1 - The Black Vault

Chapter 3
Combat Knife
(The Pope Air Force Base Years: 1965–74)
On the three types of individuals who play the game: “First, there are those who are winners and
know they are winners. Then there are the losers who know they are losers. Then there are those
who are not winners but don’t know it. They’re the ones for me. They never quit trying. They’re the
soul of our game.”
—Paul “Bear” Bryant
In the Beginning There Was Pope
Fourteen C-130E aircraft that would later become
known as Combat Talons came off the Lockheed-
Marietta assembly line and were accepted by the
USAF beginning in July 1965. They were production
aircraft and were not equipped with the Fulton
STARS modification, the AN/APQ-115 TF/TA
radar, or any ECM equipment. The 464th Troop
Carrier Wing, Pope AFB, North Carolina, was
designated the stateside unit to receive the first
Combat Talon aircraft. Ramp space at Pope was
extremely limited in the summer of 1965 due to
the massive buildup for the war in Vietnam. As a
result, the new C-130E aircraft were temporarily
stored at Sewart AFB, Tennessee, until adequate
facilities became available and maintenance personnel
were trained at Pope AFB. Personnel from
Pope AFB traveled on temporary duty to Sewart
AFB to gain experience in the aircraft. While
awaiting the initial STARS modification, aircrews
ferried the aircraft to Greenville, South Carolina,
where Ling-Tempco-Vaught Electrosystems painted
them in the low-radar reflective black and green
paint scheme from which they would come to be
called Blackbirds. A heavy, porous paint, it added
370 pounds to the aircraft’s basic weight. Starting
in December 1965, three aircraft each month were
sent to Lockheed-Georgia, where the Fulton
STARS modification was completed. Aircraft 64-
0565 and 64-0568 were temporarily assigned to
the 4442d Combat Crew Training Wing while
awaiting modifications. By May 1966 all 14 Combat
Talon aircraft had been modified with the
Fulton STARS. As each aircraft completed the
Fulton modification, it was sent to LAS Ontario
for installation of the AN/APQ-115 TF/TA radar
and the ECM suite.
The 779th Troop Carrier Squadron, commanded
by Lt Col Rodney H. Newbold, 464th
Troop Carrier Wing, was identified as the squadron
to operate the new C-130E (I) aircraft under
the code name Project Skyhook . In March 1966
the 779th sent a C-130 instructor crew to Edwards
AFB, California, for initial checkout in the
Fulton system. The checkout took a month to
complete, with each pilot accomplishing 15 recoveries.
Enlisted crew members returned to Pope
AFB on 14 April 1966 and organized the Skyhook
ground school. Officer crew members received additional
instruction on the AN/APQ-115 radar
and returned to Pope AFB on 30 April. The initial
instructor crew formed the nucleus of the Skyhook
program for Tactical Air Command. 1
Between 1 May and 30 June, six additional
crews were qualified by 779th instructors in the
Skyhook system and were identified to deploy to
SEA under the code name Project Stray Goose.
Initial training stressed operations utilizing the
AN/APQ-115 TF/TA radar and the Fulton STARS.
Low-level training was conducted at 1,000 feet
AGL at night and 500 feet during the day. The
ground-school portion of training included radar
and Fulton mock-ups to familiarize students
with those unique capabilities before beginning
the flying phase. Lt Col Donald J. Britton, formerly
assigned to the operations plans branch
of the 464th TCW, was designated the Stray
Goose detachment commander (see chap. 4). 2
Photo courtesy of Richard H. Sell
Aircraft 64-0566 on the ramp at Pope AFB, North Carolina,
spring of 1966.
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