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VOOZH | about |
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The A-4 was the backbone of the US Navy and Marine Corps’ light strike force for much of the 1960s, and especially during the first half of the ten-year struggle in Vietnam.
A-4 pilots hurled themselves daily at heavily defended targets up and down the south-east Asian peninsula, often paying a heavy price in lives and aircraft. Flying into vast thickets of anti-aircraft bursts mixed with huge surface-to-air missiles took great courage and skill, and to do so repeatedly during a carrier’s tour of duty on the line bespoke a depth of dedication and character that can only be wondered at.
In May 1967 the mighty Scooter also shot down a North Vietnamese MiG, as Eric Wicklund, former US Navy Operations Specialist explains on Quora;
‘The Skyhawk did face MiG-17s and MiG-21s on a regular basis. But since the A-4 Skyhawk (The Scooter) was a light bomber, Skyhawks normally ran for their lives when engaged by them.
‘But one time, the hunted became the hunter, and the only time an A-4 has shot down another aircraft.
‘A-4 Skyhawk pilot, Theodore R. Swartz was assigned to VA-76 attached to the carrier USS Bon Homme Richard off the coast of Vietnam on May 1, 1967. Swartz joined a strike package headed for the large airbase at Kep, nearby the heavily defended city of Hanoi.
‘The strike consisted of 22 aircraft, a mix of F-8 Crusaders as escort fighters, and the rest A-4s, armed to pound any useful targets at the airbase. On the way, two of the F-8s developed mechanical problems and had to return to the ship. That left their fighter coverage compromised, but the strike pressed on anyway.
‘This early in the war, bombing runs were conducted much the way they had been during World War Two. No CCIP, no laser targeting pods, no LGBs, no Shrike anti-radiation missiles, just the Mark 1 eyeball and a lot of training.
‘Swartz and his wingman were assigned to SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defense). To this day, SEAD is still one of the most dangerous things a strike aircraft can do. So early in the Vietnam war, it was worse. Swartz’s flight were armed with Zuni Rocket Pods, unguided 5-inch rockets. To use them, they had to get in close to the deadly SA-2 anti-air missile systems, and hopefully destroy the missile sites before they were shot down.’
He continues;
‘As the strike package hit the airbase, destroying as many as 30 MiGs on the ground, Swartz and his wingman went after the air defenses. The pair started their attack run, but as they did, Swartz spotted a pair of MiG-17s taking off. He and his wingman fired their Zunis at the taxiing aircraft and destroyed both. As they pulled off their attack run, tracers the size of golf balls streaked past Swartz’s canopy. They were under attack.
‘Those missing F-8s would have been handy right then, but there was nothing for it. Swartz snap-rolled to port and yanked the stick back into his belly, a hard turn mostly with the intent of losing speed fast and forcing the attacking fighter to overshoot. The maneuver worked, and the MiG squirted out in front of him.
‘Well, the enemy was there, right in front of him, wasn’t he? Swartz’s Zuni rockets were unguided weapons, intended to hit ground targets, not air targets, but that’s what he was configured to fire with at the moment (no time to prepare his 20mm cannons), so Swartz fired what he had ready. The first rocket clearly missed, but the naval aviator doggedly stayed on the six of his enemy, and fired another rocket.
‘Swartz’s wingman called out a warning. Yet another MiG was on his tail. Swartz had milliseconds to react, and no time to see what his second shot did. He heaved his aircraft around in another hard turn, spoiling the second attack.
‘Swartz never saw what happened with his unorthodox aerial attack, but his wingman did. The MiG, crippled by Swartz’s Zuni rocket fluttered down behind a hill and crashed, leaving a plume of black smoke behind to mark the victory.’
Wicklund concludes;
‘To this day, A-4 Skyhawks are still flying, and some of these “bombers” were used in Aggressor squadrons to teach pilots how to dogfight. Nimble planes, Skyhawks were great for flying BFM. Yet, Swartz’s kill was the only aerial kill ever made by a Skyhawk.’
Photo credit: U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force
Dario Leone: All articles
