- 4 minutes ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:01American F-4 Phantoms streak into North Vietnam.
00:05It's time for revenge.
00:08Enemy MiG fighters have been tearing apart US bombers.
00:14Now, legendary ace Robin Olds has set an intricate trap
00:18to lure the elusive MiGs into one-on-one air combat.
00:24It's the most elaborate sting in aviation history,
00:27codename Operation Bolo.
00:30Using state-of-the-art computer graphics,
00:33you're in the cockpit as the hard-hitting F-4 Phantom
00:36takes on the fierce MiG-21 in the biggest aerial battle
00:40the war has yet seen, a deadly air ambush.
00:45Experience the battle.
00:47Dissect the tactics.
00:49Relive the dog fights.
01:07January 2nd, 1967.
01:10Colonel Robin Olds, veteran fighter pilot
01:13and renowned double ace, leads a flight of four Air Force F-4
01:18Phantoms on a mission over North Vietnam.
01:22For months, North Vietnamese pilots
01:25have wreaked havoc on American bombers
01:26with guerrilla hit-and-run tactics.
01:29Now it's time for revenge.
01:32Olds devises an intricate trap to lure unsuspecting MiGs
01:36into a fight.
01:38He disguises his agile fighters to mimic slow
01:42and vulnerable bombers.
01:47As the pilots approach the enemy airfields,
01:50a thick cloud cover obscures the target area where they expect
01:53to find the MiGs.
01:56I went past the target for a couple of minutes,
02:00did a 180, and came back.
02:04Olds circles, hoping the MiGs will take the bait.
02:07I knew they were airborne, but they were underneath us
02:10and going the other way.
02:12So I went further past their airfield by time and distance
02:17and did another 180.
02:21Suddenly, MiGs emerge through the clouds.
02:24They've taken the bait.
02:26One streaks in on Olds' 6 o'clock, directly behind him.
02:34Captain Everett Rasberg, piloting a nearby Phantom,
02:37spots the tailing MiG and radios a warning to Olds.
02:40I looked over and I saw a MiG pop up out of the clouds right
02:44behind him, and I called him by a call sign,
02:49and I told him there was a MiG back there.
02:52Olds orders his flight to do a defensive split,
02:55breaking into elements of two jets each.
02:57But the MiG sticks to Olds.
03:03Olds and his wingman are here.
03:05The MiG is here.
03:07Olds' 3 and 4 man, here, must do something
03:10to protect their leader.
03:13Captain Walter Redeker, piloting the number four Phantom,
03:17acts quickly.
03:18He throttles up into a steep climbing turn called a high yo-yo.
03:25In the high yo-yo, Redeker levels his wings, pulls up,
03:29and gains altitude.
03:30As he comes over the top, he's inverted,
03:33looking down at the MiG.
03:35He turns toward the enemy, staying above and behind.
03:38Then he dives at the MiG.
03:41The goal, come down behind the MiG-21,
03:44in position for a missile shot.
03:47He slides in behind the MiG on Olds' tail and fires.
03:56Mortally wounded, the North Vietnamese jet
03:59spins out of control and disappears in the low clouds.
04:05One MiG is down, but more burst through the clouds.
04:09The fight is on.
04:10The elaborate sting known as Operation Bolo
04:13is quickly growing into the biggest aerial engagement
04:16of the Vietnam War.
04:20For months, American aircraft had fallen prey
04:23to North Vietnamese SAMs, anti-aircraft artillery,
04:26and MiG pilots.
04:28Bolo is a chance to even the score.
04:33Two years earlier, on March 2, 1965, the United States
04:38had kicked off Operation Rolling Thunder.
04:41The objective?
04:43Destroy North Vietnamese base and air defenses.
04:46Smash bridges, roads, and railways.
04:49Choke the flow of men and supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
04:53Get the North to abandon support of the Viet Cong rebels
04:56in the South, but Washington has placed restrictions
04:59on the American airmen.
05:02The simple answer to destroying the MiG force
05:04was to destroy the bases where the MiGs flew from.
05:07At this time, the airfields were off limits
05:10because killing the Russian advisors at these airfields
05:13risked a wider war.
05:15The only way to destroy them then was only after they
05:18were in the air.
05:20Even the approach to a target was dictated by Washington.
05:23You had to go down a corridor.
05:26So where do you suppose they put all their guns?
05:29I was told that the North Vietnamese possessed
05:32more anti-aircraft weapons in a 40, 50 mile radius
05:36of Hanoi than Germany had possessed in all of Europe
05:41in War II.
05:42So the opposition from guns, missiles, and MiGs
05:47was quite impressive.
05:52Losses mounted.
05:54Among the hardest hit were fighter bombers,
05:56like the F-105 Thunder Chief, known affectionately
05:59as the Thud.
06:01Laden with bombs, the Thud lost its agility
06:04and suffered greatly in the face of communist surface
06:07to air missiles and fighter pilots.
06:09In July 1966, the North Vietnamese downed 43 American aircraft,
06:15the highest monthly loss in over a year.
06:18In that same summer of 1966, the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing
06:23lost 22 pilots and 11 aircraft.
06:26The men were frustrated, disheartened, and walking away.
06:31Over 1,400 veteran pilots had left the Air Force
06:34for the fast-growing commercial aviation sector.
06:39But one commander saw what needed to be done and spoke up.
06:43He was a committed warrior, a double ace.
06:46For years, he had advocated a greater need
06:49for aggressive dogfight training.
06:51His name was Robin Olds.
06:55Basically, the people who were training pilots
06:58were more concerned about safety in their own rear ends
07:03than proper training.
07:05Besides, they didn't know proper training anyway.
07:07Youngsters were taught about all the switches in the cockpit
07:10and how to start it and take off and land.
07:12And dropping a few little practice bombs.
07:16None of the new fighter pilots were really
07:20trained in dogfighting.
07:22Robin was about results.
07:24And if he had to fold, spindle, or mutilate some regulations
07:29in order to get the job done, he would do it.
07:32On September 30, 1966, Robin Olds assumed command
07:37of the Air Force's 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon Air Base
07:41in Thailand.
07:42What he brought was rock star charisma coupled in a powerful,
07:47dynamic package that in another era would have been a warrior king.
07:52So Robin's personality really is what turned around the 8th
07:57Fighter Wing.
07:58Colonel Olds will teach the 8th Fighter Wing how to dogfight
08:02fight and get revenge on the MiG-21s.
08:05To teach dogfighting, you have to be a dogfighter.
08:08And Olds is a pro.
08:10In teaching the 8th Fighter Wing, he
08:12would draw on a vast reservoir of knowledge,
08:15learned the hard way decades earlier.
08:18Robin Olds cut his dogfighting teeth in World War II
08:21in the skies over Germany.
08:24August 24, 1944, 22-year-old Captain Robin Olds
08:30pilots his P-38, named SCAT-3, over Germany.
08:35His mission?
08:36Protect American heavy bombers from Luftwaffe fighters.
08:41Olds' flight of four P-38s is on the far left of three squadrons.
08:46Between them, they cover nearly 20 miles of sky.
08:52On the lookout, Olds spots tiny specks at his 11 o'clock.
08:58I knew what they were.
08:59I knew they were enemy, because there was nobody else
09:02supposed to be there.
09:04It's a swarm of Messerschmitt ME-109 fighters.
09:10There must have been 55, at least 55 or 60 109s.
09:16Olds' three and four planes report in with engine
09:19problems from poor fuel quality and lag behind.
09:22But Olds and his wingman, B.E. Hollister,
09:25pull ahead to investigate.
09:27Then Olds makes an aggressive move.
09:30He firewalls his throttle and races towards the Messerschmitts.
09:34Olds' wingman faithfully keeps up.
09:37Olds is about to do the unthinkable.
09:39His two fighters will take on 50 ME-109s.
09:45But in the right hands, the twin engine lightning
09:47is up to the task.
09:50The P-38 was a great fighter, fun to fly,
09:53with a decent pilot.
09:55You could whip anybody down low.
09:59From its first flight on January 27, 1939,
10:02the Lockheed P-38 Lightning is seen as a radical departure
10:06from traditional American fighters of the day.
10:08It boasts twice the power and almost twice the size
10:12of its predecessors.
10:13With four 50 caliber machine guns plus a 20 millimeter cannon,
10:18the P-38 packs enough firepower to sink a ship.
10:23The Germans dubbed the new fighter the fork-tailed devil.
10:28The P-38's opponent is the small, nimble Messerschmitt
10:31and ME-109, a favorite of the Luftwaffe.
10:34Over 35,000 are built, more than any fighter in history.
10:39The ME-109 is heavily armed with two machine guns
10:43and a devastating 30 millimeter cannon.
10:47A single hit could shatter Olds' P-38.
10:53The P-38 is faster, can outturn the ME-109,
10:57and is more heavily armed.
10:59But the German fighter has its own advantages.
11:01It's better in a dive.
11:05I could outturn the 109 at the altitudes at which we flew.
11:09I couldn't dive with him.
11:12If the German aircraft are formidable,
11:14so are the men who fly them.
11:16The German Air Force is the most experienced in the world.
11:19Some pilots in combat since 1937 have hundreds of kills.
11:25They had some superb pilots.
11:27So you never knew what you're going to be up against.
11:30I never got in two battles that were the same.
11:35Olds and his wingman steal even closer,
11:38approaching undetected behind the vast German formation.
11:45To reduce drag, the P-38s dropped their heavy, long-range
11:49fuel tanks that they needed to fly this far into Germany.
11:53And I told my wingman, B.E. Hollister, tanks.
11:58Off went the drops, and we kind of barged ahead.
12:01And I lined up on Taylor and Charlie,
12:03and they were just about to shoot, and both engines quit.
12:07Startled, Olds realizes that when he dropped his tanks,
12:10he forgot to switch over to his internal fuel supply.
12:14So what the hell?
12:15I shot anyway.
12:20And to this day, I claim to be the only fighter pilot in the history
12:24of aerial warfare to shoot down an enemy aircraft
12:28while in the glide mode.
12:34As that first enemy breaks up and tumbles away,
12:36Olds restarts his engines and presses his attack into the formation.
12:41I know it sounds ridiculous for two guys to attack that many airplanes.
12:46But I ask anyone who's listening, put yourself in one of those German airplanes.
12:54One of your people screams that he's been hit.
12:58He's bailing out.
12:59Every man in that huge gaggle would wonder if there was somebody right behind him.
13:05The German pilots scatter in panic.
13:08The P-38 speed into the formation of 50 enemy planes.
13:12Olds' wingman chases after two aircraft.
13:15Olds, in a climbing left turn, pursues another Messerschmitt.
13:20Then I went on into the fight, got another one.
13:23B.E. got two of them up here with one pass.
13:26And I looked down and there was a P-51.
13:29Where he came from, I have no idea.
13:31The American P-51 Mustang is being chased by two ME109s.
13:36Olds breaks into a steep, screaming dive to help the outnumbered Mustang.
13:43But in his excitement, Olds dives too fast.
13:50Olds pulls and turns his control yoke.
13:52SCAT-3 doesn't respond.
13:54His P-38 plummets out of control, plunging toward the German countryside.
14:05August 23, 1943.
14:09Army Air Force Captain Robin Olds dives to help an American P-51 under attack.
14:14But he dives too fast.
14:16The speed built up in his dive has rendered his flight controls useless.
14:21The P-38 is now gripped by an aerodynamic effect known as compressibility.
14:27It was a phenomenon only beginning to be understood by aircraft engineers and pilots.
14:33In the dive, Olds' P-38 actually approaches the speed of sound.
14:38The air on the leading edge of the wing begins to compress.
14:41As the speed increases, a shockwave develops.
14:45The airflow over the wings and critical control surfaces is disrupted.
14:49The pilot is no longer master of his machine.
14:55When the pilot in P-38 was in a dive with compressibility,
14:59the control surfaces were almost useless,
15:01and they could pull and yank at it as hard as they could
15:03and get almost no reaction.
15:05It must have been a terrifying experience.
15:08With the loss of control, Olds focuses his attention inside the cockpit.
15:13I saw that .51 down there and dove without thinking.
15:18So to heck with the Germans.
15:19All I wanted to do was try to recover,
15:21because many had not been able to do so.
15:24But as he reaches the denser air at lower altitude,
15:28the control surfaces start to respond.
15:30He pulls back hard on the P-38's control yoke.
15:34I pulled so many G's that my canopy window broke out,
15:40which was horrifying noise.
15:42And I know it sounds like an exaggeration,
15:44but I managed to pull out right above this wheat field
15:49near the town of Rostov.
15:52With a shattered canopy, it's time for Olds to call it a day.
15:58Now I want to go home.
15:59You know, I've had enough.
16:01But a string of tracer fire past his nose brings him back into the fight.
16:07And there was a 109 shooting at me.
16:09And I quickly turned hard, thinking,
16:14this isn't fair.
16:15Leave me alone.
16:16I'm hurt.
16:16All I want to do is go home.
16:18Olds has to make a quick decision.
16:20He can increase power, pull ahead, and hope to outrun the German.
16:24Or he can climb to gain room to maneuver.
16:27But a climb could slow him down and give the enemy an easier shot at him.
16:33Olds is here in front of the German.
16:36Olds goes for the extreme.
16:38He flat planes, pulls on the yoke as hard as he can, turns hard left, 90 degrees, and shudders
16:46into a high-speed stall.
16:49It's the air combat equivalent of locking the brakes.
16:56And with a T-force like that, I slowed down rapidly.
17:02He overshot.
17:04I rolled the wings level, and he was right in front of me, so I pulled the trigger.
17:12Down he went.
17:20It's Olds' fifth kill.
17:23He's officially an ace.
17:26By the end of World War II, Captain Robin Olds tallies 12 kills.
17:31During his days fighting over Europe, Olds learns lessons and tactics taught by his squadron commander,
17:38the legendary Hub Zemke.
17:40Zemke focused the men on the basics.
17:42But strongly believed an aggressive spirit was the most valuable asset of a fighter pilot.
17:50Now, 23 years later in Vietnam, Olds' pilots a jet with speeds three times faster than his P-38
17:58and with an arsenal that includes high-tech missiles.
18:03His dogfighting skills and leadership will inspire and revitalize the young pilots
18:08and instill in them the confidence to wrest control of the skies over North Vietnam.
18:16All the guys loved Robin when he got there.
18:19And one reason was he came in and said, this is the way it is.
18:24I'm the new guy, but I'm going to give you guys about two weeks,
18:28and I'm going to be better than any of you.
18:31I'm pointing to every person in that room.
18:37Olds is a maverick and does things his way.
18:41He ignores rank and assigns flight leaders by ability.
18:45Things changed for the better.
18:47It became a fighter wing.
18:50His pilots are ready for combat, and Olds has picked the target,
18:54the Soviet-built MiG-21s.
18:57They're taking their toll on American aircraft, and Olds wants revenge.
19:03But to destroy the MiGs, Olds must fight them in the air,
19:07engage them, and kill them.
19:10He devises one of the most ingenious traps in aerial history.
19:16I went to my boss, General Molmeier,
19:18and suggested that the MiGs were getting very frisky, as he knew,
19:22that I had an idea that we could do something about it.
19:25Olds' plan is simple.
19:27Trick the enemy into thinking that his F-4 Phantom fighters
19:31are the more vulnerable F-105 Thunderchiefs.
19:34When bomb-laden F-105s flew over enemy territory,
19:38the MiGs came up and engaged the slower, less agile fighter bombers.
19:43The North Vietnamese Air Force developed a hit-and-run tactic
19:46that's akin to guerrilla tactics,
19:48where the MiG-21s would come in at low altitude,
19:51pop up and try and hit the F-105 strike forces,
19:54but then escape before the F-4s could come down and attack them.
19:58The reluctance of the MiG pilots to engage
20:01didn't mean they lacked courage or skill.
20:03The U.S. estimated that the North Vietnamese
20:06only had 16 MiG-21s.
20:09They were very careful how they used them.
20:11Robin Olds and his Phantoms,
20:14by flying like F-105s,
20:16using the same approaches, radio frequencies,
20:19call signs, and flight patterns,
20:21hoped to deceive the North Vietnamese radar operators
20:24into ordering the MiG-21s
20:26to attack the presumably easy prey.
20:29Once in the air,
20:30the American fighters would cut down the MiGs.
20:34Olds names the plan Operation Bolo
20:37after a lethal Filipino fighting knife.
20:42But Olds needed one more trick to complete the ruse.
20:46The QRC-160 electronic countermeasures pod
20:50jammed enemy radars,
20:52decreasing the ability of anti-aircraft guns
20:55and surface-to-air missiles to find their targets.
20:58The pod was always carried by the thuds,
21:00but had never been fitted to an F-4.
21:04So the North Vietnamese,
21:06upon catching their signals,
21:09would surely think,
21:10well, these are F-105s.
21:11It was one more key
21:12to the success of Operation Bolo.
21:15So in a moment's notice,
21:17the F-4s were wired
21:19to carry a QRC-160 jamming pod
21:22and switches installed in the cockpit
21:25to activate them.
21:26And they luckily had this pod
21:28to make the Operation Bolo work.
21:32January 2, 1967.
21:35Phantoms from Ubon Air Base in Thailand
21:37roar off the runway.
21:39Seven flights of four Phantoms each
21:41head toward the MiG airfields surrounding Hanoi.
21:46The flights, mimicking the call signs
21:48usually given to the F-105s,
21:51are named for cars.
21:52The first is Olds.
21:54The second is Ford.
21:55The third is Rambler,
21:57followed by Lincoln, Tempest,
21:59Plymouth, and Vespa.
22:01The fighters depart their home base in Thailand
22:04in five-minute intervals
22:05to maximize their time
22:07to engage MiGs over the target area.
22:11The first Phantoms to reach the target
22:13is Olds flight,
22:14led by Colonel Robin Olds.
22:18One MiG has already been shot down.
22:21Knocked out by Olds number four man,
22:23Walter Rettiker.
22:27But more MiG-21s burst through
22:30the cloud layer below.
22:32They realized we were not thuds.
22:35And the lead called out,
22:36these are not thuds,
22:37they're Phantoms.
22:38What shall we do?
22:40Mass confusion.
22:45The MiG pilots had been trained
22:47to follow orders,
22:48not react by instinct.
22:51They always had to obey
22:52what they were told to do
22:53by the ground people.
22:55And the ground people
22:56were in a tizzy,
22:57they didn't know what to do about it.
22:59The North Vietnamese
23:01have taken the bait.
23:03Olds orders his men to attack.
23:05Operation Bolo
23:06is about to change
23:07the air war
23:08in Vietnam.
23:16January 2nd, 1967.
23:19Colonel Robin Olds
23:20and the other three F-4 Phantoms
23:22of his strike group
23:23streak high over the Phuc Yen airfield,
23:26emulating a favorite prey
23:28of enemy MiGs,
23:29the F-105 Thunder Chief.
23:31In an elaborate
23:33bait-and-switch sting,
23:35their F-4 fighters
23:36carry an arsenal of weapons
23:38built for dogfighting.
23:40The radar-guided
23:41AIM-7E Sparrow missile
23:43can strike targets
23:44at over 25 miles away,
23:46while the heat-seeking
23:47AIM-9 Sidewinder
23:48can accelerate in seconds
23:50to a speed of Mach 2.5,
23:52over three times faster
23:54than most jets.
23:58With more bandits
23:59scrambling from the airfield below,
24:01the dogfights
24:02are just eating up.
24:04It's time to find out
24:05if Olds and his pilots
24:06can knock the vaunted
24:08MiG-21s out of the sky.
24:10First supplied to North Vietnam
24:12from Russia in March 1966,
24:15the nimble MiG-21
24:17was a vast improvement
24:18over the MiG-17 and 19.
24:22It had greater speed,
24:24higher ceiling,
24:25and more advanced weaponry.
24:26It could reach speeds
24:27of almost 1,400 miles per hour,
24:30and was armed
24:31with a hard-hitting
24:3223-millimeter cannon
24:33and two K-13A Atoll
24:36heat-seeking missiles,
24:37a Soviet copy
24:38of the American
24:40AIM-7E Sidewinder.
24:42MiG-21 at altitude
24:44was better than an F-4.
24:46If you could get him down low
24:48and in a churning battle,
24:50he loses energy
24:52in high-G turns.
24:53So you could battle them
24:55down low,
24:56dogfight, if you will.
24:59But up high,
25:01forget it.
25:05The MiG's opponent
25:06is the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom,
25:09which entered service in 1960
25:11with the U.S. Navy.
25:14The Phantom's two turbojet engines
25:17deliver a top speed
25:18of nearly 1,500 miles per hour.
25:23It could strike targets
25:25out to 1,200 miles
25:26without refueling.
25:30Though formidable,
25:32it was designed
25:33to intercept enemy bombers
25:34with missiles,
25:35not dogfight.
25:37The weaknesses of the F-4
25:39were it didn't have a gun.
25:42The MiGs were real good
25:44at employing their gun.
25:46The MiG is more agile
25:47than the Phantom
25:48above 20,000 feet.
25:49It's smaller,
25:50harder to spot,
25:51and has the important advantage
25:53of a gun.
25:55But down low,
25:57the more powerful Phantom
25:58can outturn the MiG-21.
26:00The F-4 is faster
26:02and has a better rate of climb.
26:03It carries a greater number
26:05of missiles.
26:07The MiG-21s
26:09that rise and strike
26:10at the masquerading Phantoms
26:11on January 2nd
26:12are no easy prey.
26:15The MiG pilots,
26:17to their credit,
26:18were very aggressive,
26:19most of them.
26:20And it was a great opportunity
26:21for us to test our skills.
26:25Olds spots another MiG
26:27at 11 o'clock.
26:28He breaks left
26:29and zeroes in
26:30for an easy kill.
26:33Olds fires
26:34two Sparrow missiles.
26:37But the missiles
26:38lose radar lock
26:39and tear past the MiG.
26:45And then the MiG
26:46Olds sticks with him
26:47and fires a heat-seeking
26:48AIM-9 Sidewinder missile.
26:51But the MiG breaks hard,
26:52shakes the missile lock,
26:54then dives for cover
26:55in the clouds.
26:57But as fast as one vanishes,
27:00another appears.
27:03Then there was another MiG
27:04going 180 degrees to me,
27:09fairly close,
27:10so close that I couldn't just
27:12make a flat turn
27:12and get behind him.
27:14Olds must accomplish
27:15two things.
27:16First, he must reverse
27:17his direction
27:18and get on the MiG's tail.
27:20Second, he must create
27:21enough distance
27:22between himself
27:23and the MiG
27:24to gain a missile lock.
27:27Olds uses a classic
27:28dogfighting maneuver
27:29he learned in World War II,
27:31the vector roll.
27:34I went straight up.
27:38When I got up, up, up,
27:40turned over on my back
27:42and hung there for a moment
27:43or a few seconds
27:45and watched it.
27:46And when the time was right,
27:48I rolled to my right,
27:49and he was down to my left,
27:52so that this roll
27:54would take me
27:55in a wide, swooping,
27:57downward curve,
27:59and I wound up
28:00right behind him.
28:04Olds exploits
28:06the Phantom's powerful thrust
28:07and soars above the MiG.
28:09To counter the mind-numbing G's,
28:11Olds' G suit inflates,
28:13squeezing his calves,
28:15thighs, and stomach
28:16to keep blood in his brain
28:17and prevent a grayout.
28:22I don't think
28:24that MiG saw me, no.
28:25The one that was going
28:26opposite my direction.
28:28If he did,
28:29he was stupid.
28:31Olds,
28:32now in perfect position,
28:34his range only 4,500 feet,
28:36arms his Sidewinder.
28:41When I came down behind him,
28:43I got a wonderful growl
28:44because the Sidewinder
28:46looks at the IR signature
28:48of an airplane,
28:49the heat, the heat waves,
28:50and it speaks to you.
28:53It kind of mumbles,
28:55mumbles,
28:58then if it sees
29:00a good heat source,
29:01it goes,
29:04then you know
29:04that your missile
29:05is looking at the target.
29:07So it's very simple.
29:08All you have to do
29:09is pull the trigger.
29:21The doomed pilot
29:22doesn't deject.
29:25Olds has shot down
29:27one MiG,
29:27but can't stay for more.
29:29His number 4 Phantom,
29:31flown by Captain Rediger,
29:32is in trouble.
29:33One of his tanks
29:34didn't feed.
29:36I had plenty of fuel.
29:37I could have stayed there,
29:38but I wanted to get him home.
29:42Olds streaks out
29:43of the combat zone
29:44and escorts Rediger to safety.
29:46In less than 5 minutes,
29:48Colonel Robin Olds
29:49and his flight
29:49have downed 3 MiGs
29:51with no losses.
30:03The second wave
30:05of four Phantoms,
30:06Ford Flight,
30:07screams in.
30:09Operation Bolo
30:10has suckered the MiGs
30:11into a fight.
30:12The deception
30:13has done its part.
30:15Now, the outcome
30:17is in the hands
30:18of Olds pilots.
30:28January 2nd, 1967,
30:31over Fou Kien Airfield
30:32near Hanoi.
30:34Ford Flight,
30:35the second wave
30:36of Operation Bolo,
30:37engages the enemy.
30:41Captain Everett Raspberry,
30:44an experienced combat
30:45instructor,
30:46flies Ford 3.
30:47He spots four SA-2
30:49surface-to-air missiles
30:51hurtling through the clouds
30:52at their 4 o'clock.
30:55The SA-2
30:56has a top speed
30:57of Mach 3.5,
30:59over 2,660 miles per hour.
31:02This missile
31:03can obliterate jets
31:05at 60,000 feet.
31:08But the Phantoms
31:09are carrying
31:10the QRC-160
31:11electronic countermeasures pod.
31:15The pod,
31:16originally mounted
31:17on the Phantoms
31:17to create
31:18a more convincing
31:19F-105,
31:20now gives Raspberry
31:21a lucky break.
31:22It jams the enemy radar.
31:25The missiles pass
31:26to the rear,
31:27below the Phantoms,
31:28and don't detonate.
31:32Meanwhile,
31:32the MiGs,
31:33now realizing
31:34they've been suckered
31:35into facing swarms
31:36of well-armed F-4 Phantoms,
31:38are forced
31:39into a fight.
31:42Some of them
31:42were more aggressive
31:43than others.
31:44It was hit and miss.
31:46Others seemed
31:47to want to hang around
31:48and fight.
31:50And I think
31:51that was the kind
31:51we were really looking for,
31:53because it was hard
31:54to catch these guys.
31:56A MiG is closing
31:57on Colonel Chappie James,
31:59the Ford leader.
32:00Raspberry spots him.
32:03I thought he was coming
32:04after our lead.
32:06He kept closing
32:07too close.
32:08So I tried to get
32:09the Ford lead
32:10to break to the right
32:11three or four times
32:12and he wouldn't go.
32:13So I got between him
32:14and the MiG.
32:17The MiG is coming up
32:19from James 4 o'clock.
32:20When James doesn't break right,
32:22Raspberry accelerates
32:23to intercept the MiG.
32:26The MiG pilot
32:27overshoots Ford 1
32:28and snaps into a high-G
32:30left turn
32:31to avoid a fight.
32:37Raspberry breaks
32:38left behind the MiG,
32:39but he's pulling
32:40too many Gs
32:41on his aircraft
32:42in order for his missiles
32:43to function properly.
32:47Raspberry executes
32:48a vector roll.
32:51Raspberry pulls out
32:52of the vector roll
32:53on the MiG 6.
32:54He's 3,500 feet
32:56behind the MiG
32:57in a left turn,
32:58the perfect position
32:59to fire a Sidewinder missile.
33:05Raspberry has to make
33:06this shot count.
33:07He has just one
33:08working Sidewinder.
33:11He closes in
33:13on the MiG's tail.
33:15I followed the guy down.
33:17He was heading
33:17for the clouds.
33:19The MiG,
33:20focused on getting
33:21into the safety
33:21of the clouds,
33:22makes a frantic dash.
33:24But just before hitting
33:26the low cloud cover,
33:27he inexplicably reverses
33:29his turn.
33:31It's a fatal mistake.
33:33Raspberry now
33:34has a perfect shot.
33:35I had the tone
33:37in the headset
33:37for the missile,
33:39which told you
33:39it was tracking.
33:40Squeeze the trigger,
33:42and it went like a bullet
33:43right in the cockpit
33:44with him,
33:44and then he blew up.
33:54I almost spun in
33:55while I was watching him.
33:56It was so spectacular.
33:57First time I'd ever
33:58shot down a MiG.
34:00And so I was excited,
34:02to say the least.
34:04Ford Flight
34:04has scored a kill,
34:06the fourth Bolo victory
34:07so far,
34:08and suffered no losses.
34:12Ford Flight
34:13exits the target area
34:14as the third wave,
34:15Rambler Group,
34:16streaks in
34:17with missiles ready.
34:20Old's trap
34:20is working spectacularly.
34:23MiGs fill the skies.
34:25But Rambler Group
34:26faces an added danger.
34:28More telephone pole-sized
34:30SA-2 SAMs
34:32streak through the clouds.
34:37Rambler is led
34:38by Captain John B. Stone,
34:40one of the main planners
34:41of Operation Bolo.
34:43You got your brain,
34:45your heart,
34:46your gut,
34:47and your hand
34:48interconnected.
34:49And that's what it takes
34:50to pull off the mission.
34:52You're going to be scared.
34:53You're going to be nervous.
34:55You're going to be sweating.
34:56Your voice is going to go up
34:57a few octaves probably
34:58the first time
35:00the SAMs come up.
35:01But that's what gets
35:02the ticker going
35:03to make it work.
35:07Stone hears the fight
35:08ahead on his radio.
35:10Concerned about attacking
35:11friendly fighters
35:12beyond visual range,
35:13Stone radios Old's
35:15to get a fix
35:15on his position.
35:18I could hear it all
35:20going on.
35:20And that's when I'd ask,
35:23where are you?
35:24The response was,
35:26go find your own.
35:27I thought that was
35:28pretty selfish of him
35:30at the time,
35:30but there's plenty left.
35:34It didn't take Stone long
35:36to find his own.
35:38I looked out ahead
35:39and I saw two bigs.
35:41Later I find out
35:42there were four.
35:43I just saw the two.
35:45They were about
35:46my two o'clock position.
35:47I was high on them,
35:49maybe two to three miles out.
35:54Stone drops his fuel tanks.
35:56Then he and his wingman
35:58break right
35:58and go into a hard dive,
36:00keeping their eyes
36:01on the nearest MiG.
36:04I'd holler,
36:05go boresight,
36:06which trains my radar
36:07to look where my PIPR
36:09and my windscreen is.
36:11In going boresight,
36:13the PIPR,
36:14visible on the Phantom's
36:15windscreen,
36:16acts like a gun sight,
36:17allowing the pilot
36:18to aim his weapons
36:19by eye.
36:21Stone puts the PIPR
36:23at the wing root
36:24of the trailing MiG.
36:25The radar locks
36:26and he fires
36:27a Sparrow missile.
36:30But it's a dud.
36:32The Sparrow,
36:33designed to follow
36:34the Phantom's radar beam
36:36to the target,
36:37has major reliability problems
36:38in Vietnam's tropical weather.
36:42Since the reliability
36:43of the Sparrow
36:44was in the range
36:45of 10% or so,
36:46pilots would typically
36:47ripple fire them
36:48so that they would hope
36:49that one would find
36:50its way to the target.
36:54I fired two more times.
36:57The second one went
36:58right to the wing root
37:00of the MiG-21
37:01and exploded.
37:08And the guy ejected.
37:12Then, Stone and his wingman
37:14spot two more MiGs,
37:16high and above.
37:18They were shiny,
37:19bright, shiny silver ones.
37:22So I turned
37:24to avoid those two.
37:27Suddenly,
37:28a blur of polished silver
37:30shoots between Stone
37:31and his wingman.
37:33You know,
37:33I just saw it peripherally.
37:35Find out later
37:36it was a MiG-21
37:37that came through
37:38between my number two
37:40and I
37:41and he was shooting.
37:42I didn't even see this.
37:43I was glad.
37:43I'm sure it would have
37:44scared me to death.
37:46Stone gets
37:47an urgent radio call.
37:49I hear this voice.
37:50He's Rambler 3.
37:52Say it.
37:53It's a MiG on your ass.
37:54Break right.
37:56Stone looks to his right
37:57and sees nothing.
37:58Then to his left
37:59and sees a MiG
38:011,200 feet away.
38:02It's 30 millimeter cannons
38:04blazing right at him.
38:13Air Force Captain J.B. Stone,
38:15one of the masterminds
38:17of Operation Bolo,
38:18spots an enemy MiG-21
38:20coming up from behind
38:21with cannons blazing.
38:24Tracers were red
38:25basketballs about this being
38:27all over my canopy.
38:30Stone breaks hard left
38:32to get out of the MiG's
38:33crosshairs.
38:37And I hollered,
38:39nice expletive,
38:41and broke into him
38:42to defeat this turn.
38:44The MiG,
38:45going too fast
38:46to match Stone's turn,
38:48overshoots.
38:49Stone seizes the advantage,
38:51rolls right,
38:51and reverses his turn.
38:53In the high G turn,
38:55he fights to keep his head up
38:56and his eyes on the target.
38:58Stone expects to see the MiG
39:00right in front of him.
39:02The MiG's not there.
39:03I don't see number two.
39:05So I start another turn,
39:07and I'm in this hard turn
39:10to light the burners.
39:13Stone's lost sight
39:14of his wingman
39:15and the enemy MiG,
39:17a potentially fatal mistake.
39:20He rolls out of the turn
39:22and searches the sky.
39:24Then he spots his wingman
39:26engaging one of the MiGs.
39:31When I broke this way,
39:33he couldn't recover,
39:34but he did a high G barrel roll,
39:38and he saw the ones
39:39that I was looking at
39:40a few minutes before.
39:43Lawrence Glynn,
39:44his wingman,
39:45does a perfect barrel roll.
39:47He noses up,
39:48rolls right,
39:49goes inverted,
39:50and rolls back down
39:51behind the MiG.
39:53The move has widened
39:55the distance between Glynn
39:56and the MiG,
39:57allowing him to gain
39:58a missile lock.
40:00Glynn fires a sparrow.
40:12Philip Combees,
40:14flying Rambler 4,
40:15goes after two more MiGs.
40:19Phil Combees had picked up
40:21those other two MiGs
40:22that I had not seen
40:23the first time.
40:25And he had a little
40:26engagement with them,
40:27and he shot down
40:28one out of that flight.
40:38Stone finds no targets
40:40in sight.
40:41Then, SAM missiles
40:43rocket up
40:44through the low clouds.
40:45I called egress,
40:47meaning, let's go,
40:49let's get the hell
40:49out of here.
40:50We've got everybody together.
40:52It was time to go.
40:55Rambler flight turns
40:57back toward home base
40:58in Thailand.
41:00They've engaged six MiGs,
41:02obliterating three.
41:05The four remaining Bolo flights
41:07arrive too late for action.
41:09The MiGs have cut and run.
41:11The heavy undercast
41:12masks their escape.
41:14I found out later
41:16that for all the talking
41:17with the MiGs
41:18and their controllers
41:19on the ground,
41:20told them,
41:21get in the clouds.
41:22And that's what happened.
41:23All the MiGs went
41:24into the clouds,
41:26and it was all over.
41:29Back at Ubon Air Base,
41:31the ground crews eagerly
41:32await the Phantom's return.
41:43And those guys on the ground
41:45now see the results.
41:46And when the canopies come open
41:49and people start holding up
41:50one and two fingers
41:51indicating MiG kills,
41:53the place erupts.
41:54It's a party.
41:57Olds and his men
41:58have won a huge victory.
42:00In just 13 minutes,
42:01they down seven MiGs.
42:06Operation Bolo shot down
42:07seven MiG-21s,
42:08which may not seem very high,
42:10but to put it in perspective,
42:12the North Vietnamese Air Force
42:13only had about 12 to 16
42:15MiG-21s at the time,
42:16so they lost about half
42:18their MiG-21 force.
42:21It's the highest kill total
42:23of any mission
42:23in the Vietnam War so far,
42:25with no American losses.
42:28But the results reach
42:30much wider than the destruction
42:32of so many of the enemy's
42:33prized MiG-21s.
42:36From the wider perspective
42:37of the air war as a whole,
42:39it forced the North Vietnamese
42:41to pull back, regroup,
42:43kind of scratch their heads
42:44and figure what in the world
42:45happened today
42:46and how do we prevent that
42:47from happening again.
42:49It kind of put a damper
42:51on the MiG activities
42:52for quite a while.
42:53For quite a while.
42:56But the main thing,
42:57I think, that Bolo did
42:58was it was exhilarating
43:01for all fighter pilots
43:03that we finally got
43:04to do something.
43:09In this rarely-seen interview,
43:11shortly after the battle,
43:13Colonel Olds sums up
43:14Operation Bolo.
43:16Deliberately planned fighter sweep
43:18went just as we'd hoped.
43:20The MiGs came up.
43:21The MiGs were aggressive.
43:23We tangled.
43:24They lost.
43:29Olds receives
43:30his third silver star.
43:32During his tour in Vietnam,
43:35Olds downs three more MiGs.
43:37With a total of 17 kills,
43:3913 in World War II
43:41and four in Vietnam,
43:43he becomes a triple ace,
43:45one of the greatest commanders
43:47and fighter pilots
43:48the Air Force has known.
43:51No two engagements,
43:53which I really prefer to call them,
43:56are the same, ever.
43:57You think you've got it down pat,
44:00but it's always something different.
44:02It's always something
44:02that will surprise you
44:04or demand of you
44:06flexibility, innovation.
44:14The training
44:15and the teamwork
44:16that Olds instilled
44:17in his fighter wing
44:18turned them into
44:19the premier MiG-killing outfit
44:21in the Vietnam War,
44:22with a wartime total
44:24of 38 aerial kills.
44:28Olds was promoted
44:29to Brigadier General
44:30in May 1968
44:31and retired from the Air Force
44:33in 1973.
44:38Thanks to outspoken
44:40combat veterans
44:41like Robin Olds,
44:42who relentlessly stressed
44:44the fundamentals,
44:45the Air Force relearned
44:47and mastered
44:48the art
44:49of the dogfight.
44:52The Air Force
44:53pool premiered
44:53and estiver
44:58into the landing's
Comments