F-4J Phantom - US Navy -1972
US Navy - VF-84 "Jolly Rogers" - Vietnam War

Randall Cunningham and William Driscoll of the VF-96 are the only US Navy aces of the Vietnam War, adding to the extremely short list of US aces of the conflict. The US Air Force had to wait several more months to have as well their own and very only ace crew Steve Ritchie and Chuck DeBellevue (also see: F-4D - USAF - 1972 | Album by Redicus (1:72)).

The Fighter Squadron 96 (or VF-96 Fighting Falcons) was an aviation unit of the US Navy in service from 1962 to 1975. When assigned to Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) their tailcode was NG, and their radio callsign was "Showtime". The VF-96 has seen a total of 11 carrier deployments during its existence and equipped exclusively the F-4B and F-4J Phantom.

During the second deployment (June 1964 - May 1965), the VF-96 claimed on the 9 April 1965 the very first US Navy air victory of the Vietnam War. Nevertheless, there is great controversy regarding the confrontation of that day. The US Navy confirmed and celebrated the downing of a Chinese MiG-17s by the F-4B of T. Murphy and R. Fegan, while numerous interviews and accounts revealed some details of the dogfight. Nevertheless, the Chinese denied any losses or involvment whatsoever, while more recent evaluations of the US Navy are suggesting a likely "blue on blue" (friendly) fire. The dogfight of 9 April 1965 was a big shambles, while this "first" Navy air victory is since more than a decade no longer part of any oficial records.

On the 9 May 1968, another VF-96 crew (J. Heffeman, F. Schumacher) claimed the "second" air victory of the squadron. A Vietnamese MiG-21 was presumably downed, but the victory was never officially credited by neither the Navy nor Air Force. Since a long range AIM-7 was used in this instance beyond visual identification, the difficult mission environment and weather conditions made it very difficult to prove beyond any doubt that this was indeed a hit. Although the radar information was showing only 2 hostile aircraft after the engagement instead of the initial 3, this was not considered a strong enough argument. There were even speculations, that the "Vietnamese" fighters were actually Chinese, therefore there was no official confirmation of this kill so that no further tensions with China would escalate.

With these considered, the VF-96 was left with no confirmed and oficially recognized air victories in the first stage of air confrontations during the Vietnam War (1965-1968).

Once hostilities and more intense air operations were resumed in 1972, the VF-96 was in the middle of its 9th deployment, now aboard the USS Constellation. The VF-96 achieved on the 19 January 1972 the very first US Navy air victory of this second stage of the air war (1972-1973 period), when two of its F-4Js engaged VPAF MiGs for the first time since March 1970. The two F-4Js were crewed by future aces Randall Cunningham with William Driscoll (F-4J "Showtime 112", 157267) together with wingmen Brian Grant and Jeryy Sullivan (WSO/RIO). The pair was flying a MIGCAP for a 19 aircraft strike force against SAM sites and caves suspectes to hide VPAF MiGs. Although the complex mission was thouroughly planed to confuse the enemy, the strike force ended in a SAM and AAA trap. One SA-2 missile passed only 3 meters away of Grant's canopy, while desparately maneouvering to evade it. Luckily, the missile was defective and the proximity fuse did not detonate. Cunningham himself had to pull a 9G maneouver to avoid a further SA-2 missile. Another SA-2 missile detonated in the immediate vicinity of his aircraft, but miraculously causing no damage. In the chaos of cross-fire, Cunningham spotted a pair of two silver VPAF MiG-21s flying extremely low just ahead of him, trying to ambush the main strike force. The MiGs did not see the F-4s and allowed Cunningham to position himself behind and fire one AIM-9G. The missile launch was visually spotted and the MiGs could evade a hit. During the dogfight, Cunningham got a clear shot again, with the second AIM-9G disintegrating the tail of ome of the MiG-21s. This was the first air victory of Cunningham and Driscoll, welcomed upon their return aboard the USS Constellation with great euphoria by the 5000 men crew.

The second Navy air victory since renewed hostilities followed later on 6 March and was credited to a VF-111 "Sundowners" crew (detailed in a previous article: F-4B - US Navy - 1972 | Album by Redicus (1:72)). Three more confirmed victories followed for the Navy in the same day on the 6 May 1972, one by the VF-51 "Screaming Eagles" and two by the VF-114 "Aardvarks".

On the 8th of May 1972, US President Nixon announced the restart of air operations over North Vietnam, with operation "Linebacker I" commencing 24 hours later. Nevertheless, MiG engagements recommenced the very day Nixon delivered his statement (see also F-4D - USAF - 1972 | Album by Redicus (1:72) for some dramatic engagements experienced by USAF crews).

Cunningham and Driscoll achieved their second air victory also on 8 May 1972 while flying the same F-4J "Showtime 112". The VF-96 was tasked that day to fly a MIGCAP for large multi-carrier strike group (56 aircraft without the fighter support) against a major supply truck park area with approximately 400 trucks, over 35km west of Hanoi. While flying on an unplaned route due to heavy SAM and AAA fire, Cunningham and his regular wingman (B. Grant) were ambushed from below from beneath a cloud cover by a MiG-17 flying vertically in afterburner. The MiG-17 aimed at Cunningham's wingman, but missed all cannon shots. After several dogfight maneuvers, the MiG-17 launches an R-3S ("Atoll") towards Grant's Phantom, shocking both Phantom crews, not being prepared for this unknown capability of VPAF MiG-17s. While the R-3S missile didn't hit the target, one AIM-9 launched by Cunningham detonated immediately beneath the MiG-17, but apparently caused no damage either. The two Phantoms were then attacked from above by two further VPAF MiG-17s, which fired another R-3S missile towards Cunningham's aircraft. The missile passed very close by, but did not detonate at all. Cunningham pressed forward with an attack, launching another AIM-9 towards one MiG-17, scoring a direct hit in the rear area while the MiG's engine was in afterburner. While the visible structural damage was minimal, the engine bursted in flames, crashing shortly after without any visible ejection of the VPAF pilot. In the mean time, Cunningham was trapped from two sides by the cannon fire of the remaining two MiG-17s. The only escape was an extreme G maneouvre, which even pulled off some panels from the wing and fuselage. Upon returning to the carrier, it was determined that the F-4J "Showtime 112" has pulled 12g (!!) with several damaged structures and broken flaps system, becoming temporarily inoperational. Surprisingly, the "Showtime 112" aircraft was repaired in record time for the major events of 10 May. Nevertheless, the US Navy got their first double-scoring crew of the war.

Less then 48 hours later, the fatidic day of 10 May 1972 presented the official beginning of Operation Linebacker. Beyond any doubt, the 10th of May was the most intense air-to-air combat day of the entire Vietnam War, with signifficant losses on both sides. Future USAF ace pilot Steve Ritchie would score that day his very first kill of the war (see also: F-4D - USAF - 1972 | Album by Redicus (1:72)). In all, the Navy launched that day 294 sorties (173 for ground attack) in the coastal area of Hainoi/Haiphong, while the USAF added 120 more sorties to the total count.

Several TARCAP machines of the VF-96 were to be launched in a second attack wave during midday in support of a major strike against railroad infastructure and bridges around Haiphong. The first wave already downed one MiG-21 (by sister squadron VF-92) and fully alerted the VPAF, whereas the current mission was about to oppose more MiGs than any other mission of the entire war. Also participating were Cunningham and Driscoll flying the F-4J "Showtime 100" (155800) with their usual wingmen (B. Grant, J. Sullivan). The in the mean time repaired "Showtime 112" was flown that day by a different crew. Michael Connelly and Thomas Blonski ("Showtime 106", 155769) manned as well one of the jets taking part in this strike.

While on route to designated targets, Connelly heard a screaming radio call for help from an A-7, saying MiGs are on his tail and firing, just 5km ahead of Connelly's pair. Connelly ("106") swiftly identified and engaged one of the two very low flying MiG-17s. The apparent small engagement made Connelly realise he was at the bottom altitude of a very large dogfight with VPAF jets "all over the place". As Conelly recollected "to come back and try to reconstruct what followed after that on a blackboard is impossible. I don't even know if the first MiG I shot down was the same guy I initially shot at. I don't think it was, but everything was so confusing, and there were so damned many of them. They were all over the place!". Approximately 20 MiGs were enganged in that particular dogfight. One unknowing MiG-17 was caught by surprise from behind, with Connelly's AIM-9 scoring a direct hit, engulfing the MiG-17 in a huge fireball. With a similar tactic, a second MiG-17 was surprised by Connelly's last available AIM-9. Upon direct hit, the MiG's tail detached, with the pilot ejecting. The Navy had its second double-killing crew of the war, at least for a very short while. In an unsual event immediately after, Connelly realised he was flying perfectly parallel, level and with the exact same airspeed as a VPAF MiG-17. The MiG was flying 10 meters (!!) at his nine o'clock, both pilots having enough time to stare at each other. Trapped in a disadvantageous situation, the F-4 crew was lucky that the MiG-17 only disengaged and dissapeared.

But Connelly's endevours were just the beginning of the clash with the VPAF. Two more VF-96 crews were tasked with flak suppression for CVW-9's strike on the Hai Duong marshalling yard, SE of Hanoi. Cunningham with Driscoll and wingmen Grant and Sullivan were each equipped with four Mk.20 Rockeye cluster bombs, four AIM-9Gs and two AIM-7s. While the main strike force was already being fired upon by flak, Cunningham could not actually identify any AA muzzle flashes to enage with cluster bombs, therefore a secondary target (a large storage building) was attacked. As soon as the payload was dropped while flying at low speed, three VPAF MiG-17s were already very close behind him flying much faster. With a great reflex reaction, he tricked the leading MiG to overshoot, while Cunningham immediately reversed his maneouvre and found himself behind the leading MiG. Although everything was happening so fast and the F-4 crew started with a disadvantage, the fortune would turn in their favour from years of training and experience. In the seconds after Cunningham's trick, the MiG was still flying in afterburner and a good IF lock was possible very fast. The AIM-9 hit the MiG which spiraled put of control into the ground. While trying to coordinate with his wingman, Cunningham realised that four additional MiG-17s were pursuing Grant. Soon after, they realized they were in the vicnitiy of an already notorius Vietnamese "defensive wheel" with eight MiG-17s, two MiG-19s and four additional MiG-21s flying higher and waiting for the right moment. Several F-4s of the VF-96 were already engaged with the VPAF fighters, being largely outnumbered. Each F-4 had several enemy aircraft behind them in a great chaos. While coordinating with a different F-4 chased by MiGs, Cunningham tried getting in position for a second kill. With three MiG-17s ahead and four more behind him, Cunningham managed to hit a another MiG-17 with an AIM-9G. The VPAF pilot ejected and his parachute was almost hit by Cunningham's F-4, with Cunningham adding afterwards: "The guy didn't even wave!"

This was his fourth air victory, after which the pair decided to leave the hostile area. Not very long after, another lonely MiG-17 was approaching head on towards Cunningham in a risky situation. Cunningham was almost the entire time in disadvantage during the ensuing dogfight and he almost got shot down several times. After 5 minutes of combat flying in afterburner, the MiG-17 was criticially low on fuel, disengaged and started to head towards the home base (Kep). Cunningham managed to catch him from behind and hit him with another AIM-9G. Only a little piece of the MiG's tail had detached with the MiGs flightpath still unaltered. Not long after, a little fire started in the MiG, evetually crashing without any ejection. This was the fifth air victory which came with the ace status.

While heading back to the carrier, the crew heard SAM calls on the radio. One such missile detonated just over 100 meters above the canopy of "Showtime 100". The VPAF claimed on the other hand that the "Showtime 100" was shot down by a R-3S Atoll missile lainched by a MiG-21. Nevertheless, the F-4 could still fly for a longer time even after the detonation. At high altitude, the hydraulic system suddenly collapsed, with the aircraft slowly losing control. Unkown to the crew, the aircraft was already on fire and the radio was also gone with it, the crew no longer being able to hear the screaming calls of fellow collegues to eject. While heavily damaged and on fire, the crew struggled to eggres North Vietnamese territory. With VPAF fighters still in visual range and the massive fire reaching the cockpit, the "100" could only fly another 40km to reach the coastline, when the aircraft entered an uncontrollable spin. The crew had to eject only 3km away from the coastline, watching their burning aircraft exploding not long after. While hanging under their parachutes, they could see enemy PT boats coming after them. Luckily for the F-4 crew, the already alerted SAR helicopters got there first and recovered them after 20 minutes in the water.

Cunningham and Driscoll were back aboard the USS Constellation the same day with the priviledged ace status. Their very last combat mission was already behind them.
By the end of the day, another VF-96 crew (Steven Shoemaker with Keith Crenshaw) managed to down a further VPAF MiG-17, bringing the total of the day to 6 for the VF-96.

The toll of the massive confrontation of 10 May 1972 was particularly high for the VPAF, with 11 aircraft lost (four MiG-21s and seven MiG-17s). The USAF lost two F-4s, one of which was Major Robert Lodge's F-4D. He likely choose to go down with his burning aircraft (see F-4D - USAF - 1972 | Album by Redicus (1:72)) after previously downing himself one VPAF MiG-21, his third victory. The Navy also lost two F-4s, both officially credited to AAA and SAMs (Cunningham's F-4). More than 100 SAM missiles were fired by the North Vietnamese that day.

To put things in perspective, the US Navy F-4 crews achieved 12 more air victories afterwards during the remaining operations until early 1973. These further downed VPAF aircraft were two on 18 May (both by VF-161), two more on 23 May (both again by VF-161), two on 11 June (both by VF-51), one on 21 June (VF-31), one on 10 August (VF-103), ome on 12 August (58th TFS/432nd TRW in exchange), one on 11 September (VMFA-333), one on 28 December (VF-142) and with the very last US air victory of the Vietnam War one on 13 January 1973 (VF-161). The total count for the Navy F-4 crews was 26 for the 1972-1973 period.

Randall Cunningham went on to become a Top Gun instructor shortly after leaving active combat duty in Vietnam in 1972. He eventually retired from the Navy in 1987 and became a known public figure as a TV commentator on naval aircraft for a famous TV news channel in the run-up to the Persian Gulf War. He later got involved in politics with a very controversial career.