer of Attack Squadron 125 (VA-125), the squadron responsible for transitioning Naval Aviators into the A-7A/B Corsair II en route to their future combat squadrons, airwings and carriers. He had two combat tours (189 missions) in Vietnam under his belt in the A-4 Skyhawk and was the recipient of the Navy Cross, and three [...]
The Last Corsair: Fly Low, Hit Hard
The Helenic Air Force will retire the last A-7 Corsair II on October 17, 2014 after 39 years in Hellenic skies and 49 years of global service. The videos below highlight some great low level flying and include US Navy flights in Vietnam. Since 2007, the 336 Bomber Squadron has been the last squadron in the world flying the A-7 Corsair II. Spirit of attack born of a brave heart.
153241
I can never pass up the artist booths at airshows. Last weekend at the Camarillo Air Show (lead guy was Bill Thomas, President of the Corsair II Association) I visited Christopher Cross's both of airbrush aviation art. Picture above caught my attention. 153241 is an A-7A currently under restoration in northern California - site escapes me. When I got home checked my logbook and found that "241" had been assigned to VA-56 in the spring of '73 after USS Midway/CAG 5 returned from Vietnam and began prepping for the move to Japan. I have 10.1 hours, 3 traps and flew [...]