1 - The Black Vault

plan, Colonel Hudspeth arrived in the squadron
and pulled Thigpen aside. Hudspeth was en
route to the Rhein Main AB Command Post,
where he had a secure telephone call waiting for
him. Both officers assumed the call was related
to the Beirut disaster. Hudspeth directed Thigpen
to continue on to base operations and file his
flight plan but to delay departure until released
by him personally. With the flight plan filed, the
pilots and navigators proceeded to aircraft 64-
0561 and began their preflight duties. The crew
was waiting in their seats ready for engine start
when Hudspeth returned in his staff car. The secure
telephone call had been from Twenty-Third
Air Force, and Hudspeth directed that the crew
return to the squadron and prepare for an alternate
mission. In short order, crew members were
released to return to their quarters and pack for
a 30-day deployment. No other details were
given. On returning to the squadron, the crew
was instructed to plan a flight from Rhein Main
AB to Hurlburt Field, Florida. Hudspeth explained
that there would be no tanker support,
thus requiring the crew to stop at Keflavic, Iceland,
and Goose Bay, Labrador, for fuel and servicing.
Thigpen was instructed to contact Colonel
Dutton, the Twenty-Third Air Force director of
operations, en route for additional guidance. Just
after 1000 local on 23 October, the aircraft departed
Rhein Main AB en route to Keflavic. 89
Hudspeth had given Thigpen a sealed envelope to
be opened only after takeoff, and when cockpit
duties settled down, Thigpen opened the letter
and read aloud the commander’s remarks. Hudspeth
emphasized the importance of the mission
and assured the crew that it was for real but did
not elaborate on its purpose. He closed by wishing
the crew the best of luck and Godspeed. The
crew still had no idea that the deployment was in
support of Operation Urgent Fury.
The first leg of the flight was uneventful, and,
as the day turned into night, the aircraft was
bearing down on Goose Bay, Labrador, after refueling
in Iceland. Nearing its 16-hour crew day, the
radio operator contacted the MAC command post
at Scott AFB, Illinois, by way of phone patch, and
Thigpen talked with Dutton. The crew’s duty day
was extended by two hours, and Thigpen was instructed
to press on toward Hurlburt Field until
told to do otherwise. Every two hours the crew
contacted Dutton, and the answer was always
FROM DESERT ONE TO POINT SALINES
the same—continue on to Hurlburt Field. Ground
time at Goose Bay was minimal, and the aircraft
was back in the air within two hours of landing.
All aircraft systems were operating normally as
the crew flew down the East Coast of the United
States. Twenty-six hours into crew day, the aircraft
overflew Hunter AAF, Georgia, en route to
Florida. Little did the crew know that Operation
Urgent Fury preparations were already under
way beneath them.
The aircraft touched down at Hurlburt Field
just before dawn on 24 October, and the crew was
met by 1st SOW/DOS personnel. The mission had
taken 18.2 hours to complete over a 27.5-hour
crew day. It was perhaps the only time a C-130
aircraft had transited the Atlantic without
tanker support during one continuous crew day.
Although exhausted, the crew was ready to
quickly reconstitute to whatever mission might
be forthcoming. The Hurlburt Field reception
party shed little light on the reason for the shortnotice
deployment, but the crew already had
guessed that it must be connected to Grenada. By
0600 local the 7th SOS crew had settled into billeting
at Hurlburt Field and entered crew rest.
Meanwhile, the 1st SOW was alerted, and the
wing began final preparations for Operation Urgent
Fury. Later that day the 7th SOS Combat
Talon (64-0561) was flown to Hunter AAF by an
8th SOS crew and served as a spare for the operation.
That night, with the 7th SOS crew still
at Hurlburt Field, the operation kicked off. The
7th SOS crew had missed participating in the
operation by 24 hours.*
Operation Urgent Fury:
A Rescue Mission in Grenada
With a population of approximately 100,000
people, the island nation of Grenada has a long
history of colonial rule. In 1763, by the Treaty of
Paris, the island was ceded by France to Great
Britain and remained under British colonial rule
from 1833 until 1967, when it attained home-rule
status. In 1974 Grenada became fully independent
but remained a member of Great Brit -
ain’s Commonwealth of Nations. Five years later
the fledgling nation faced economic hardships,
and its people had grown disenchanted with the
government of Prime Minister Sir Eric Gairy. In
a bloodless coup in 1979, led by Marxist Maurice
Bishop, a communist government, friendly to
__________
*The above narrative was provided from the memory of the author. Although events described occurred as indicated, exact takeoff and landing
times, along with the names of other 7th SOS crew members, have faded with time. The story was included to illustrate how the 7th SOS
contributed to Operation Urgent Fury.
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