Rolling Thunder (A) - Mission 05

[beachav8r 360]

Note - In our last mission - I stated that I had switched to CrazyhorseB34's VA-75 skin, but in fact the campaign defaulted to the nice looking skin included in Homefries' and malibu's A-6 Superpak. In order to correct that, I moved the Crazyhorse VA-75 skin into the default folder so that it will load until I'm able to select my own skins (apparently you can do that once you reach a certain rank in the sim.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 
 

Our mission for today is one of the more iconic ones. The Thanh Hóa Bridge spanned the Song Ma river and was a frequent target for frustrated U.S. war planners for seven long years between 1965 and 1972. Despite having damage inflicted on it multiple times, it wasn't until 1972 that a "smart" weapon was finally able to destroy the bridge. The Vietnamese nicknamed the bridge The Dragon's Jaw...



The mission is originally tasked to have just a flight of two A-6As. Knowing the history of the bridge, I elected to add another two wingmen to improve our odds and perhaps divide the enemy fire...



All members of the flight will carry four 2,000 lb. bombs each...



CrazyhorseB34's awesome VA-75 skin - appropriate to 1965 and it has the correct carrier (CVA-62 Independence) on the side. I particularly like the humor of the "Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club" - gotta love attack pilot humor!



The second element is ready on the waist catapults...



What is really cool about SF2 missions is the amount of other stuff going on. Two other carriers are nearby launching their own aircraft in support of the strike. These F-8 Crusaders will be our CAP flight launching from the Bon Homme Richard (CV-31)...



Soon all our aircraft are launched...



The Oriskany feeds some airframes into the battle as well - A4s I believe?




F-4s launch from another carrier...



Further inland, a pair of F-100s is on another mission..



As we get closer to the coast, I radio my flight to spread out...



I have the throttle eased back hoping that the CAP flights will pull out in front of us to clear the airspace. I glance at the map (yes - a cheat I know) and see some MiGs awaiting us. I slow down further..



The F-4s start shooting, but they aren't engaging the targets I'm most worried about...



The MiGs continue to head south and I have no option but to break off the planned flight path and I try dragging them to the east toward more blue air power. The A-6A isn't the speediest demon in the world even when it doesn't have four tons of ordnance hanging off it, so we have to trade some altitude for airspeed and we drop quickly from 20,000'...



The MiGs have taken an interest in the second element and they are closing the distance. I swing us back around to the northwest, continuing to drag them like a train into some blue CAP flights. I beg on the radio for assistance...



Our continued quest for speed drives us ever lower until we can go no further..



Lion flight comes to our rescue and takes on the MiGs - that was close! We retreat back to the safety zone between the MiGs and the coast...



We complete another course reversal and I pick up another flight (Chevy) that we can duck under which should provide us some cover...



Sure enough, they cross over the top of us and start engaging the remaining MiGs.. We take the opportunity to climb back up to 15,000' to give us room to release our bombs..



A quick glance with labels confirms the primary target location and it looks like we are lined up right down the axis..





As I roll in I give a quick command to my wingman and the element to engage the target – hoping that at least one of us can get bombs on the target…



The flak is murderous and shells zip by my canopy and explode behind me as I press downward waiting for the ‘DIANE’ bomb fall reticle to pass over the bridge. I don’t know how those guys did this in real life..it is unnerving waiting for that shell that will take your wing off. Guess I can’t buy a JDAM kit in 1965 huh?



As soon as my bombs release I yank hard to the left. I complete nearly a 180 before my bombs hit sending up an enormous plume of debris – wow those 2,000 pounders really put on a show!



A span drops into the river – guess the Dragon’s Jaw isn’t quite as impervious in SF2…



I jink my way back to the coast and hit the wing leveler autopilot and take a glance at how my wingmen are doing. The element (#3 and #4) have pulled off dry with weapons still hanging from their wings. I give them the order to rejoin since I don’t want them doing anything stupid over the target area. I query the Tactical Air Controller and she verifies that the mission is accomplished, so I then order the element to drop their tanks which makes them dump their ordnance into the ocean.





The flight is spread out a bit as we come offshore but everyone is clear and there are no MiGs in the immediate vicinity. Each mission where my guys all come off the target feels like a victory unto itself..



With the wing leveler on I’m free to do some sightseeing with the F12. I watch a fascinating engagement between an F-4 and a MiG. This screen isn’t all that remarkable until you realize that isn’t the MiG launching a missile..it is a missile missing the MiG! I don’t get a chance to revisit the engagement, but I like to believe that lucky bastard got away clean and made it back to Hanoi…



I find my carrier and drop into the groove. I’m surprised to see a gaggle of F-4s on final recovering too and things get a little bit tense as I trap then have to goose the throttle to get out of the landing zone.





It is really cool to see all the other flight returning to their ships. I hope everyone made it home safely, but I know that is wishful thinking…



The mission is a success, to my great surprise. The flak was impressive but our exposure was minimal. It was historically inaccurate to have dropped the span on this mission. An interesting historical note is that C-130s actually attacked this bridge using unique 5,000 lb. “mass focus” bombs in a failed attempt to destroy the bridge in May of 1966. There is a great article about it at AirForceMag.com…



Of interest in the debrief is the 14-second bomb fall time. It begs the question whether wind affects ordnance in SF2..because I would have bet on a miss with such a high altitude drop…





Another exciting mission in the books and again, continued thanks to Homefries, malibu, Crazyhorse, Stary, and all of the other guys that made these missions possible. TK must be pretty amazed at how you guys ramped up his sim! <S>

BeachAV8R
 

[wulfhound45 13]

Excellent! 

[jeanba 1,920]

Very good account : it is a true advertising for SF2

[+Jug 99]

Chris, you be a fightn' dog.  Great mission and great showcase for WoX!!!

[+Stary 2,427]

yup, TK should post your AARs on main Thrdwire page

[Fubar512 1,350]

yup, TK should post your AARs on main Thrdwire page

While I strongly agree that he should, he most likely won't, as he seems to distance himself from anything that's modded, as of late.