1 - The Black Vault

PRAETORIAN STARSHIP
that everyone in front of the navigator’s curtain
use NVGs. The right-seat pilot flew the approach
with panel lights turned out, while the flight engineer
monitored the engine instruments and the
right-seat pilot’s approach. Both the right-seat pilot
and the flight engineer focused their NVGs
inside the cockpit. To prevent any light bleeding
forward from the navigators’ station, heavy blackout
curtains were installed in place of the thin
dividing curtain used on standard C-130 aircraft.
All lights forward of the curtain were either
turned off or taped to prevent illuminating the
interior of the cockpit. Throughout the approach
the left-seat pilot and the third pilot (safety pilot)
focused their NVGs outside the aircraft and
scanned for the runway environment. At one to
four miles out from landing, the left-seat pilot acquired
the landing lights, the safety pilot confirmed
them, and the left-seat pilot began flying
the aircraft. Airspeed, absolute altitude, and
vertical-velocity information were read to the leftseat
pilot by the right-seat pilot and the left navigator
until the aircraft touched down on the runway.
If no lights were on the runway, the left-seat
pilot usually acquired the runway within a mile of
the approach end, depending on moon illumination
and the brightness of the runway striping. As
the aircraft decelerated through 40 knots after
landing, the landing lights were turned off, and
the aircraft rolled out to its predetermined offload
location. Covert taxi lights were used sparingly
and usually only during turns or in congested
areas. 1
For NVG takeoffs the left-seat pilot maintained
runway alignment with visual reference to the
runway centerline while still using NVGs. The
right-seat pilot read off the airspeeds as the aircraft
accelerated. On rotation the right-seat pilot
provided the left-seat pilot with the number of
degrees nose-up attitude and the aircraft’s airspeed
on climb out. With the introduction of the
IR filters for the aircraft lights and for the portable
runway lights, Vaught’s requirement for total
blacked-out landings (to the naked eye) was
achieved. 2
Fuel-Cell (Blivet) Airdrop
The 8th SOS had initially identified the need
to air-drop fuel to helicopters during the October
1979 Red Flag exercise held at Nellis AFB, Nevada.
When the requirement to refuel helicopters
arose in late November, JTF planners turned to
the air-drop method as their first solution to the
refueling problem. The initial blivet drop was
conducted using rigging similar to the CRRC,
with two G-12D parachutes to support a rigged
weight of 3,500 pounds (500 gallons of fuel). As
the number of helicopters were expanded to six,
then later to eight, the number of blivets to be
dropped by each C-130 increased to five. Between
December 1979 and February 1980, the blivet
drop was refined to include all equipment required
to position the blivets and then to pump
fuel to the waiting helicopters. Thus, the standard
five-blivet airdrop included two petroleum,
oil, and lubricant pumps (A-22s) and a small
tractor, called a mule, to move the blivets into
position. The total weight of the load was approximately
20,000 pounds. 3
Testing was done on the five blivet loads at
Fort Bragg and at Yuma, Arizona, in December
and in early 1980. Testing confirmed that CDS
procedures provided were the most accurate and
effective means to deliver the heavy load. The following
modifications were made to the Combat
Talon to allow for successful CDS air-drops:
1. Additional intermediate rails were installed.
2. A dual CDS gate (strap with cutter blade)
was developed.
3. Retractable VanZelm ratchets were installed.
4. Individual gates were used for each blivet.
Although the fuel blivet air-drop procedure
was not used for the actual mission, the air-drop
option remained the JTF’s first choice until
shortly before mission execution. A secondary
airland method of delivering the blivets also was
developed. Called the blivet combat off-load, it
included modification of the ground-loading
ramps with skate wheels to allow the aircraft to
taxi with the loading ramps deployed. After the
aircraft had landed and taxied to its off-load loca -
tion, each blivet would be released from its restraints
one at a time as the aircraft taxied forward.
After the first blivet was downloaded, the
aircraft would stop, the loadmaster would cut the
second blivet loose, and the aircraft would
resume taxi while the blivet exited the rear of the
aircraft. The procedure was repeated until all
blivets were unloaded. At Desert One Fleming’s
crew downloaded three fuel blivets using the
combat off-load procedure. 4
Fuel-Bladder Refueling System
Although airdrop of the fuel blivets proved to
be a viable delivery technique, the Delta Force
commander, Col Charlie Beckwith, did not like
the idea of having to depend on air-dropped
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