Ftrooppilot

Old age and deceit will overcome youth and ambition. Tim started too early.

Interesting info on Fast FACs in F-100s.

In 1967, a group of combat-experienced fighter pilot volunteers were brought together in South Viet Nam to form a top secret squadron with a now-famous callsign -- MISTY. They were stationed first at Phu Cat Air Base, then in 1969, they moved to Tuy Hoa Air Base. Their mission was to fly fast and low over enemy territory, armed with only their cannons and marking rockets... so low that they could see the targets... SAMs, AAA sites, trucks, bridges, boats, bulldozers... whatever. Their goal was straightforward: disrupt the transfer of enemy supplies and equipment down the Ho Chi Minh trail. When a Misty located one or more of these targets, he directed Air Force and Navy fighter strikes against them. Mistys flew the two-seat version of the Super Sabre, the F-100F, and although they flew fast (350 to 550 MPH), and they continually jinked (i.e., changed direction) to spoil the enemy's prediction of where to aim, still, 28% of the Misty pilots were shot down. Their first commander, Colonel Bud Day, was one of those shot down, and he became a POW in the Hanoi Hilton. Those who survived went on to important positions, including two Air Force Chiefs of Staff, seven general officers, two astronauts, numerous industry CEOs, and the first man to fly around the world unrefueled in a light aircraft.

Tankerhead

Nope, you're wrong. We all know who REALLY did that.

AZFlyer

Have you read Bury Us Upside Down? Great book about the Misty's. Col Bud Day's biography is great read as well.

Jetjok

Ftrooppilot,

Thanks for the info, most of which I knew, being that I was a weapons loader (AFSC 46250) during 1967 and 1968 at Phu Cat AB. I was one of the guys who loaded those F-100F's. What a kick. What was more of a kick was a few years later, in 1974, I started flying those very same aircraft.

JJ

SaltyDog

Good read on the Misty's and the USMC's 'Playboys' of H&MS-11 (and other H&MS squadrons) who did the same thing in the TA-4F. FASTFAC OR FASTDAC?

Occasion they worked together. Some gutsy folks, just like the early F-105 Wild Weasel crews. (It is rumoured that TM was the genesis of the whole project of both services.)
For more reading on a flying tribute to the Playboys and the mission and some info on the Misty's, read the comments at the bottom of this page. Douglas TA-4 Skyhawk - The Collings Foundation

Grumble

Tim Martins?

Ftrooppilot

Sorry not Tim.


Rutan reported to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, for preflight training. He was later assigned to the Air Force's navigator training facility at Harlingen, Texas, where he finished at the top of the radar and celestial navigation class. While Rutan wanted to be a fighter pilot, he did not score high enough on the Air Force's recruitment examination. He was, therefore, assigned as a navigator for his first seven years of service. During this period he flew in C-124 Globemaster transport airplanes innumerable times from Travis Air Force Base in California to Vietnam during the build-up for American participation in the Vietnam War.
After applying for pilot status for years, Rutan got his assignment in 1966

sinsilvia666

today's the 6th - i wonder what happened on his ride !

cnisoot

bit.ly/cybEvD latest reporting on Timothy Martins

ERJF15

He didn't get it.