George Elsea

A Tuy Hoa Ace Sampler

Following four years at RAF Lakenheath I was assigned to the 510th TFS at Bien Hoa. Upon arrival in early November 1966 I was met at the airplane and told, "Don't unpack; you're assigned to the 308th Squadron and we're leaving tomorrow for Tuy Hoa." So, I went to Tuy Hoa the next day on a C-130 while most of the other 308th pilots flew normal F-100 combat missions and recovered there.

The base was in a state of hurried construction by a civilian contractor. There was an aluminum mat runway, taxiways, and parking ramp laid out on the sandy beach in Central South Vietnam which extended a couple of miles inland from the South China Sea. Tents had been erected for basic functions. Our squadron was immediately tasked to fly combat missions in bare base conditions out of Tuy Hoa South. (Tuy Hoa North was an existing US Army base north of the river.)

About three or four weeks later the 31st Wing from Homestead AFB arrived with the 306th and 309th squadrons. The 308th was then returned to the 31st Wing.

The 1966 Northeast Monsoon was exceptionally fierce. Strong winds and rain swept in off of the South China Sea with considerable effect. For the troops living in the tents it was like living inside a flag.

Off base was off limits. There was not much to do other than fly missions when the weather permitted, eat C rations and Spam sandwiches in our makeshift crew dining room, or play cards and drink beer in the Officers' Club. (It was a top priority, self-help project created from a clothes drying room the civilian contractors had used.)

There was plenty of spare time. On an afternoon in early December, '66 fifty-knot winds and rain shut down flying. I began doodling on a sheet of airmail stationery. From random sketches appeared a decrepit generic fighter pilot. He evolved into a character used to depict many of the routine aspects of our life at Tuy Hoa at that time. I stuck cartoons on the wall of the club from time to time for the next six or eight months. By then the Ace had become a popular figure. Some of the pilots wanted to have the cartoons made up into a souvenir book. The original drawings that had survived posting in the bar were printed in Taiwan as A Tuy Hoa Ace.

At Tuy Hoa our top mission priority was to give close support to the troops on the ground fighting the Viet Cong and the NVN regulars. We also supported army helicopter troop movements by bombing trees to create landing zones and suppressing enemy fire just before the troops arrived. We escorted Ranch Hand C-123s to discourage anti-aircraft fire coming from the jungles. We flew interdiction missions in Laos against the Ho Chi Minh Trail supply lines, and some in North Vietnam. But most preplanned missions were flown to attack suspected VC locations. In any of these missions the visible target was usually trees.

And Bomb Damage Assessment (BDA) from most missions was No BDA due to Smoke and Foliage.

Hence A Tuy Hoa Ace.

An intelligence briefing was part of every preplanned mission. Because missions were similar most intel briefings were similar. One stands out in my memory.

Shortly after we started flying out of Tuy Hoa, another guy and I were fragged to hit a radar van in Laos. This was a new place for us to go. The intel brief was similar to others with its small arms fire possible comment. When we approached the target area we found the FAC circling about ten miles from the target. He described it as being in the southeast of the bomb-cratered area, no friendlies in the area. So we located the van and made several dive bombing passes. We got it dirty but had no direct hits; so, we asked the FAC if he wanted twenty mike-mike. After a pause he said, "Be my guest." So, we hammered it into a sponge with the guns on several low passes. We later learned that the target, a place called Tchepone, was one of the most consistently effective anti-aircraft sites in Laos. For some reason they didn't fire a shot at us. When we stomped back to the intel briefer asking why he didn't tell us the full story, he said, "You didn't have a need to know."

The survival equipment we carried was invaluable if needed, but it was a little cumbersome. Conscientious personal equipment specialists in the squadrons maintained the gear and made sure we dumb pilots knew how to se it just in case. We usually carried unofficial but important additional items such as baby bottles full of water reportedly THE most important item to have in the event of a bailout into the jungle (to help get rid of cottonmouth). I usually drank mine on the way back to the base when anti-aircraft fire was unlikely.

Somehow you were always on the early mission during the monsoon season. So, of course, were the ground crews.

Ground fire was often the least of the worries on close support missions. There were many Army flying machines in Vietnam, particularly around a hot battle area. The traffic density was considerable especially at low levels where we made 500 mph bombing and strafing passes.

Ground Controlled Approach (GCA) RADAR controllers need practice. Somehow it seemed that some new guy was practicing just when weather got interesting.

Actually an experienced controller was watching over the trainees shoulder ready to take over if requested or if the trainee made a mistake. (It says here.) The main problem with the RADAR at Tuy Hoa was that when the weather was really bad the temporary mobile equipment didn't work well.

After flying and debriefing the last mission of the day, we generally headed for the bar to swap lies and discuss important stuff. The routine included rolling dice to determine who would buy the next round of drinks.