50+ Years in an Aviators Logbook
"...I am the navigator. I hold the needle that will pierce the cloud. I sing the song of the sky."
Guy Murchie
Embedded Files
Some anecdotes and technical discussions from an aviation career that began in 1966, loosely correlated with entries from an Aviators Flight Log Book, with an emphasis on combat operations flying the RA-5C during the Vietnam War
site navigation and update log
New/ in work sections
Sea Stories- flying only- Focus on operations, not aeronautical technical minutia. !
Naval War College "Enployment of Naval Forces" Course Essays (9/23)
Some anecdotes and technical discussions from an aviation career that began in 1966, loosely correlated with entries from an Aviators Flight Log Book, with an emphasis on combat operations flying the RA-5C during the Vietnam War
site navigation and update log
New/ in work sections
Sea Stories- flying only- Focus on operations, not aeronautical technical minutia. !
Naval War College "Enployment of Naval Forces" Course Essays (9/23)
Site Navigation
Site Navigation
The site can be navigated two ways:
through the pull down menu on the left of each page. These links are automatically generated by Google Sites according to the site architecture
through menus on the home page and subordinate pages. These links have been manually genated for easier access. Note that sections related to the logbook references are italicized, while other, supporting sections are plain text.
Site Organization
Site Organization
The site is loosely organized chronologically, generally following entries in the log book. Special topics not amenable to this approach are listed where it seems suitable: e.g., the Aftermath section, which deals with the broader consequences of the Vietnam War and is included in its temporal context even when no logbook events are addressed.
Recent Updates
Recent Updates
Basic Jet Navigation (updated 5/8/2023)
Comic hero Buz Sawyer flys the RA-5C over North Vietnam. (4/13/2023)
A Day of Rolling Thunder What was it like flying combat missions during Operation Rolling Thunder, the systematic bombing of North vietnam? (3/24/23)
WARNINGs - in the RA-5C NATOPS Manual (Jan 8, 2023)
Site Navigation
Site Navigation
The site can be navigated two ways:
through the pull down menu on the left of each page. These links are automatically generated by Google Sites according to the site architecture
through menus on the home page and subordinate pages. These links have been manually genated for easier access. Note that sections related to the logbook references are italicized, while other, supporting sections are plain text.
Site Organization
Site Organization
The site is loosely organized chronologically, generally following entries in the log book. Special topics not amenable to this approach are listed where it seems suitable: e.g., the Aftermath section, which deals with the broader consequences of the Vietnam War and is included in its temporal context even when no logbook events are addressed.
Recent Updates
Recent Updates
Basic Jet Navigation (updated 5/8/2023)
Comic hero Buz Sawyer flys the RA-5C over North Vietnam. (4/13/2023)
A Day of Rolling Thunder What was it like flying combat missions during Operation Rolling Thunder, the systematic bombing of North vietnam? (3/24/23)
WARNINGs - in the RA-5C NATOPS Manual (Jan 8, 2023)
north american RA-5C vigilante
north american RA-5C vigilante
Flight Training
Each type of Navy aircraft had its own training squadron or two. For the RA-5C, the training squadron was Reconnaissance Attack Squadron THREE (RVAH-3, AKA as "Heavy Three"), located at the Naval Air Station, Sanford, FL. The length of the training for aircrews varied wildly, from a month or two, to a lot longer for more complex aircraft and missions. For the RA-5C, the training syllabus took nearly a year to complete. This is due to a number of factors. The RVAH squadrons still maintained a role in the US's strategic deterrence, in addition to its everyday task of tactical reconnaissance. Also, the RA-5C was an extremely complex high performance aircraft. To paraphrase, "One does not simply climb into an RA-5C and fly it."
Here are a few highlight (and lowlights) from my time in RVAH-3, followed by some insights into this fascinating aircraft.
Chronology
1966-05: Welcome to the Vigilante An introduction to the most advanced operational aircraft of its era. Also the most dangerous.
1966-12 SERE School: Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape The Navy school for which everyone keeps their completion certificate. Because under no circumstance do you want repeat it.
1967-03: The longest flight Combine poor navigation with lacking crew coordination results in an illuminated LOW FUEL light glaring alarmingly on roll out.
1967-05: Hitting the boat. What's scarier than "FCLPs"? Actually landing on the carrier.
Logbook: Rolling Thunder
Logbook: Rolling Thunder
It was unusal to receive a summons to the Wing Commander, especially for an ensign, even one nearing completion of RVAH-3 training. Half a world away, a young Naval Flight Officer decided that a future flying against the most robust air defense on the planet was no future at all, and turned in his wings. He needed to be replaced. Three days later I was winging across the Pacific to meet up with RVAH-12, embarked in USS Constellation. Thus begins this eventful period.
Chronology
Chronology
1967-06-12: Reporting June 1967
1967-0620- First Time Downtown My first flight over North Vietnam., the most highly defended airspace on planet earth.
1967-07- July July was a busy month on Yankee Station
Constellation 1967 Yankee Station Cruise A summary of the cruise
Aftermath
Aftermath
Assessment of Rolling Thunder- Half a world away, in Washington DC and elsewhere, the US Government was trying to figure out what was going wrong. Agter all, there was an election coming up! Here's one attempt at following their thought process, using recently (1990's) declassified documents.
Violent Skies- The Naval History and Heritage Command and other branches held a symposium in 2015 on the air war in Vietnam.
logbook: Mediterranean
logbook: Mediterranean
logbook: On patrol
logbook: On patrol
Following shore duty as a Staff Instructor in Naval History and World Affairs at Aviation Officer Candidate School, I left Active Duty and affiliated with a Naval Air Reserve Unit at NAS New Orleans. Thus began my part-time career as an NFO flying patrol aircraft, from 1973 to 1986.
P2 Days My first experience in patrol aviation was flying the SP2H Neptune, an aircraft as old as I was (both "designed" in 1945). I was flying as a navigator in training with VP-94 "Crayfishers" at NAS New Orleans.
Transition A move to Maryland for graduate school involved a new squadron (VP-68 "Blackhawks" at NAS Patuxent Riveer, MD) and a new airplane, the P3A/D Orion.
Back to Westpac VP-65 deployed to the western Pacific annually to relieve active duty squadrons. Some of my most memorable patrol missions took place in this envirnoment.
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