thedrifter
08-16-05, 12:14 PM
August 22, 2005
The Lore of the Corps
Little-known Skyknights flew in Korea, Vietnam
By Robert F. Dorr
Special to the Times
A North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile shot down an EF-10B Skyknight on March 18, 1966, killing the two Marines on board — though their families didn’t learn their fate until years later.
The plane was the first of five Skyknights lost in Vietnam with their crew members. Their sacrifice points to the contribution made by a little-known electronic-warfare aircraft.
During the Korean War, the Skyknight was known as the F3D-2 and shot down enemy planes on nighttime missions.
The plane was so corpulent that crews called it “Willy the Whale.” In the late 1950s, the Marines modified 36 Skyknights to become F3D-2Q electronic-warfare aircraft. In July 1958, Marine Composite Reconnaissance Squadron 3 began flying classified Cold War reconnaissance missions, dubbed Shark Fin flights, from Iwakuni, Japan. The flights were carried out near China, North Korea and the Soviet Union to study adversaries’ radar networks.
In 1962, F3D-2Q Skyknights with VMCJ-2 detected radar emissions in Cuba that signaled a Soviet buildup, alerting U.S. leaders to what would become the Cuban Missile Crisis.
When the Pentagon’s system for naming aircraft was overhauled on Oct. 1, 1962, the F3D-2Q became the EF-10B.
In April 1965, squadron VMCJ-1 brought six EF-10Bs to Da Nang, Vietnam.
Marine EF-10Bs escorted strikes into North Vietnam, jamming enemy radars and collecting intelligence for four years until they were replaced by newer, better-equipped EA-6A Intruders.
During a mission March 18, 1966, two EF-10Bs with call signs Riverboat 1 and 2, escorted by Marine F-4B Phantoms, provided jamming support for Air Force F-105 Thunderchiefs attacking Vinh, Vietnam.
“We needed two Skyknights to support a mission,” said retired Col. H. Wayne Whitten, who was the electronic countermeasures officer aboard Riverboat 1 at the time. “That’s partly because of the limitations of our two onboard jammers, which were not sophisticated or powerful, so we had to work on tactics to get the most out of them.”
Because the EF-10B could jam only enemy radar located in front of the aircraft, Riverboat 1 and Riverboat 2 set up a racetrack pattern that put one plane in the right location at all times.
“We saw one EF-10B turn left, go out a mile and disappear in a ball of flames,” said retired Capt. Eugene “Mule” Holmberg, who was a second lieutenant in the back seat of an escorting Phantom during the mission. “It took just seconds, and he was gone.”
A previously unknown surface-to-air missile installation fired the missile that struck Riverboat 2, killing both of the Marines onboard.
First Lt. Everett “Mac” McPherson was piloting the aircraft when it was shot down, and 1st Lt. Brent Davis was the electronic countermeasures officer.
An old airplane in a long war, the EF-10B continued fighting until the Corps withdrew it from Vietnam in October 1969.
Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. He is the author of books on military topics, including “Chopper,” a history of helicopter pilots. His e-mail address is robert.f.dorr@cox.net.
Ellie
The Lore of the Corps
Little-known Skyknights flew in Korea, Vietnam
By Robert F. Dorr
Special to the Times
A North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile shot down an EF-10B Skyknight on March 18, 1966, killing the two Marines on board — though their families didn’t learn their fate until years later.
The plane was the first of five Skyknights lost in Vietnam with their crew members. Their sacrifice points to the contribution made by a little-known electronic-warfare aircraft.
During the Korean War, the Skyknight was known as the F3D-2 and shot down enemy planes on nighttime missions.
The plane was so corpulent that crews called it “Willy the Whale.” In the late 1950s, the Marines modified 36 Skyknights to become F3D-2Q electronic-warfare aircraft. In July 1958, Marine Composite Reconnaissance Squadron 3 began flying classified Cold War reconnaissance missions, dubbed Shark Fin flights, from Iwakuni, Japan. The flights were carried out near China, North Korea and the Soviet Union to study adversaries’ radar networks.
In 1962, F3D-2Q Skyknights with VMCJ-2 detected radar emissions in Cuba that signaled a Soviet buildup, alerting U.S. leaders to what would become the Cuban Missile Crisis.
When the Pentagon’s system for naming aircraft was overhauled on Oct. 1, 1962, the F3D-2Q became the EF-10B.
In April 1965, squadron VMCJ-1 brought six EF-10Bs to Da Nang, Vietnam.
Marine EF-10Bs escorted strikes into North Vietnam, jamming enemy radars and collecting intelligence for four years until they were replaced by newer, better-equipped EA-6A Intruders.
During a mission March 18, 1966, two EF-10Bs with call signs Riverboat 1 and 2, escorted by Marine F-4B Phantoms, provided jamming support for Air Force F-105 Thunderchiefs attacking Vinh, Vietnam.
“We needed two Skyknights to support a mission,” said retired Col. H. Wayne Whitten, who was the electronic countermeasures officer aboard Riverboat 1 at the time. “That’s partly because of the limitations of our two onboard jammers, which were not sophisticated or powerful, so we had to work on tactics to get the most out of them.”
Because the EF-10B could jam only enemy radar located in front of the aircraft, Riverboat 1 and Riverboat 2 set up a racetrack pattern that put one plane in the right location at all times.
“We saw one EF-10B turn left, go out a mile and disappear in a ball of flames,” said retired Capt. Eugene “Mule” Holmberg, who was a second lieutenant in the back seat of an escorting Phantom during the mission. “It took just seconds, and he was gone.”
A previously unknown surface-to-air missile installation fired the missile that struck Riverboat 2, killing both of the Marines onboard.
First Lt. Everett “Mac” McPherson was piloting the aircraft when it was shot down, and 1st Lt. Brent Davis was the electronic countermeasures officer.
An old airplane in a long war, the EF-10B continued fighting until the Corps withdrew it from Vietnam in October 1969.
Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. He is the author of books on military topics, including “Chopper,” a history of helicopter pilots. His e-mail address is robert.f.dorr@cox.net.
Ellie