-WiscoDave
Friday, March 12, 2021
Bob Pardo Once Pushed a Crippled F-4 Home With His F-4. In Flight.
The air strike that March day in 1967 was on the ferociously well-defended Thai Nguyen steel mill, north of Hanoi, North Vietnam. One of the attacking U.S. Air Force McDonnell F-4C Phantoms was hit twice by anti-aircraft fire, and gas was streaming from the fuselage. Pilot Earl Aman and weapons systems officer Bob Houghton no longer had enough fuel to return to safe territory.
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That there is badness, pure simple badness!!
ReplyDeleteI read about this years ago. It makes you wonder how guys like this can even walk? Great big clanking balls of Titanium.
ReplyDeleteThe Rhino was living proof that you could make a brick fly with a big enough engine. And the guys that flew them, loved them.
Try pushing another bird with a F-35. I dare ya.
Leigh
Whitehall, NY
It happened in Korea first.....I remember that I had read about it as a child.
Deletehttps://theaviationgeekclub.com/this-f-86-pilot-pushed-his-wingmans-crippled-sabre-for-60-miles-to-keep-him-out-of-enemy-hands/
Ed357
Giant Brass Ones. Absolutely enormous.
ReplyDeleteGuts of steel and balls of brass.
ReplyDeleteI worked on the F4-E, hydraulic leaks out the yang but them hogs were tough. If memory is correct I think the C had Nose Cams as well for recon. That was major stones action there, fucking legends.
ReplyDeleteDon't panic and keep doing everything you CAN do for as long as you can. Very inspirational. Thanks for the story.
ReplyDeleteNow, THAT takes GUTS!
ReplyDeleteNo maternity suit needed.
ReplyDeleteHave a high school/college buddy who was an F4 pilot over there in '70. Reconnected about 45 years later-he never talked about his 'nam days nor did I ask. He had a career flying for United, is retired, and living well now. He never was flamboyuant-was always quiet, soft-spoken and usually let his actions speak for him. He had some very interesting personal stories to tell, especially about his college sweetie/1st wife/now -ex; he told it like it was and didn't hide behind any bullshit. I guess you'd call him a straight shooter. His name is John-he kind of reminds me of the guy known as 'Big John' in the song of the same name.
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