Lt. James Cater

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/17328-clipboard-e7jpg/ 23SEPT79 A milk run! We decided to be sneaky and went north at 20,000ft before turning east towards the IP. It worked, since there was some intense action on the direct route. We criused at such a leisurely rate that by the time we got to the IP, both sides had broken off and were headed home. We made a usual attack and only drew meager ground fire right at the target. Piece of cake!

Wow! That kind of luck is just unreal. also, it's amazing about all those MIG19s being shot down as encountering them has always been a bit of a terror for me. They are that good at dogfighting.

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/17309-clipboard-e6jpg/ 22SEPT79 A really short mission, We were on for CAS so we had CAPT Maddison/1LT Gateway along with us. nothing fancy, we just took off and headed for the target area at 5,000ft. It was about 70 miles away and by the time we got to within 30 a sizable fight was going on to the north and east of it. We were happy as it meant we should be able to sneak in, bomb, and run away. What happened was that as we dropped, a pair of MIG21s bounced us from 7 high but we saw them coming and so were able to break into them as soon as all CBUs were on the way. One thing i could see in the mirrors as we hit burners pulling hard, was a stream of tracers. Judging from the intensity it must have been a pair of Shilkas but at the moment, they were the least of our worries. As it turns out, the AAA probaly helped. The MIG tryng to get us would have gotten zapped from the fire if he tried to come in right behind us so he straightened up and went after Maddisson, who i just ordered to run for it. He made a feeble turn and so the Mig was right on him and fired a missle. Maddison dropped flares that decoyed the missle and luckily, some Brit F4s came into the area from the NW and distracted the MIG driver. As i was pulling around towards our egress route i pulled up towards Maddison and saw the MIG that was on his 6 begining to face the oncoming F-4. That allowed me to get the sight on him and fire a Lima. Scratch one MIG21! On the way out we fired the other Lima at an SU17 but were out of practical range. We then went full burner and exited the area even as the battle continued. Ivan paid hard today. We only know of two friendlies that were lost but at least a dozen of the enemy were shot down in the vicinity of the city.

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/17308-clipboard-e5jpg/ 21SEPT79 By now we have a certain method. Take off, climb to altitude and fly the spot in the enemy defenses where they seem vunerable to a single aircraft slipping through. All the while keeping an eye on the RHAW and the fuel gauge. This time we went north again. Straight up until we were over the coast then a slight northeast long leg to the IP. There is plenty of action going on over the front but we are rather safe as there is a wall of fighters protecting the high value asssets and covering for the CAS sorties. As we cross over the Jutland, we begin getting set for the IP miles ahead. From the IP to the target is nothing fancy. We turn south and dive to right over the waves. As long as no fighters show up we will reach the pop up point with only the risk of flying over an alert AAA position. 30 miles out. Full military power and Tommy gives me the setup. By now we know there are radars out there looking at us. Hard to stay concealed in these flatlands so speed will ahve to do. Finally we are at the point and we pull up hard to our attack altitude. Even though we do it at 5 miles out this time, we are tracked and locked almost instantly. Just as quick is our reaction to their launching. ECM on, chaff pumped three times, micropause, three more times. An explosion behind us and we know it missed. Ordnance away and another SAM is up, repeat chaff deployment and back to just over the trees. As we abruptly plummet, lock is broken and the second SAM explodes harmlessly at 6 high. As we turn to the southwest and hit full burners, we can see at 9 Oclock the smoke trails leading back to the launch site. We do our customary 20 miles at mach+ just in case and settle down for our run to the front. Planning was perfect and we have no problems whatsoever on the egress. Finally back over the lines, back to altitude and the flight home.

I've read "When Thunder Rolled" many times and that scene was something else. We could have turned south and within 20 miles found some aircraft that were most likely low on fuel,out of ammo, and completly unprepared for us coming in fast on their 6. Don't let the F in front of the 111 fool you when you fly it. It's not a fighter by any stretch of the imagination.

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/17303-clipboard-e4jpg/ http://combatace.com/gallery/image/17304-img00714jpg/ http://combatace.com/gallery/image/17305-img00717jpg/ http://combatace.com/gallery/image/17306-img00719jpg/ 20SEPT79 Another deja vu feeling. Back to a target that i hit in 1962! This one was going to be a bit tricky since it was right smack in the center of enemy territory, that guaranteed fighters and SAMs for sure on a direct route. So we decided to come in through a side door. We decided to fly "The Woods". Done right, it would get let us come right up to the target from the south. With the majority of their defenses concentrated to the west, there should be a gap down there. It worked like a charm. However, our navigation was a bit off and twice we had to dog leg further south in order to get right over the proper line. We had perfect weather and we took off and climbed to 25,000ft. As we headed east, we had many calls from control. It seems Ivan was up in force and though most of them were well north of us, something seemed to be heading our way. So it was a matter of getting to the front before they found us. It was our faulty navigation that helped. Something out there at 11 O'clock was tracking us and they were closing in. At the right moment, we turned a bit to the right and went for the deck. Once down there we went full power and doglegged one more time until we were satisfied, then throttled back and settled down. The rest of this part of the mission was quite nice. Apparently, this is like a near perfect highway right into their backyard. At the IP, we turned north and went full power once again. Due to the target location, it would be a pretty long approach and to be honest, our biggest worry was having a fighter patrolling over our route. It was a very tense time as as we closed to within 30 miles, Tommy gave me the heads up and got set. We were green and commited to the attack. Despite flying as low as possible, the terrain couldn't really hide us and as we went to attack altitude 8 miles out, we got radar activity in an instant. 2 miles out and a SAM was on the way from 9 O'clock! DAMNDAMNDAMNDAMN!!!!!!! Chaffflarechaffflarechaffflare and ECM from standby to on. An explosion behind us and we are at release point. 24 Snakeyes on the way and another SAM is coming up! More chaff and flares as we dive for the trees. That does the trick as they lose track and we go full burner as we turn onto our getaway route to the northeast. Having done enough time in the weeds at high speed,we knew that 20 miles would more or less rid us of any serious pursuit. Other than a Thud, nothing else is as fast down on the deck as a Vark is. As we got to within 10 miles of the front, we knew nothing was going to catch us so up to altitude we went and turned for home. We knew full well that Soviet flights were also on their way back east to the south of us and we had 2 Limas. We had a quick discussion and nixed any consideration of going hunting. We burned a lot of fuel but we still had a comfortable amount at touchdown. Gives thoughts of how out of the way we can make our routes now.

When the Vark is over enemy territory, I try not to go over 500ft if i can help it. It uses up a lot of fuel and takes a lot of concentration but is the only way to to stay alive and get the mission accomplished.

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/17299-clipboard-e2jpg/ http://combatace.com/gallery/image/17300-clipboard-e3jpg/ http://combatace.com/gallery/image/17301-img00710jpg/ 18/19SEPT79 The more things change the more they stay the same. MAJOR Tommy DeComp and i are back again. We went on the usual different paths on follows in the Air Force it was a hell of a thing that both of us ended up being F-111 qualified. Needless to say, once i found out that he was available strings were pulled and we were a team again. Not only that, we were were back in Bitburg! Kickoff was a CAS mission. It was a complete mess since were were intercepted by some MIGsabout 20 miles short of the target area. Luckily we avoided the first attacks but our wingman could hack it so had to jettison his bombs. Earlier, i had a technical fault and lost half of my CBUs. The remaining ordnance was ineffective and the enemy rolled on. By this time, some Dutch F-16s were overhead and a nice fight broke out. As we turned to exit the area we found a MIG23 at 10 high not too far away from us and since we had a pair of the new 9Ls with us we pulled hard in his direction and it was just like the old days. A strong growl, a pull of the trigger and we had a kill! A few minutes later we were on our way out and fired at another MIG but a Dutchman got him first. On the 19th was a hell of a mission. To make it brief, we took off alone and climbed up to 30,000, turning to head for the Jutland, which was a navigation point for us. We then headed east over the Baltic until we reached the IP and went down to right over the waves. Everything was fine until the pop up point 10 miles from the target as we were being tracked by a Straight Flush. Just as we fired the ordnance (24 Snakeyes) we got locked and Tommy yelled out about a SAM from 3 level. We already had the ECM going so we pumped out a combination of chaff and flares while diving back to the deck from our attack altitude of 1,000ft. The SAM guided onto the chaff and exploded behind us. In the meantime we broke lock and headed out of the area at full burner. About 20 miles later we turned southwest and began the long leg back towards the front. The trip was somewhat nerve racking knowing that we were going to have to fly right under a number of Soviet aircraft returning from their missions over NATO territory. At one point we had visual on some SU15s at about 15,000ft right over us and a little later some MIG21s at 10,000 a few miles north. Seeing as we are still alive, they probaly never saw us. Anyways, we were on our way out at top speed so we would have made a hard target to engage as they were probaly low on fuel to begin with. Finally we got back to the front, climbed and flew the last leg back to base. The way things are now, flying THUDS was a walk in the park and dueling with MIGs in an F-4 a mere diversion.

CAS requires timing as to avoid coming into an area with no friendly fighters. Those i can still handle I'll disregard SEAD for a while to see if we get supplied with the needed weapons. The strike missions also take a very long time do the the routes involved. Going straight in at a target is near suicidal and even egressing requires some thought so one can pick a way through the defenses.

I'm having a bit of a problem. Flowers and DeComp have flown two missions in a F-111d but the roles and equipment given are a dead end as well as having a wingman at treetop level, which is amateur hour as the AI can't possibly fly low enough to use terrain and so pop up frequently and expose themselves like a flare to enemy radars. The F-111D is tasked with Strike, Sead and Tacair. Sead is a sick joke as one never knows what the targets are until you get in the area and you only have CBUs in SAM heavy territory. They are also virtually impossible to do single handed as the AI can't even handle an approach to the target area. CAS is touch and go and Strike is a whole experience unto itself involving going deep into enemy territory by a single aircraft. Alone and unsupported, relying on planning, wits, and just plain guts to get the bombs on target and getting out alive. F-111s were the primary deep threat for the USAF in Europe and in light of that, i'm asking if i can forgo the SEAD missions in favor of the more proper Strikes and to a lesser extent, CAS.

Cocas, a bit of hard learned advice. On CAPs,Intercepts,and Sweeps bring at least two Flights. Preferably the entire squadron. Anything short of an F-15 is in critical danger with only a single Flight as you will be badly outnumbered in trying to get the primaries as well as the escorts. Welcome to DiD!

Nice work Cliff, Whenever you find B-57s you have hit the jackpot. They really remind me of the Fairy Battle, as they are hacked down with ease. I did an escort mission in WOV a long time ago and saw 10 of 12 get shot down by SAMs and AAA. If you are on an intercept and B-57s are the primary target, have your wingman go after them while you occupy the escorts. A variation is to come in fast from 6 high and get a kill, give your wingman a target, then go after the escorts. The only time you have to worry about escorts if is they are Sabres. Don't let anyone get low and slow with them. Get the primaries and run for home. Dogfighting with Sabres is a losing proposition as they might not be fast, but can outturn anything in the air and have enough ammunition to keep firing for a long time compared to a MIG. Intercepting the F-105 will be your biggest difficulty as they have a very high cruise speed. If you don't find them promptly, a tail chase costs you a lot of fuel since they are after all, designed for low level high speed and the MIG19 is not. I flew them using an 18,000-20,000 approach and from the IP past the target was a straight line sometimes 60 miles long. 20 miles out, nose down. From 10 miles the actual attack is begun. Escape was full burner at 1000 to 5,000ft at Mach 1.2 From nose down to egress it was impossible for anything other than a MIG21 to intercept unless they had the luck of the gods. The adventures of Edwin Flowers countinue. He is back in action and already has two missions completed.

http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16914-clipboard-d12jpg/ http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16915-clipboard-d13jpg/ http://combatace.com/gallery/image/16916-clipboard-d22jpg/ 30AUG68 Short but sharp! A fast climbing turn after takeoff to 20,000ft in the direction of the front. We now they are coming and the weather is absolutly perfect. From the time the radar is set we are tracking the enemy. As soon as A flight is all up to altitude, we go to full burner towards the contacts. As we close in we can see one heck of a setup. We have bogies coming in from 11 low and 1 level. Concentrate on one and the other gets you while your attention is distracted. Against a gunfighter it would work like a charm. We turn towards the high contact, locked it and fired an AIM7 at about 8 miles. We were head on and the missle came off and guided like a champ, finally culminating in a large fireball. Seconds after that, a MIG19 came up from 9 low and the fight was on. Tuna flight was also in the area and and promptly nailed a MIG17 near a chute so that provided identity of the kill as well as taking care of the threat as we engaged the MIG19s. Got to give those guys credit, despite being in a defensive position one of them turned the tables nicely and CAPT Abbott had a big problem. I quickly went to help and starting from 14,000ft two F-4s and a MIG19 spiraled down to just over the trees. A few times he rolled hard and only use of the brakes prevented an overshoot where he would have had a clay pigeon to shoot at. All things eventually have to go back up and as Abbott pulled high and right the MIG was right behind him firing and i was about 150 yards back having the best gun setup i've ever done. A slight lead, a short burst and the MIG was done for. DeComp told me that our altitude was 750 ft! There was some activity going about 15 miles to the north so we climbed fast to check it out as we finished what we came to do. an aircraft flew by and i saw it was a MIG17, then another. Forget about it we're getting out of here, so everyone went full throttle and pointed to the earth. Damned if we didn't have some persistent buggers again. They were chasing us even as were were full burner at 5,000ft so we climbed the mountain, zooming up and holding full throttle until 30,000ft. It worked a lot quicker than the last time. The MIG drivers knew they couldn't get us once up there so they soon turned away. Dive and back to base. Flowers- MIG17,MIG19 Null-MIG17 Day-MIG19 And that's how it ends. The dreaded WOE campaign bug prevents further missions. Since the Reds had already run out of steam it's probaly better for everyone this way. The 22nd Tactical fighter Squadron suffered exactly 50% casualties. In doing so they produced 6 Aces LT COL Edwin Flowers-20 MAJ Sammy Null-8 CAPT Richard Abbott-8 CAPT Walter Olmstead-7 2LT Stephen Davis-7 2LT Paul Swendner-7 Everyone in the squadron did their part in the fighting. If not for the disapointing performance of the equipment, many more would have gotten the coveted ACE status. Steadfast wingmen such as 1LT Merlyn Squire and 2LT Lyle Osbourne. Many, many thanks to all our great backseaters, especially my man CAPT Tommy DeComp. RIP 1LT Robert Lafferty RIP 1LT Edwin Shields RIP 1LT Merlyn Moore RIP 2LT Barton Fleenor RIP 2LT Paul Swendner RIP 2LT Lance Couch Godspeed to CAPT Olmstead, who is listed as MIA. Godspeed also to 1LT Merlyn Moore and 2LT Alfred Ritchie, who were wounded in action and had to be evacuated. So let's see what happens next. To quote something i read a while ago "If war is too important to be left to the generals, peace is too important to be left to the politicians)