European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 11, 1967, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 8 the stars and stripes monday september 11, 1967 fm05 v pilots learning to Admire thuds by Peter o Lougi Ilin Bangkok. Thailand a pills used 1o Call the Needle nosed f105 thunderchief fighter bomber the thud the Lead sled and some other names were not so polite. Designed As a nuclear Bombe that would get in and get out fast it was plagued at the Start with troubles that made it an in popular plane in lie . Air Force. Lately the thud Lias re deemed its reputation through its role As the main strike air Craft of the Vietnam air War. It s the Best weapons system flying for the Job we re doing says it. Col. Harry w. Schurr,39, of Indiana pa., an f105 Squadron commander who has flown 60 missions Over North Vietnam from his base at Korat in Northeast Thailand. It had its troubles to begin with but they ironed them out. It s the most stable weapons platform be Ever the Job the thud is required to do is one of the most danger Ous and controversial of the War. Day and night the camouflaged aircraft Roar off from two big bases in Thailand to hit tar gets in North Vietnam. Experienced world War ii and korean War pilots say the tar gets Are protected by the bes antiaircraft defences Ever encountered. The flak at Pyongyang could t hold a Candle to the stuff they throw up at us Over the North said Schurr who flew f86s in get it for 10 Miles on the Way in and 10 Miles on the layout. It comes at All heavy stuff is Black the Light stuff is White and they have Little coloured sparklers like fireworks. It does t matter which Kin hits you you sparkle. And then there Are the Sam Sand the Schurr commander of the469th tactical fighter so of the 388th tactical fighter Wing at Korat knows from experience that the thud can handle themis. His Squadron with More than20,000 hours Over the North bagged three of the first six migs downed by Korat based Don t go looking for migs. Our Job is to get the bombs on target. If we can get a Mig on the Way out that s f4c phantom and f102 Delta Dagger fighters from the thai bases at adorn and Ubol Fly cover to Ward off migs the f105 pilots hurl their planes Down through antiaircraft fire indie bombing attacks on targets As diverse As Bridges Railroad tracks Barracks and truck con Voys. The floss have hit targets As close As 10 Miles to the chinese order and bombed and strafed the to Chi Minh Trail which carries men and supplies fro North Vietnam through Laos to the communist armies in the South. The losses have been the air War started feb. 7, 1965, the air Force has lost More than half of its original Force of818 floss. More than 300 of them have been shot Down Over North Viet Nam. Others were lost Over the South or in other incidents re lated to the War. The losses total about $1 Bil lion. Less than 400 f105s remain in service and no More Are being manufactured. The first f105 flew in october1955. The plane was not designed to do the Job it is doing now but pilots say it is the fastest plan for Low level dive bombing in the world. It carries a 12,000-Poundbomb Load. At High altitudes it can hit speeds better than 1,400 Milesian hour. Equipped with the sidewinder air to air missiles it is a match for the migs. We be got some advantages and the migs have some advantages says Schurr. But our advantages Are better. Pilot flying other types of aircraft used to look Down and sneer atthe f105. Today when they say Here come the thuds they say it with chaplain lived died As a Marine by John Lengel que son Vietnam a courageous chaplain who stayed with his embattled Marine com Pany rather than take cover during an intense fight was killed As he moved about Thefield giving last rites to wounded americans. The chaplain was Navy it. Vincent Robert Capodanno 38,a former roman Catholic missionary and native of new York City. Was a Marine he was More a Marine than anything else. He believed in going into the Field with the grunts infantrymen said chaplain it Eli Takesian of Boston mass. Wherever the marines Are father Capodanno is there in the water or in mud up to his Knees said a Marine who knew Capodanno had been assigned to the 3rd Battal Ion of the 5th . Marine regi ment three weeks when it found itself in a stiff fight in the que son Valley 30 Miles South of Danang. Unit surrounded Capodanno started out wit Mike company far removed from the relative Security of the battalion commander s group. North vietnamese army regu Lars nearly surrounded the com Pany late in the , Takesian said was pinned Down in a Shell Cra Ter with the company commander his radioman and a wounded Takesian said could be heard screaming dying beyond the Crater s , the medic jumped out of the Crater and ran came Capodanno wearing a went among the wounded and dead soothing praying and administering last rites. Lifeline relocated Nha Trang Vietnam Spe Cial the 310th air commando so sometimes referred to As the lifeline of the Green berets has moved its base of operation from Nha Trang to Phan rang air base. Success first it. John e. Hamner watches Salvage Crews Hook a 50-ton Crane to the f102 Delta Dagger he brought to successful emergency Landing at Bien Hoa a. The nose gear would not lower and Hamner was forced to crash land. Camp instant9 butt for instant reprisals by Edwin q. White associated press writer Kinh Xang canal Viet Nam Athey Haven t named it yet but it could be called Camp instant. Almost overnight troops of the . 199th Light infantry brigade and army helicopter Crews have put up a semipermanent base Camp in this area 15 Miles West of Saigon. Manned by a combined combat team of 199th soldiers and South Viet namese rangers the base willbe a Hub for running patrols and ambushes aimed at knocking out Viet Cong attacks against Saigon and the nearby Tan son Nhut air base. The 199th brigade has been assigned to working the perimeter around Saigon since its arrival late last year and now i conducting an intensive integration Campaign of operations with South vietnamese troops. The building of the base Camp Here at the intersection of a River and a major canal both named Kinh Xang began after a combined Force swept into the area Long considered Viet con territory. The Allied troops met Little resistance and the build ing of the Camp began. Before the Clearing operation started 26 wooden bunkers were built and 84,000 sandbags were filled at Long Binh a big . Army installation about 12miles North of Saigon. The bunk ers and sandbags were trucked to due Hoa. Lift operation giant double Rotor Chinook helicopters picked up the Camp Materiel in slings and lifted it to this area five Miles South of due Hoa. On the first morning the big Birds were putting Down a Load every three or four min utes. Standard bunkers were set on the perimeter which runs about 1,800 Yards. Larger command bunkers were positioned in the enter. The sandbags in cargo Nels Slung beneath the chinooks were lowered next to the bunk ers where troops immediately put them in place on and around the sturdy wooden structures. Also lifted in were footbridges and Roll after Roll of barbed wire. It was All done in a matter of hours. The work even moved ahead of the planned schedule because of the Lack of enemy opposition. Yes you could Call it an in Stant Camp said it. Col. W. of Columbus ga., com Mander of the 3rd battalion 7th infantry and the Man in charge of the project at the Over the construction site another officer said the Viet Cong probably were a Little surprised and a Little con fused by All the activity at undoubtedly have Fig ured it out by now though he added Ted it probably won t be Long before we can expect a nighttime new glue replacing rivet guns Saigon is air plane mechanics Here soon May have Little use for their rivet guns and related paraphernalia. They reusing glue. The special epoxy Type glue is used with Metal or fibreglass patches to plug holes caused by enemy Small arms fire. The Quick Patch jobs Don t re quire further repairs. Each Seal say air Force systems com Mand engineers who developed the adhesive is so Strong that it would take the weight of a heavy automobile to break and lubricants won t affect the patches and they re main stable at temperature from -65 to 165 degrees fahren Heit. Danang gets new plane Danang South Vietnam Spe Cial the first o2a super sky master to be used As the work horse by the Forward air con troller in Vietnam has arrived at Danang air base. The new in line twin engine aircraft will take Over the duties from the sin Gle engined o1e Bird dog
