1 - The Black Vault

More documents

Recommendations

Info

About the Author USAF Photo Col Jerry L. Thigpen, USAF, retired, was commissioned in 1969 and served more than 30 years on active duty, the last 21 of which were in special operations units. He fought in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and logged more than 1,000 hours of combat time over northern Laos. During preparation for the rescue of American hostages from Iran in 1980, Colonel Thigpen was a member of the team that pioneered fixed-wing night-vision goggle (NVG) airland operations. He was a member of the crew selected to lead the rescue force into Manzariyeh, Iran, during the Night Two exfiltration mission. He was the air mission commander and Combat Talon formation leader of a five-ship formation that landed under fire at Rio Hato Air Base, Panama, in 1989 during Operation Just Cause. During his distinguished Air Force career, Colonel Thigpen held a variety of operational and staff positions to include the J3-Air and chief of the Africa Region for Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR), commander of the 8th Special Operations Squadron, deputy commander of the 1st Special Operations Group, commander of the 353d Special Operations Group, director of safety for Air Force Special Operations Command, deputy commander of Special Operations Command-Korea (SOC-K), and director of research and analysis for Air Force Special Operations Command. He is a command pilot, certified instructor, and flight evaluator with more than 5,500 flying hours, 4,000 of which are in the MC-130E Combat Talon I. Colonel Thigpen received his Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from North Texas State University in 1969 and later earned his master’s degree in liberal arts from Texas Christian University. He completed the National Defense University (National Security Management) course by correspondence and the Air War College by seminar. In 1991 he graduated from the US Army War College resident program at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. His publications include AFSOC: The Air Force’s Newest Command, published by the US Army War College. He also served as the publisher of FOCUS, The AFSOC Commando Safety Journal, from 1995 to 1997, during which time he authored numerous articles for the quarterly major command publication. He currently resides with his family in Shalimar, Florida. xvii
Preface In the spring of 1997, while assigned to Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command, an idea materialized that would ultimately dominate my life for the next three years. As I reflected over 19 years in special operations, I realized just how little I actually knew about the Combat Talon aircraft in which I had spent most of my active duty career. I could cite line and page number from complex technical orders, and I had been qualified as a flight examiner and in - structor pilot, but I did not have a clue about the origins of Combat Talon, what operations the aircraft were involved in, or the people who flew and maintained them. Life in a special operations squadron was secretive, where only those with an official “need to know” were read into limited access programs. With the com - partmentalization of information within the squadron, personnel working side by side were often not aware of what other members of the unit were doing. I was convinced that it was the right time to document the untold story of the Combat Talon. The commander of Air Force Special Operations Command was Maj Gen Jim Hobson at the time. As a young lieutenant, he had been assigned to the 15th SOS at Nha Trang Air Base, Vietnam. I felt that if the project were explained to General Hobson, I stood a good chance of getting his approval. In March of 1997 I prepared a staff summary package outlining the Combat Talon Project and forwarded it to Herb Mason, the Headquarters AFSOC command historian. I provided four reasons the Combat Talon Project should be approved. First, I noted that much of the documented history of the weapons system was fragmented and could only be found in the files of private contractors, including Lockheed Air Service (LAS) Ontario and the Robert Fulton Company. LAS Ontario was no longer involved in the Combat Talon program and was scheduled to cease operation in the spring of 1998. The remaining LAS Ontario projects were scheduled to move to Palmdale, California, and join the highly classified Skunk Works program. The company did not plan to move most of its Combat Talon files, preferring to destroy them in place rather than store them at its new location. With the pending decision to terminate the Fulton recovery system for the Combat Talon I, the Robert Fulton Company no longer would provide equipment to the Air Force. Fulton was 88 years young, and his keen mind held a vast treasure of information about early development of the system. His comprehensive files also contained documentation on the Fulton system that was not available anywhere else. These key resources would not be available to future historians. The second factor that I cited centered around recent Air Force reorganizations. Many commands either were combined or redesignated (e.g., Air Force Logistics Command [AFLC] had become the Air Force Materiel Command [AFMC], and whole divisions had been eliminated in the process). At Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, the home of AFMC, the old Air Force Logistics Command Directorate, which managed the Combat Talon program for the Air Force, had disbanded. Most of its records either had been destroyed or placed in long-term storage. The Air Force reorganization was across the board, and a tremendous amount of classified files was being eliminated. Prompt approval of the project would allow access to some of the remaining files, and copies could be made for future research. xix
Page 2 and 3: i\1 -■-'^^.■■--y^lEil^peD
Page 4 and 5: The Praetorian STARShip The Untold
Page 6 and 7: This book is dedicated to all Speci
Page 8 and 9: Contents Chapter Page DISCLAIMER .
Page 10 and 11: Figure Page 13 Template Shift Due t
Page 12 and 13: Page Col Don Britton, First Command
Page 14 and 15: Page Aircraft 74-1683 Crashes onto
Page 16 and 17: Foreword As a young lieutenant flyi
Page 20 and 21: The third factor driving approval o
Page 22 and 23: A Word from the Commander We in Air
Page 24 and 25: was changed forever. The US Army Wa
Page 26 and 27: Introduction Welcome to the world o
Page 28 and 29: system, the following three chapter
Page 30 and 31: move was partially driven by the Ai
Page 32 and 33: Chapter 1 Establishment of Combat T
Page 34 and 35: ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON coloc
Page 36 and 37: ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON Two d
Page 38 and 39: ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON immed
Page 40 and 41: ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON Life
Page 42 and 43: ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON condu
Page 44 and 45: ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON Precu
Page 46 and 47: ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON were
Page 48 and 49: ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBAT TALON SOG h
Page 50 and 51: Chapter 2 The Combat Talon Weapons
Page 52 and 53: although the early Fulton modificat
Page 54 and 55: THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM tri
Page 56 and 57: THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM Lt
Page 58 and 59: THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM as
Page 60 and 61: THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM mis
Page 62 and 63: THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM F^C
Page 64 and 65: THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM The
Page 66 and 67: THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM ./
Page 68 and 69:
■ ■-:'■-:;■ ■■..kFTn \
Page 70 and 71:
equipment malfunctioned, the more t
Page 72 and 73:
THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM top
Page 74 and 75:
THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM it
Page 76 and 77:
THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM TEP
Page 78 and 79:
THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM CRu
Page 80 and 81:
Yank aircraft operating in the Paci
Page 82 and 83:
THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM Fig
Page 84 and 85:
THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM ly
Page 86 and 87:
TYPICAl TANKER ORBIT PATTERN THE CO
Page 88 and 89:
THE COMBAT TALON WEAPONS SYSTEM Not
Page 90 and 91:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Once the Stray
Page 92 and 93:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP 1968: The Estab
Page 94 and 95:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP ridgeline. John
Page 96 and 97:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP that it was a t
Page 98 and 99:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP terrain followi
Page 100 and 101:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP to intercept th
Page 102 and 103:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP assigned to the
Page 104 and 105:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP making multiple
Page 106 and 107:
Chapter 4 Combat Spear (The Vietnam
Page 108 and 109:
COMBAT SPEAR quarters and were prov
Page 110 and 111:
COMBAT SPEAR f -fpadc khi ai b6 phr
Page 112 and 113:
COMBAT SPEAR The study cited the fo
Page 114 and 115:
COMBAT SPEAR rn nilMirif Piti.r,,!
Page 116 and 117:
COMBAT SPEAR proper crew rest could
Page 118 and 119:
COMBAT SPEAR proper people. Moreove
Page 120 and 121:
COMBAT SPEAR we never intended to e
Page 122 and 123:
COMBAT SPEAR Christmas spirit and j
Page 124 and 125:
COMBAT SPEAR ■ IBDCITI |«'4llH^
Page 126 and 127:
COMBAT SPEAR with good radar target
Page 128 and 129:
COMBAT SPEAR two loadmasters, and t
Page 130 and 131:
COMBAT SPEAR was given up. The crew
Page 132 and 133:
COMBAT SPEAR killed, and 187 were w
Page 134 and 135:
COMBAT SPEAR volunteers shortly aft
Page 136 and 137:
COMBAT SPEAR were provided to SOG b
Page 138 and 139:
COMBAT SPEAR early as January 1970.
Page 140 and 141:
COMBAT SPEAR r esources resulted. A
Page 142 and 143:
COMBAT SPEAR live surface-to-air pi
Page 144 and 145:
served as the squadron’s administ
Page 146 and 147:
COMBAT SPEAR Korean government. 139
Page 148 and 149:
COMBAT SPEAR marked the beginning o
Page 150 and 151:
COMBAT SPEAR 76. History, 14th Spec
Page 152 and 153:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Sembach AB to R
Page 154 and 155:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Combat Talon de
Page 156 and 157:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP June also saw t
Page 158 and 159:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP prisoners of wa
Page 160 and 161:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP and presenting
Page 162 and 163:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP 1973: Combat Ta
Page 164 and 165:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP experienced wit
Page 166 and 167:
Chapter 6 The Son Tay Prisoner of W
Page 168 and 169:
THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID On
Page 170 and 171:
THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID cr
Page 172 and 173:
THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID Tr
Page 174 and 175:
THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID al
Page 176 and 177:
THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID th
Page 178 and 179:
THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID RT
Page 180 and 181:
THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID se
Page 182 and 183:
THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID ob
Page 184 and 185:
THE SON TAY PRISONER OF WAR RAID se
Page 186 and 187:
Chapter 7 Between the Wars (1975-79
Page 188 and 189:
BETWEEN THE WARS Tentatively, the p
Page 190 and 191:
BETWEEN THE WARS be undertaken in M
Page 192 and 193:
BETWEEN THE WARS was established as
Page 194 and 195:
BETWEEN THE WARS From 28 March to 1
Page 196 and 197:
BETWEEN THE WARS The 7575th OG exer
Page 198 and 199:
BETWEEN THE WARS The last half of t
Page 200 and 201:
BETWEEN THE WARS during 1978 the sq
Page 202 and 203:
BETWEEN THE WARS Italy for the firs
Page 204 and 205:
BETWEEN THE WARS SOW CCT member lin
Page 206 and 207:
Chapter 8 The Iranian Rescue Missio
Page 208 and 209:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION shah had
Page 210 and 211:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION were oth
Page 212 and 213:
The 1st SOW maintained the four gun
Page 214 and 215:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION Crew 1 C
Page 216 and 217:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION large ru
Page 218 and 219:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION helicopt
Page 220 and 221:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION or barra
Page 222 and 223:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION Since th
Page 224 and 225:
executing the mission. Kyle had jus
Page 226 and 227:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION addition
Page 228 and 229:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION where he
Page 230 and 231:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION the resc
Page 232 and 233:
equired eight and one-half hours of
Page 234 and 235:
The prototype Benson tank was opera
Page 236 and 237:
NVG landings. Because of the short
Page 238 and 239:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION the 1st
Page 240 and 241:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION of the C
Page 242 and 243:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION transmis
Page 244 and 245:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION Photo co
Page 246 and 247:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION Photo co
Page 248 and 249:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION Fleming
Page 250 and 251:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION had land
Page 252 and 253:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION outside
Page 254 and 255:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION ^f5
Page 256 and 257:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION vertical
Page 258 and 259:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION a decisi
Page 260 and 261:
THE IRANIAN RESCUE MISSION Notes 1.
Page 262 and 263:
Chapter 9 Project Honey Badger and
Page 264 and 265:
PROJECT HONEY BADGER AND CREDIBLE S
Page 266 and 267:
adar system similar to the Combat T
Page 268 and 269:
Page 270 and 271:
Page 272 and 273:
Page 274 and 275:
Page 276 and 277:
0428 local, made its tactical landi
Page 278 and 279:
Chapter 10 From Desert One to Point
Page 280 and 281:
Talon community. 8 The IFR modifica
Page 282 and 283:
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES an
Page 284 and 285:
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES sq
Page 286 and 287:
exercise aircraft on the ground wer
Page 288 and 289:
standard operating procedures for c
Page 290 and 291:
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES un
Page 292 and 293:
to MAC’s newly formed Twenty-Thir
Page 294 and 295:
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES se
Page 296 and 297:
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES an
Page 298 and 299:
plan, Colonel Hudspeth arrived in t
Page 300 and 301:
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES At
Page 302 and 303:
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES MA
Page 304 and 305:
for five Combat Talons, Hobson and
Page 306 and 307:
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES US
Page 308 and 309:
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES de
Page 310 and 311:
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES as
Page 312 and 313:
il-u Grenada Firlih Hunlfe^ Fiuil
Page 314 and 315:
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES th
Page 316 and 317:
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES 10
Page 318 and 319:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP five-light syst
Page 320 and 321:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP the total force
Page 322 and 323:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP interest the co
Page 324 and 325:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP operations exer
Page 326 and 327:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP forces in being
Page 328 and 329:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP 1986: The Goldw
Page 330 and 331:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP With rumors swi
Page 332 and 333:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Photo courtesy
Page 334 and 335:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP all on-aircraft
Page 336 and 337:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Dur ing the fol
Page 338 and 339:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP the ORI overwhe
Page 340 and 341:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP H ■ BB a FT-
Page 342 and 343:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP 28. History, 2d
Page 344 and 345:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP ranks to become
Page 346 and 347:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP continued to ve
Page 348 and 349:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP process. Events
Page 350 and 351:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP launch. By 1730
Page 352 and 353:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP USAF Photo Crew
Page 354 and 355:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP spacing between
Page 356 and 357:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP vegetation grow
Page 358 and 359:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Task Force Blac
Page 360 and 361:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP JTF-South force
Page 362 and 363:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP 21. Ibid. 22. I
Page 364 and 365:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Cope Thunder Wi
Page 366 and 367:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP the first night
Page 368 and 369:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Within days of
Page 370 and 371:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP SOW forces lean
Page 372 and 373:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP was “not bad.
Page 374 and 375:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP --7^*—1^, ■
Page 376 and 377:
Page 378 and 379:
Page 380 and 381:
Page 382 and 383:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP ready for testi
Page 384 and 385:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP start of the ai
Page 386 and 387:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Orrell had depl
Page 388 and 389:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP 16 January the
Page 390 and 391:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP Saudi Arabia. H
Page 392 and 393:
PRAETORIAN STARSHIP experts destroy
Page 394 and 395:
Chapter 14 Mount Pinatubo to Operat
Page 396 and 397:
MOUNT PINATUBO TO OPERATION JOINT E
Page 398 and 399:
major eruption occurred. Seismograp
Page 400 and 401:
Page 402 and 403:
Page 404 and 405:
headquarters. For AFSOC McPeak’s
Page 406 and 407:
culmination of years of hard work b
Page 408 and 409:
Page 410 and 411:
Page 412 and 413:
flew a SOCEUR assessment team into
Page 414 and 415:
Early in the spring of 1993, all th
Page 416 and 417:
Page 418 and 419:
Page 420 and 421:
Page 422 and 423:
Page 424 and 425:
Page 426 and 427:
Page 428 and 429:
Page 430 and 431:
Page 432 and 433:
Page 434 and 435:
Page 436 and 437:
Page 438 and 439:
Page 440 and 441:
Page 442 and 443:
Page 444 and 445:
Chapter 15 Operation Assured Respon
Page 446 and 447:
OPERATION ASSURED RESPONSE TO THE N
Page 448 and 449:
Page 450 and 451:
Page 452 and 453:
fuel available at the new location
Page 454 and 455:
Page 456 and 457:
Page 458 and 459:
Page 460 and 461:
Page 462 and 463:
Page 464 and 465:
Page 466 and 467:
Page 468 and 469:
Page 470 and 471:
Page 472 and 473:
Page 474 and 475:
Page 476 and 477:
Page 478 and 479:
Page 480 and 481:
Page 482 and 483:
Page 484 and 485:
Page 486 and 487:
Epilogue 2000 and Beyond: A Combat
Page 488 and 489:
surface will be covered by layers o
Page 490 and 491:
Live Fulton STARS Made by Combat Ta
Page 492 and 493:
Person Date Location Recovery Pilot
Page 494 and 495:
Partial Summary of Upgrades, MOD-90
Page 496 and 497:
—X Band Receiver/Transmitter: On
Page 498 and 499:
Glossary AAA AAF ABCCC ABW ACS AD A
Page 500 and 501:
CTJTF CTMR CTW CV DCS DCSO DIA DMZ
Page 502 and 503:
MATS MC MCAS MCM MEU MFF MFP MIA MO
Page 504 and 505:
SKE SLOG SMM SOAR SOCCENT SOCCT SOC
Page 506 and 507:
Index Aircraft B-17: 2-4, 15, 17, 2
Page 508 and 509:
Far East Command (FECOM): 5-8 Fulto
show all

1 - The Black Vault

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?