For A-6 Intruder Lovers.....

[ACowboyinTexas]

O.K. ... you whiny, exhaust belching, gas-sucking, see you comin' 25 miles away, smoky Fox-4 DRIVER :tongue2_1... how 'bout THIS TANKER POSIT on the zero-dark thirty recovery when you're huffin' & puffin', low fuel state, CB's & lightening all around the area, you're severely messed up w/ vertigo, your RIO has just wet himself, and you've just BOLTERED for the 3rd time 'cause of a low dash-pot:

" ... Tanker's directly @ your 10 o'clock, slightly high, 250 KIAS, hose streamed, package is sweet, 6000 to give ... "

image by A4sForever

WHO LOVES YA', BRUDDAH ???

Popped a little tent thinkin' bout that. Completing transfer off a good hawk on a bad night was always so damn fulfilling. And if I never loved the big old girl, I sure had some times that felt like love...
True though, when people ask which was more fun, the Intruder or Hornet? I always tell 'em the Hornet was more fun to fly, but I was having more fun when I was flying the Intruder. I guess a lot of that was because of when I broke the Navy back in '91...
Happy New Years, BUFF lovers!...or likers, whatever...

 

[Catmando]

O.K. ... you whiny, exhaust belching, gas-sucking, see you comin' 25 miles away, smoky Fox-4 DRIVER :tongue2_1... how 'bout THIS TANKER POSIT on the zero-dark thirty recovery when you're huffin' & puffin', low fuel state, CB's & lightening all around the area, you're severely messed up w/ vertigo, your RIO has just wet himself, and you've just BOLTERED for the 3rd time 'cause of a low dash-pot:

" ... Tanker's directly @ your 10 o'clock, slightly high, 250 KIAS, hose streamed, package is sweet, 6000 to give ... "

image by A4sForever

WHO LOVES YA', BRUDDAH ???

True, true. It tightens the ol' sphinctor just reading that... although my dash-pot was usually good and I 'never' boltered. (OK, rarely boltered.)
Always appreciated and thanked God you guys were there when needed and under the worst circumstances........

.............but didn't the Whale have a greater "give"?

 

[A4sForever]

.............but didn't the Whale have a greater "give"?

True that ... the KA-6 had @ 10K 'to give', more in extremis or on a short cycle ... but the WHALE had more on a regular basis ... don't exactly remember how much more as the tankers never visited us, but 'more' in any case ... the only WHALEs I had any personal experience/hands on time with were the EA-3B's operated by VQ-1 dets out of Guam and CUBI.

THEY had 'noting' to give ... they just gave the AirWing shit & 'tested' everyone at the blunt end of the BOAT w/ their high zero fuel weight vs. their max trap weight.

Trivia time: one of their guys, last name of 'Otto' if I recall correctly (no relation to our Air Warriors 'Otto' ), had some kinda' record for most 'FLEET consecutive traps' ... some of them, compliments of ME wavin' HIM ... a terminal O-4, the guy was a ROCK in the groove. 'Rock' as in steady ...

You're welcome, Otto ...

 

[Catmando]

True that ... the KA-6 had @ 10K 'to give', more in extremis or on a short cycle ... but the WHALE had more on a regular basis ... don't exactly remember how much more as the tankers never visited us, but 'more' in any case ... the only WHALEs I had any personal experience/hands on time with were the EA-3B's operated by VQ-1 dets out of Guam and CUBI.

THEY had 'noting' to give ... they just gave the AirWing shit & 'tested' everyone at the blunt end of the BOAT w/ their high zero fuel weight vs. their max trap weight.

Trivia time: one of their guys, last name of 'Otto' if I recall correctly (no relation to our Air Warriors 'Otto' ), had some kinda' record for most 'FLEET consecutive traps' ... some of them, compliments of ME wavin' HIM ... a terminal O-4, the guy was a ROCK in the groove. 'Rock' as in steady ...

You're welcome, Otto ...

Any port in a storm. And when the night is black, the WX nasty, the deck pitching and maybe turning, and the EMERG-FUEL red light glares in your eyes telling you, you might only have one more chance (maybe), any tanker will do. And you thank your lucky stars that you can find it because it has a good driver!!! (Even if it is an A-7 with a buddy store, where you had to run the F-4 rudder trim all the way to the stop, and it still wasn't enough!)

Never had any experience with queer whales. But ours got kicked off the deck to be based ashore in Da Nang. While this probably had something to do with the A-3's deck-multiple, it probably had more to do with two whale incidents on our cruise.

1. We had a whale trap at night a bit right of centerline. His right wingtip went through the (unmanned, fortunately) cockpits of three of our HC-7 combat SAR helos parked starboard.

2. Don't know if it was the same guy, but we also incredibly had a whale trap gear up, unintentionally! (I met the pilot some years later in fire fighting school. I really didn't remember him from our cruise until he said, "I was the guy who trapped wheels up." Well yeah, OK, yes I remembered that! And I couldn't believe he admitted it!)
​

Never knew Otto. But those rails guys were never any fun watching, right before our "roll 'em in Ready-One. We vultures fed on night-time drama.

 

[markkyle66]

Another reason I always liked the A-6 and it's history... 'truder drivers and b/n's had some of the coolest patches around.

 

[HeyJoe]

The lesson: NEVER turn your back on a B/N ... or their modern day counterpart.

Hmm, guess that's why they designed it to be side by side seating instead of a tandem configuration with B/N always behind your back?

 

[A4sForever]

Hmm, guess that's why they designed it to be side by side seating instead of a tandem configuration with B/N always behind your back?

GOOD CALL, 'HJoe' ..... !!!!

Plus, w/ side-saddle seating, the B/N could set up the nav table for our late night cookies & hot chocolate (which he carried) and ... when we got scared -- we could hold hands until the moment passed .... much mo' bettah' arrangement !!

 

[markkyle66]

GOOD CALL, 'HJoe' ..... !!!!

Plus, w/ side-saddle seating, the B/N could set up the nav table for our late night cookies & hot chocolate (which he carried) and ... when we got scared -- we could hold hands until the moment passed .... much mo' bettah' arrangement !!

Don't forget about BBQ'd Camels!

 

[Catmando]

Never flew the lamb chop, pork chop, drumstick, or whatever you attack guys called it. But this painting I gotta love. And respect the guys in the cockpit. It captures a moment!

Image courtesy of Pete Wenman with related comment as to the action.

 

[A4sForever]

.

That's how you do it --- smooth roll-in -- upside down -- over on you back -- no matter what the load ... that's how you put the 'pipper' on the 'bull' ... and after you do it a few times, you join that 'church' and become a believer' ...

And ... if you want to get 'HITS' and not have to go back later in the week ... you do 'it' as the painting depicts.

Confirmation??? Please check posts #36 & #38 on this thead for confirmation ...

 

[Alpha_Echo_606]

Got this off of the Marines photo page today.

Photo courtesy of VMFA(AW)-242
Marine All-Weather Attack Squadron 242 A-6AE Intruders fly through the air. During the Vietnam War, Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242 was known as the VMA(AW)-242 Batmen. At the end of the war, VMA(AW)-242 was recorded as having logged 16,783 combat sorties and delivering 85, 990 tons of ordnance.

 

[Catmando]

Recollections of an A-6 driver of his mission during the early days - ah, better make that nights - of Linebacker II, better known as the Christmas bombings 40 years ago.

200 ft. AGL at night? No sir, not me!

A really personal, worthwhile read!
http://rememberedsky.com/?p=585#more-585

 

[KBayDog]

200 ft. AGL at night? No sir, not me!

Me either - who the hell would want to fly that high?

 

[Pugs]

Recollections of an A-6 driver of his mission during the early days - ah, better make that nights - of Linebacker II, better known as the Christmas bombings 40 years ago.

200 ft. AGL at night? No sir, not me!

A really personal, worthwhile read!
http://rememberedsky.com/?p=585#more-585

Balls - big ones. So wanted Intruders - last class of FY-88 - Top guy A-6's East - yea, the rest of you (13 of us) ? You're all going Prowlers we gotta fill a RAG class.

 

[Fog]

rememberedsky.com - what a great read. This was what Naval Aviation was all about, and I hope still is. While over in the AF, generals who probably hadn't flown missions since Korea were dictating the same ol' flight routes & altitudes for their B-52 crews.