 |
| General James |
 |
| Brigadier General Olds |
The North Vietnamese took the bait. While more Phantoms from the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing entered the north to block the enemy MiG-21s from fleeing into China, and standing between the MiGs and their sanctuary bases. The North Vietnamese were flying into a meat grinder.
In the ensuing combat the Phantoms downed seven MiG-21s, out of only sixteen in the entire North Vietnamese People's Air Force. Olds Flight, led by the 8th TFW commander, Colonel Robin Olds, scored the first kills of the day. (The Phantom flights were all named after American cars, seemed appropriate, no doubt, to name the wing commander's flight "Olds.") Downing three MiG-21s in the space of a few minutes.
Then Ford Flight joined the fray, led by Colonel Daniel "Chappie" James, the 8th TFW's Deputy Commander for Operations (DCO) and killed another MiG. When Rambler Flight rolled in, three more MiGs were downed.
Four days after this operation, 8th TFW Phantoms took to the air again, this time masquerading as reconnaissance Phantoms (the RF-4C, an unarmed version of the Phantom). The MiGs took the bait again, losing two more MiG-21s!
In those two operations, the Phantoms of the 8th TFW essentially drove the MiGs from the skies over North Vietnam, not a single MiG-21 was seen for over three months after Operation Bolo. An operation led by two of my personal heroes, Robin Olds and Chappie James. When then-Colonel Olds took command of the 8th TFW (juvat's and my old outfit) the unit had a bit of a sad sack history, lackluster performance and a lack of aggressiveness. Colonel Olds brought in an old friend of his, then-Colonel Chappie James to be his DCO. Together they forged the 8th into a powerful weapon and became known as "Blackman" and "Robin." Definitely what I would call a dynamic duo.
Robin Olds flew in World War II and Vietnam, downing 16 enemy aircraft. Chappie James flew in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, fighting the enemy and discrimination at home at the same time, he was one of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen.
Great leaders, great sticks. We need more like them!
 |
| A winning team! |
Apparently he and Colonel Olds brainstormed Operation Bolo over a few beers. Now that's my Air Force!
Sources:
https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/bolo-was-triple-ace-robin-olds-perfect-victory-over-vietnam
https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196006/operation-bolo/
https://theaviationgeekclub.com/col-john-jb-stone-the-pilot-who-devised-operation-bolo-flies-with-the-wolf-pack-one-more-time/
http://acepilots.com/vietnam/olds_bolo.html
HUZZAH!
ReplyDelete:)
DeleteGave me a big grin over coffee this am. Thanks for the history lesson Sarge! I love it. Bait and switch...
ReplyDeleteIt was a good plan, well executed.
DeleteThe Olds video...at three minutes one second in THE most important part of that vid. The AAR from Col. James read "My RIO excitedly warned me about this rapidly approaching Mig, which was in firing range of my #3 and #4." Excitedly? Might have been a bit of an understatement there.... (smile). Two excellent examples of thinking warriors to post Sarge.
ReplyDeleteTwo of my favorites.
DeleteWith apologies to LTC Gately--
ReplyDelete"None better, sir".
:)
DeleteThanks for the post, Sarge. IIRC, the History Channel's "Air Aces" episode (number 5) on Gen. Olds and Operation Bolo was pretty good, with decent animated re-enactments of the engagements.
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, you're right.
DeleteBack when the History Channel actually did history.
Sigh...
Well, "Forged in Fire" is pretty good, except for that limp-wristed Doug Marcaida. Why limp wristed? Well, as my lovely wife, Mrs. Andrew herself, loves to shout, "Quit rolling your wrists, Doug!!!" (Okay, when taking a sword through an object (when throwing a sword shot intending 'To Keeel,' one swings through, not to, the object, else sword won't cut through,) one must keep one's wrists straight and pull the blade through the object. Doug uses a lose-wristed fighting style that, though impressive, is all about the surface cuts and slashes. He can cut through or stab deep, but still he limp-wrists his shots and can roll the blade (allow the blade to turn in the object) which can result in the blade going flat (turning from edge cutting into a very thin but wide crowbar) which will result in a semi-brittle blade snapping (think that scene in "Shogun" when the guy goes after Richard Chamberlain and gets his sword stuck in the wooden pillar and flexes it wrong, 'SNAP'.)
DeleteWhew, how the heck did I get over here in left field from home base? Weird. Oh, yeah, 'History' Channel...
"Knight Fight" was pretty okay, the guys in the Armored Combat League are more MMA than SCA, with more emphasis on putting an armored gauntlet into enemy faceplate rather than using the correct tools to play 'bash the stooge' but it had my inner fighter shouting at the idjits to 'sweep the leg' (fake a head shot and then hammer the outside of the closest thigh not yours into dogmeat because it's hard to stand when one's leg muscles all fire at the same time (a result of pounding the thigh muscles, especially that spot about 3/4 away around on the outside of either thigh, hit that hard enough and your opponent will go down doing the funky chicken, it's fun to watch, not so much fun to have happen to you.)
And "Swamp People." Love watching alligators get killed. Almost as good as watching invasive snakes get killed. Okay, I'm weird.
Yet another in a long line of impressive comments!
DeleteTHAT's the understatement of the week/year/millennia!
DeleteAmirite?
DeleteYou ain't wrong!
DeleteWell, HC is okay as long as you stay away from the "Awiens" or other conspiracy bullscat... I mean, come on, isn't there a possibility that Man in general did neat stuff without the intervention of Aliens, Bigfoot, Bigfoot Aliens, Templars, Masons, Aristocrats hiding royal stuff from the French Revolution, Alien Masons, Alien Templars, Alien Masonic Templars and Alien Templaric Masons....
DeleteYou forgot the Tsar's "Amber Room".....
DeleteBeans - ALIENS!
Delete(Drives me nuts that stuff.)
drjim - Hadn't heard of that before. The Poles claim they might have found it.
DeleteBeans' comments have an epic quality to them...
DeleteI've always suspected the Amber Room was in some high-level facility, maybe one of their upscale bomb shelters or in some Commissar's palatial estate, probably belonging to the Commissar who is making the most waves about the missing Room.
DeleteTrust a high level Soviet, or a Russian? Um.....
No.
And... thanks for thinking my pseudo-psychotic commenting episodes are epic. I and my madness aim to please!
DeleteBeans 1 - I thought alien Nazis stole it.
DeleteBeans 2 - Gotta be an acronym for "pseudo-psychotic commenting episodes", I know...
DeletePPCE
Why do I keep thinking about fish and barrels here?
ReplyDeleteWell, that was the intent.
DeleteI've mentioned before that General James and my Dad got into a wrestling match at the Webb O'Club, probably in 1970 or so. (General James was promoted to BG in December '69). It was at a Dining-In, General James was the speaker and a physically large man. After the formal activities were over, accompanied by many (many, many) toasts, he challenged my Dad (also a physically large man) to a manly wrestling match, in dress uniforms. During said match, my Dad somehow got a broken rib. Not that a senior officer would do that, of course. Yet....
ReplyDeleteI also found it interesting, that General James was the Commander of Wheelus AFB in Libya, when Qaddafi siezed power. At an altercation at the gate, Qaddafi started reaching for a pistol. General James warned him that if "his hand moved any closer, it would never reach the holster." Qaddafi backed down.
Great men, all of them. (Not Qaddafi, Olds, James and Dad)
"Not Qaddafi. Olds, James and Dad."
DeleteFixed it for you.
Other than that, your dad sounds like he met some, many interesting people. Like my dad did. Good stories about the other people. Maybe you can share some if you remember?
Juvat - I do recall the juvat Dad vs Chappie wrestling match, there was a least one story of him and Robin Olds as well (IIRC).
DeleteToo bad Qaddafi didn't reach for it, would've saved a lot of lives and his end would have been much quicker than what he met down the road.
Beans - Air Force Dads are awesome.
Delete;)
Beans, thanks for the correction. Got to remember to hit Control, Scroll, to make the font a bit bigger. My ability to see a gnat at 20 miles isn't what it used to be and blogger isn't helping.
DeleteYou too?
DeleteIt's getting so I need binoculars to see the screen!
Well, you can always hook your computer up to that 70" screen if you want the letters to get bigger in an easy way....
DeleteHeck, Best Buy sells 86", and if that isn't big enough, you can get a projection tv....
You could feel the letters on an 86" screen.
DeleteBeans - Dude, my house ain't that big. Though...
DeleteHeck STxAR, you can probably taste 'em as well!
DeleteServes the NoViets right, considering how many flak traps they set up for us. So this must have been when the NoViets were actually flying their own planes and not when Soviet 'advisors' were?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tale. Something that never came across my desk, as I was more interested in earlier air-war. Now I really have to get to Rasimus' book on Olds.
And, dang it, Woodrow Wilson has much to pay for!
Remember, LBJ and McNamara were complicit in those flak traps.
DeleteSoviets would have fallen for the same trick. They were billed as bad ass back in the day, after the fall, lots of weaknesses revealed.
Not that they were in anyway competent, but LBJ and Bobby Strange were somewhat responsible for the fact the NVAF fell for it. They were the ones who dictated tactics, routes, targets, etc. Since we did the same thing every day, why would the NVAF think that day was any different? And you are probably correct, given those circumstances, the Soviets would have almost certainly fallen for it.
DeleteSo it's the old tale of "even a broken clock is right twice a day..."
DeleteThus in fighting and in many other things is "THE RULE OF THREE!"
DeleteWhich, basically, don't do the same thing more than twice. Else your enemy (of whatever form) will know what wickedness their way comes, and will be able to counter said wickedness and dispense some upon you.
Unless you fake a 3rd 'same' move and go completely different. Like two head shots and then fake a head and pound the leg or arm...
And, of course, you may continue same same moves if chunks of enemy, or screams of pain, or chunks and screams, continue, then no reason to stop 'Bringing the Heat' so to speak.
As to LBJ and BSM, well, yeah, big heroes to the Lefties, which says it all.
Which is why when we go to curb-stomp someone, the way should be: Orders from on high, then RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!!! Do not curb-stomp with bedroom slippers. Use those Army Boots!
Can't find anything to disagree with there!
DeleteI have to wonder if leaders like Olds and Chappie are only needed (or wanted) in times of war, and during peace the "go along to get along" PC-Compliant people rise to the top? Look at Patton. Would he have survived in a postwar Army? (to be sure, he was in after WW1)
ReplyDeleteI wonder why the Thuds couldn't mimic the Phantoms to keep the NVA off their backs...must be a technical reason...
Wartime leaders and peacetime "leaders" are seldom the same type of people.
DeletePatton fit into the Post WWI Army by being relegated to the Armored Corps, which for a long long time was even more the red-headed step-child of the Army than the advocates of strategic or heavy tactical bombing.
DeleteThen there's that little foray into using armor against the Bonus Marchers.
But, yes, peacetime and semi-peacetime (like now, we're kinda at war-ish but not really) the progressives and bureaucrats take over and stifle creativity, fun, actual combat ability and such.
War-War brings out the warriors out of the strangest places. And they excel, only to suffer during peacetime.
Sad, but very true.
DeleteNote that Dugout Doug seldom gets mentioned in these parts.
Not a fan.
Dougie was the jerk who followed patently illegal orders. Patton and the rest were just following the orders of their commanding officer.
DeleteIndeed.
DeleteWonderful story, Sarge. Thanks for bringing it up again. I have Ed's book(s) and a couple on Olds. They're in the "USAF/Aircraft/Heroes" section of my library, right next to the books on LeMay, Patton, Clauswitz, Sun Tzu, et al.
ReplyDeleteOne of my fellows at Boeing knew Robin Olds, and said all you heard (and more) was true. My friend flew RF-4's and came home more than a few times with a damaged aircraft.
Your friend had brass ones drjim. Big brass ones.
DeleteAnd he was one of the calmest, most pleasant people I've known. He was a Mission Director at Boeing, and when he was on-console, things were handled in the most courteous, expedient manner possible. Even MAJOR problems (rocket go BOOM kinda stuff) were handled in a cool, calm, and collected manner.
DeleteAnd we all looked up to him and would go through hell right behind him. Truly a guy that led by example.
Sounds like quite a guy.
DeleteAnother great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Paul L. Quandt
Thanks Paul.
Delete