Long Odds

Dogfights: Long Odds (01/12/07) wikipedia

long_odds.zip

All scenarios in one zip file (updated 3/28/08)

thorsne1.btl

This scenario is depicted in the History Channel series Dogfights! episode "Long Odds"

Medal of Honor Mission part 2

After F-105 pilot Leo K. Thorsness had destroyed at least one SAM site and destroyed a MiG-17 earlier in this Wild Weasel strike mission (as described in Thorsne1.btl), he escaped the area to refuel, and then returned to the location of the crew of a F-105 that had been downed earlier in the mission to assist with search and rescue efforts.

Excerpted from wikipedia article about the Medal of Honor mission of Leo K. Thorsness April 19, 1967--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_K._Thorsness:

"The initial element of the rescue force--a pair of A-1E Sandies--arrived to locate the position of the downed crewmen before calling in the waiting HH-53 Jolly Green helicopters orbiting at a holding point over Laos. Thorsness, with only 500 rounds of ammunition left, turned back from the tanker to fly RESCAP for the Sandies and update them on the situation and terrain. As Thorsness approached the area, briefing the Sandies, he spotted MiG-17s in a wagon wheel orbit around him and attacked, probably destroying another that flew across his path.

He commented:[7]

'One of the MiGs flew right into my gunsight at about 2000 feet (range). I pulled the trigger and saw pieces start falling off the aircraft. They hadn't seen us, but they did now! Johnson shouted at me that we had four more MiGs on our tail and they were closing fast. I dropped down on the deck, sometimes as low as fifty feet, hit the burner, and twisted through the hills and valleys trying to lose them.'

Pairs of MiGs attacked each propeller-driven Sandy as it came out of its turn in search orbit, shooting down the leader (Captain John S. Hamilton) with cannon fire when he failed to heed warnings from Sandy 02 to break into the attack, and forced the wingman into a series of repeated evasive turns.[4] Sandy 02 reported the situation and Thorsness advised him to keep turning and announced his return.

Although all of his ammunition had been depleted, Thorsness reversed and flew back to the scene, hoping in some way to draw the MiGs away from the surviving A-1. However as he re-engaged, Panda flight from the 355th TFW strike force arrived back in the area.[8] It had dropped its ordnance on the target and was enroute to its post-strike aerial refueling when Kingfish 02 went down. Panda had jettisoned its wing tanks, making the rescue radar controller reluctant to use it to CAP the rescue effort, but it filled its internal tanks and returned to North Vietnam at high altitude to conserve fuel.

Panda's four F-105s burst through the defensive circle at high speed, then engaged the MiGs in a turning dogfight, permitting Kingfish 01 to depart the area after a 50-minute engagement against SAMs, antiaircraft guns, and MiGs. Panda 01 (Capt. William E. Askew) shot down a MiG, during which the surviving Sandy escaped, and he and his wingman Panda 02 (Capt. Paul A. Seymour) each damaged one of the others. Two other MiGs were shot down a third F-105 strike flight while still in the target area, Nitro 01 (Major Jack L. Hunt) and Nitro 03 (Major Theodore G. "Ted" Tolman), in another of the 17 MiG engagements on this mission."

This scenario picks up at the point when Thorsness first realized that he had entered the center of the MiGs defensive wheel formation!

This is a cannons only fight, so be patient and maneuver carefully!

thorsne2.btl

This scenario is depicted in the History Channel series Dogfights! episode "Long Odds"

Medal of Honor Mission part 2

After F-105 pilot Leo K. Thorsness had destroyed at least one SAM site and destroyed a MiG-17 earlier in this Wild Weasel strike mission (as described in Thorsne1.btl), he escaped the area to refuel, and then returned to the location of the crew of a F-105 that had been downed earlier in the mission to assist with search and rescue efforts.

Excerpted from wikipedia article about the Medal of Honor mission of Leo K. Thorsness April 19, 1967--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_K._Thorsness:

"The initial element of the rescue force--a pair of A-1E Sandies--arrived to locate the position of the downed crewmen before calling in the waiting HH-53 Jolly Green helicopters orbiting at a holding point over Laos. Thorsness, with only 500 rounds of ammunition left, turned back from the tanker to fly RESCAP for the Sandies and update them on the situation and terrain. As Thorsness approached the area, briefing the Sandies, he spotted MiG-17s in a wagon wheel orbit around him and attacked, probably destroying another that flew across his path.

He commented:[7]

'One of the MiGs flew right into my gunsight at about 2000 feet (range). I pulled the trigger and saw pieces start falling off the aircraft. They hadn't seen us, but they did now! Johnson shouted at me that we had four more MiGs on our tail and they were closing fast. I dropped down on the deck, sometimes as low as fifty feet, hit the burner, and twisted through the hills and valleys trying to lose them.'

Pairs of MiGs attacked each propeller-driven Sandy as it came out of its turn in search orbit, shooting down the leader (Captain John S. Hamilton) with cannon fire when he failed to heed warnings from Sandy 02 to break into the attack, and forced the wingman into a series of repeated evasive turns.[4] Sandy 02 reported the situation and Thorsness advised him to keep turning and announced his return.

Although all of his ammunition had been depleted, Thorsness reversed and flew back to the scene, hoping in some way to draw the MiGs away from the surviving A-1. However as he re-engaged, Panda flight from the 355th TFW strike force arrived back in the area.[8] It had dropped its ordnance on the target and was enroute to its post-strike aerial refueling when Kingfish 02 went down. Panda had jettisoned its wing tanks, making the rescue radar controller reluctant to use it to CAP the rescue effort, but it filled its internal tanks and returned to North Vietnam at high altitude to conserve fuel.

Panda's four F-105s burst through the defensive circle at high speed, then engaged the MiGs in a turning dogfight, permitting Kingfish 01 to depart the area after a 50-minute engagement against SAMs, antiaircraft guns, and MiGs. Panda 01 (Capt. William E. Askew) shot down a MiG, during which the surviving Sandy escaped, and he and his wingman Panda 02 (Capt. Paul A. Seymour) each damaged one of the others. Two other MiGs were shot down a third F-105 strike flight while still in the target area, Nitro 01 (Major Jack L. Hunt) and Nitro 03 (Major Theodore G. "Ted" Tolman), in another of the 17 MiG engagements on this mission."

This scenario picks up at the point when Thorsness first realized that he had entered the center of the MiGs defensive wheel formation!

This is a cannons only fight, so be patient and maneuver carefully!