Bloody Sixteen: The USS Oriskany and Air Wing 16 during the Vietnam War

404 Pages·2018·5.45 MB·English

by  Peter Fey

“The Vietnam War was the apex of naval aviation, and Peter Fey tells you why in this magnificent,
superbly researched history of Air Wing 16 aboard USS Oriskany. Betrayed by politicians and senior
military leadership in a no win war, the men in the cockpits had only courage, valor, professionalism,
superb leadership—and each other. This book brought back the whole bloody tragedy. I could again hear
the engines whine, smell the jet exhaust, see the faces in the ready rooms, feel the deck jump as the
catapults fired, and see the flak and surface-to-air missiles.”
—Stephen Coonts, New York Times bestselling author of Flight of the Intruder
“Peter Fey’s narrative of USS Oriskany and Carrier Air Wing 16 personalizes the Vietnam era with insight
into the costs and effects. The political and cultural aspects are well handled, including the efforts of POW-
MIA families to buck the Johnson administration’s reluctance to address those concerns. Fey’s description of
the atmosphere at the Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, is particularly relevant. Few authors—other
than someone who has swum in that pool—would understand it so well.”
—Barrett Tillman, author of On Wave and Wing: The 100 Year Quest to Perfect the Aircraft Carrier
Bloody Sixteen
Bloody Sixteen
The USS Oriskany and Air Wing 16 during the
Vietnam War
Peter Fey
Potomac Books
An imprint of the University of Nebraska Press
© 2018 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska Cover designed by University of Nebraska
Press; cover images courtesy of the National Naval Aviation Museum.
All rights reserved. Potomac Books is an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017041404
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-
party websites or their content.
To my father. A scout in the United States Cavalry, he also survived the Vietnam
War. He talked very little about his experiences. When he did, it was often of the
naval aviators who saved his troop. I grew up in awe of these men, because if my
own father held them in such regard, that was good enough for me. Because of
him, I chose to follow in the footsteps of giants.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Part 1. Setting the Stage
1. Rolling Thunder and the Numbers Game
2. The Environment
3. The Naval Air War
Part 2. 1965
4. Gradual Beginnings
5. The War Heats Up
6. The Bridge Campaign
Part 3. 1966
7. The POL Campaign
8. The Battle Increases
9. Fire!
Part 4. 1967
10. Long, Hot Summer
11. The Stennis Hearings and the Climax of Rolling Thunder
12. Black October
13. In the End
Part 5. In Retrospect
14. 1968, the Summer of Violence
15. The POWs
16. “Because Our Fathers Lied”
Appendix 1: 1965 WESTPAC
Appendix 2: 1966 WESTPAC
Appendix 3: 1967–1968 WESTPAC
Appendix 4: Chronological History of Rolling Thunder
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Illustrations
Maps
1. North Vietnam and Southeast Asia during Operation Rolling Thunder, 1965–
68
2. Targets within the restricted and prohibited areas around Hanoi
3. Targets within the restricted and prohibited areas around the port city of
Haiphong
4. Significant missions and losses during 1965
5. Significant missions and losses during 1966
6. Significant missions and losses during 1967
Photographs
1. Capt. Bart Connolly and CAG, Cdr. James Stockdale
2. Explosions at Bien Hoa air base, 16 May 1965
3. Lt. (junior grade) Rick Adams following his rescue on 5 October 1965
4. Lt. Cdr. Richard Powers and Lt. Bernard Marks
5. VA-163 plane captain Larry Neff poses with Stockdale’s aircraft
6. The same aircraft following Stockdale’s loss
7. An RF-8G Crusader during a reconnaissance mission, July 1966
8. Eric’s truck park
9. Lt. Cdr. Tom Tucker is rescued in one of the most daring and photographed
rescues of the war
10. Tucker chastises the helicopter crew because he wants them to stay and fight
11. Lt. Cdr. Dick Perry stands in front of his damaged A-4 Skyhawk, September
1966
12. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara presents Cdr. Dick Bellinger with a
Silver Star, October 1966
13. McNamara and Chairman Wheeler aboard the Oriskany, 12 October 1966
14. Cdr. Paul Engel dons an OBA during the hangar deck fire
15. Sailors drape hoses down to their shipmates battling the inferno in the hangar
bay
16. A fire-damaged stateroom
17. Flag-draped remains are off-loaded at Cubi Point
18. An Iron Hand A-4 Skyhawk from VA-164 proceeds feet-dry
19. VA-164 Skyhawks refuel VF-111 Crusaders prior to an Iron Hand mission
20. The burning USS Forrestal as seen from the Oriskany’s bridge, 29 July 1967
21. VA-164’s pilots pose in orange socks
22. Tuesday luncheon, 10 October 1967
23. The first bombs explode on Phuc Yen, North Vietnam’s primary MiG base
24. Oriskany’s aircraft bomb the hangar at Phuc Yen
25. Bombs impact the Hanoi thermal power plant, 26 October 1967
26. Lt. Ed Van Orden’s F-8 Crusader sits on the bow following a bad catapult
shot
27. A MiG-17 moments before it was shot down by Lt. Dick Wyman, December
1967