“TOP GUN”

During the Korean Conflict US warplanes dogfought MiG-15s, with the superior American jets and well-trained US pilots scoring kill ratios as high as 12:1.  But by the Vietnam War two decades later, Communist aircraft technology had improved.  The North Vietnamese employed more advanced MiG-17s and MiG-21s.  Over the same period, American air-to-air defenses grew dependent on the missile.  US planners envisioned the future of air combat to be one of long-range missile strikes against an unsuspecting target.  Pilots were not trained in close maneuver gunfighting, in fact some US fighter aircraft did not even mount machine guns.  The effectiveness of American pilots began to decline.

The issue of kill ratio came to a head for the Navy in 1968.  The heavy bombing offensive in Vietnam in 1967-68 brought frequent MiG encounters, and Air Force pilots enjoyed better success than their Navy counterparts.  During the first half of 1967 Air Force pilots accounted for 46 MiG downings.  This was particularly notable in view of the fact that Air Force F-4s and F-105 “Thunderchiefs” were only free to pursue MiGs after they had “pushed through” their bombing runs.  Air Force pilots were so successful at sweeping enemy fighters that LGEN William Momyer, in command of the 7th Air Force, was prompted to declare to a Senate committee that, “we have driven the MiGs out of the sky for all practical purposes.”  During the same period, Navy F-8 “Crusaders” (and an A-4) accounted for only 12 MiGs.  By the end of 1968 the Navy’s kill ratio had dropped to 2:1.

The reason for the disparity was multi-factorial, but the Naval command was sufficiently alarmed to demand action.  In 1968, CAPT Frank W. Ault, a former “air boss” aboard CORAL SEA (CVA-43), was directed to investigate the matter.  Honest without regard for his career, his study became famously known as the “Ault Report.”  It criticized reliance on stand-off missiles, stressing the need to train pilots in “old fashioned” visual-maneuver dogfighting.

Officially titled U.S. Navy Postgraduate Course in Fighter Weapons Tactics and Doctrine, “Top Gun” enrolled its first class on this day in 1969.  Initially formulated as part of the Pacific Fleet’s F-4 training squadron, VF-121, successful Vietnam air veterans were recruited to instruct.  They flew highly maneuverable A-4s and F-5s in simulated aggressor roles.  By 1972 “Top Gun” graduates had reached the Fleet in significant numbers.  And with President Nixon’s escalation of the air war that year, the Navy’s kill ratio climbed to 12:1.  Originally formulated at NAS Miramar in San Diego, “Top Gun” was relocated to NAS Fallon, Nevada, in 1997 as part of the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center.

Watch for more “Today in Naval History”  8 MAR 25

CAPT James Bloom, Ret.

Cunningham, Randy and Jeff Ethell.  Fox Two:  The Story of America’s First Ace in Vietnam.  Mesa, AZ:  Champlin Fighter Museum, 1984, pp. 133-36.

Mersky, Peter B. and Norman Polmar.  The Naval Air War in Vietnam.  Annapolis, MD: Nautical & Aviation Pub., 1981, pp. 105-06.

Site visit.  NAS Miramar, San Diego, CA, 12 January 1997.

Wilcox, Robert K.  Scream of Eagles: The Creation of Top Gun–and the U.S. Air Victory in Vietnam.  New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1990.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  The nickname “Top Gun” dates to 1959 when it was used in signage for the last annual USN/USMC Air Weapons competition at MCAAS Yuma.  What had been a yearly event was dropped in 1960 as a cost-cutting move.  “Top Gun” was fashioned after the Air Force DACT program.  “DACT” was an acronym for Dissimilar Air Combat Training, a reference to the use of aggressor aircraft that were dissimilar to the training aircraft.

The first “aces” of the Vietnam War were graduates of “Top Gun.”  LT Randall Cunningham and his RIO LTJG William Driscoll reached Vietnam after having flown over 200 simulated dogfights during their “Top Gun” training.  They scored their fifth kill in May 1972.

Throughout the Vietnam conflict Navy and Marine Corps aircraft flew 10% more missions than did the Air Force–55,000 in total. 

The post “Top Gun” appeared first on Today in Naval History.

                                   CUNNINGHAM vs. “COL TOMB”

The title of “ace” has never been officially recognized by the US military.  It originated in the French air force of WWI for whom it was a formal honor conferred on pilots downing five enemy aircraft.  When LT David S. Ingalls, USN, scored his fifth kill from his Sopwith Camel on 24 September 1918, he became our first unofficial “ace.”  Our Navy’s most successful “ace” was CDR David McCampbell, flying an F6F Hellcat in the Pacific in WWII, credited with 34 enemy kills.  Today marks the first American “aces” of the Vietnam Conflict, a Navy F-4J pilot and radar intercept officer.

During the renewed bombing campaign against North Vietnam of 1972, the pilots of the VF-96 “Fighting Falcons” aboard CONSTELLATION (CVA-64) found themselves engaging enemy MiGs.  On 19 January 1972, LT Randall H. “Duke” Cunningham and his RIO, LTJG William P. “Irish” Driscoll, scored a kill, a MiG-21.  Four months later increasing North Vietnamese Air Force activity provided Cunningham and Driscoll their 2^nd kill, a MiG-17, on May 8^th.

On the morning of May 10^th, the pair took off to escort an A-6/A-7 strike against the rail yards at Hai Duong.  After dropping ordnance on a storage building, Cunningham climbed to engage the estimated 22 MiGs that rose in defense.  They downed their first of that day when Cunningham turned sharply to chase two MiG-17s off his wingman’s tail.  Then, noticing another Phantom with three enemy in pursuit, Cunningham turned again.  Another Sidewinder splashed one of these.  Four enemy planes now descended on his F-4, and “Duke” turned for the coast on afterburners.

On the way out they spotted a camouflaged MiG-17 against the canopy below.  Cunningham engaged, endeavoring to bring the F-4s horsepower advantage to bear.  But neither American expected the spectacular aerial dance that ensued!  Repeatedly, Cunningham strained for position over this unusually skilled opponent.  The jets traded loops, rolling scissors, and sharp turns, and each gained and lost the advantage several times.  This cagy dogfighter proved elusive until, nearly out of fuel, he broke head-first toward the ground to escape.  Cunningham wasn’t sure his heat-seeking Sidewinders could pick up his opponent against the jungle below but fired anyway.  The missile crawled up the enemy’s tailpipe, and the MiG impacted the ground at a 45^o angle.  Though his true identity has never been established, rumor holds that the last opponent this day was the infamous “Colonel Tomb,” North Vietnam’s top ace and national hero, with an unconfirmed 13 US aircraft downings to his credit.  Cunningham and Driscoll both received the Navy Cross.  They are our only Navy “aces” of the Vietnam war and, as well, our most recent “aces.”

Watch for more “Today in Naval History”  15 MAY 22

CAPT James Bloom, Ret.

Cunningham, Randy and Jeff Ethell.  Fox Two:  The Story of America’s First Ace in Vietnam.  Mesa, AZ: Champlin Fighter Museum, 1984, 98-113.

Foss, Joe and Matthew Brennan.  Top Guns.  New York, NY: Pocket Books, 1991, pp. 409-44.

Mersky, Peter B. and Norman Polmar.  The Naval Air War in Vietnam.  Annapolis, MD: Nautical and Aviation Pub., 1981, pp. 186-90.

Site visit, San Diego Air & Space Museum, San Diego, CA, 12 May 1992.

Stevens, Paul Drew.  The Navy Cross Vietnam:  Citations of Awards to Men of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps 1964-1973.  Forest Ranch, CA: Sharp and Dunnigan, 1987, pp. 82, 102.

Sweetman, Jack.  American Naval History: An Illustrated Chronology of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, 1775-Present, 2^nd ed.  Annapolis, MD: USNI Press, 1991, pp. 263-64.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:  For years the enclosed central courtyard of the San Diego Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park displayed a mock-up of this aerial duel.  “MiG” is a western acronym for the Mikoyan Aircraft Corporation, named for its founder.  The American military adopted codenames for all Russian aircraft; names beginning with “F” were given to fighters, names beginning with “B” for bombers.  In US circles the MiG-17 is the “Fresco” and the MiG-21 the “Fishbed.”

Though the exemplary deeds of our Naval heroes inspire admiration, our heroes are, after all, only human.  Following his 21-year Navy career, Cunningham served for 15 years in Congress as the Federal Representative from the 51^st District of northern San Diego County, California.  He resigned his seat abruptly in 2005, however, after pleading guilty to charges of bribery and corruption.  He paid $1.8 million in restitution and served his entire 8-year term in the federal penitentiary in Tucson.  He was released in 2013 and was granted a conditional pardon by President Donald Trump.

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