1 - The Black Vault

FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES
squadron and to the improvement of their assigned
facilities. 26
Credible Sport II
During the summer of 1981, the Combat Talon
II program began to pick up momentum. To
save funds and to capitalize on work done in the
Credible Sport program the previous year, the
remaining Credible Sport aircraft was considered
an option to serve as the test bed for Combat
Talon II. Credible Sport had been conducted
from August to November 1980 and resulted in
the modification of two C-130H aircraft into a
super STOL configuration (chap. 9). A third aircraft
had been partly modified and had served
as the Credible Sport test-bed aircraft while the
other two were undergoing modifications at
Lockheed-Marietta. Credible Sport aircraft 74-
1683 crashed during testing on 29 October 1980
and was destroyed, and the partly modified testbed
aircraft (74-2065) was later demodified and
returned to the Air Force inventory. The third
aircraft (74-1686) remained at Warner Robins
AFB, Georgia, with the rocket motors removed
but with other STOL modifications operational.
The initial requirement for Combat Talon II included
the STOL capability—without augmenting
rockets to assist during the takeoff and
landing phase of flight. After review of various
options, Headquarters TAC made the decision
to use aircraft 74-1686 as the test bed for the
new Combat Talon, and it designated the 8th
SOS as its representative for the Credible
Sport/Combat Talon II developmental program.
The effort was designated Credible Sport II, and
an initial planning conference was conducted
from 21 to 26 July 1981 at the Credible Sport
Program Office in Atlanta, Georgia. 27
Photo courtesy of John R. Lewis
Aircraft 74-1686 during Credible Sport II testing. The
aircraft served as the test bed for Combat Talon II.
The Credible Sport II program had two phases:
Phase I incorporated minor modifications to improve
aerodynamics and safety of flight, while
Phase II incorporated modifications to enhance
mission capability and to align more closely the
Credible Sport experimental vehicle configuration
with Combat Talon II configuration requirements.
Major Uttaro, who had participated in the Desert
One rescue mission and the original Credible
Sport program in 1980, was designated by TAC as
the deputy, Combined Test Force for the Credible
Sport Operational Utility Evaluation (OUE),
which the program was officially called. The Combined
Test Force included personnel from Air
Force Systems Command, Test and Engineering
Division, Edwards AFB, California; Lockheed-
Marietta contractor personnel; and 8th SOS crew
members who together were designated as the
OUE Team. The 8th SOS crew was made up of
two pilots, two navigator/electronic warfare officers,
and one flight engineer. At the conclusion of
the conference, a Test and Evaluation Master
Plan (TEMP) was drafted, and the test location
was narrowed to either Duke Field or Hurlburt
Field, both located in the Florida Panhandle. 28
The 8th SOS Earns the
Joseph B. Duckworth Award
The 8th SOS was recognized in August for its
contributions to instrument flight by earning the
1980 USAF Joseph B. Duckworth instrument
award. The Duckworth award was presented annually
to the unit or individual considered to have
made the most significant contribution to the art
or science of instrument flight. The squadron was
selected because of its innovative precision airborne
radar approach (PARA) procedure that required
only airborne equipment already installed
in the aircraft for approach and landing during
daylight or darkness and in all weather conditions.
The PARA combined the efforts of the three
pilots, the two navigators, and the flight engineer
into a highly cohesive system. The squadron was
also recognized for introducing NVGs to the
PARA procedure, which allowed the crew to fly
the PARA in a darkened cockpit and land the
aircraft without overt aircraft or runway lights.
The new PARA had been developed to a point
that it was taught to the crews from USAFE and
PACAF Combat Talon sister squadrons and to
MAC SOLL C-130, C-141, and C-5 units. 29
As the summer of 1981 progressed, the 8th
SOS continued to participate in JCS and quarterly
special operations exercises. In August the
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