Author Topic: P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"  (Read 994 times)

Offline earl1937

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2290
P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"
« on: June 30, 2014, 01:37:10 PM »
 :airplane: I think this happened back in the day, so to speak, had a routine training flight with 2 other "ponies", mission profile was to intercept a MATS flight from Macdill AFB out of Tampa OTW to Barksdale, a C-124 "shakey jake".

Took off in the predawn hours, climbing 240 degrees, 200Knts IAS, we 3 were assigned grid "battery" sector at 17 thousand feet. Its about 50 minutes to assigned area!
After dodging around some left over CB's from night before, gulf is famous for night time TS and CB's, we finally broke out into the clear just as we entered "Battery". Mission profile was a 15 mile wide search pattern, all of us in the standard "Z" search pattern, with base of 210 degress, 1 min legs.
Uh, oh, all of sudden, headset awfully quiet! Try to raise "Blackjack 1 and 3, but no dice! Well now, have to tune up "no comms' on the IFF, so controllers will know what is going on and hand signals to 1 and 3, we break apart into our search pattern. About 15 minutes into search, there he is, 2 O'clock to me, low, about 15K, so I set up my approach for a "trail" shot, with a zoom to vertical, with split S at top and gun camera pass again on way down, then head for home. Don't know where 1 and 3 are, not in sight anywhere, but can't call them, so they just have to find it, the 124, themselves. Felt pretty good about both passes, about a 20 degree deflection on the trail shot and a full 3 seconds on downward pass, think I got some good camera shots.
Oh, see one of the guys at my 2 O'clock, head over that way and join up. Uh, oh, its not one of the guys after all, its a A1H Navy Skyraider!

Supposed to be a fairly nimble hog, as they were sometimes called, so i'll just make a friendly pass, give him a single fingered salute, like they do us at times. Now he wants to play because he is turning into me and about 1000 feet above me, 2 miles now and closing, so I set up a slight climb, 20 degrees off his nose. Want to stay away from that nose if he has gun camera's rolling, as I don't want to be the butt of laughter back in his ready room. It was not uncommon back in those days for units to exchange gun camera footage for critiquing each other. We pass about a 100 feet from each other and sure enough, the old single fingered salute, of course I was giving him one to! Pulled my nose up in about a 30 degree angle, speed down to about 280IAS, but still plenty for my surprise for him! He's at my 5 O'clock now climbing, looks like he is going to loop back on me, so I pull up into the top of the loop myself, roll 90 degrees to right, hold for about 3 seconds, then hard left turn and lo and behold, their he is, on the way down, back side of his loop, and as I roll in on him, something caught my eye to the right and wow, 2 more of these "swabbies" diving towards me from about 2000 feet above me and about 2 miles away! Now, "earlytango", you better get your thinking cap on, cause you about to be "dead" meat to these 3 guys. Rolled right, then left, just to confuse them about my intentions, turned right between the two and we passed about 100 feet I guess, right between both of them!  They got tons of e, going downhill and me climbing, I am back to about 240, so gotta get this thing level, break the wire, engage WEP and run like a scared rabbit for home.
Boogie #1 is no where to be seen, but 2 and 3 are making hard left turns behind me about a mile away, so get my nose down, with WEP,  and I know I can out run these guys straight and level, but I would be dead meat in a climb or dive to those big radials, so only chance I have is stay in slight dive till I get to about 375, then level out and boogie home.
As I look back, something caught my eye low and about 4 O'clock and it is my #3, found out later, with boogie #1 about a mile back. Gosh, I gotta go show this guy my nose to get him off of 3, so roll 120 degrees right and start down on them and all most at once, the boogie turns towards me, breaking off of #3. Uh oh, boogies 2 and 3 are now  my 5 O'clock, closing fast and I am now in trouble, big time. I turn into them, roll inverted like I am going to split S, but push the stick forward and nose up and roll right side up and sure enough, both had rolled inverted to go after me! Now  I had the advantage, as boogie 1 was losing all his e and 2 and 3 were going downhill fast. Got to get my nose pointed home as down to about 45 min fuel. Trouble was, boogies 2 and 3 are between me and home! Now what "tater" as I use to call myself when I did something dumb, you gotta pull a end run  someway and stay out of these guys way. Showing them my 7 O'clock, re-engaged WEP headed 090 and wasn't long before I could tell, I was leaving them, so disengaged WEP,, turned to 020 degrees and headed for home.
Had just settled down and noticed a wisp of smoke out of right bank of exhaust stacks, looked back and sure enough, a thin trail of black smoke! Crap! still about 50 miles from shoreline, but down at 8k, so set up slight climb,  came back to 40 inches and 2400 to see if that might help any! I knew Lake city was somewhere to my east and Gainsville, but need to get this thing home. Settling down now, engine running smooth, about 15 min to home. Made a nice 360 overhead  approach, nailed the landing and taxied in shut it down and #'s 1&3 are in pattern now, so waited until they shut down and we went in for debrief and they wanted to know  where in the heck did I go? Turns out #3 never saw the skyraider closing in on his 6 and #1 never saw anything. I just replied, "I just went dancing with 3 Blue Angel wannabes and it was fun!
The thin trail of smoke was from a broke oil ring on a piston, I was told later!  
« Last Edit: June 30, 2014, 01:43:00 PM by earl1937 »
Blue Skies and wind at my back and wish that for all!!!

Offline Bino

  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 5938
Re: P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"
« Reply #1 on: June 30, 2014, 01:49:12 PM »
Earl, thanks again for sharing your stories!   :salute


"The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'." - Randy Pausch

PC Specs

Offline BuckShot

  • Silver Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1721
Re: P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"
« Reply #2 on: June 30, 2014, 02:17:54 PM »
Thanks for sharing Earl!

More, more!
Game handle: HellBuck

Offline Rich46yo

  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 7358
Re: P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"
« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2014, 02:24:27 PM »
 :salute
"flying the aircraft of the Red Star"

Offline GScholz

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 8910
Re: P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"
« Reply #4 on: June 30, 2014, 03:03:48 PM »
Nice!  :salute
"With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."

Offline Puma44

  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 6815
Re: P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"
« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2014, 04:57:17 PM »
More great stuff, Earl!   :aok



All gave some, Some gave all

Offline Bodhi

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 8698
Re: P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"
« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2014, 06:26:08 PM »
Thanks Earl.
I regret doing business with TD Computer Systems.

Offline WEZEL

  • Silver Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 815
Re: P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"
« Reply #7 on: June 30, 2014, 06:39:10 PM »
Amazing story thanks  :salute

Offline DaveBB

  • Silver Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1356
Re: P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"
« Reply #8 on: June 30, 2014, 07:29:02 PM »
Great story! Could the P-51K out turn a Skyraider?
Currently ignoring Vraciu as he is a whoopeeed retard.

Offline earl1937

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2290
Re: P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"
« Reply #9 on: June 30, 2014, 07:58:16 PM »
Great story! Could the P-51K out turn a Skyraider?
:airplane: No! I got into a turn fight with one and the first thing that happened, he wound up on my tail, even though I was pulling some strong "G"s, that old big R-2800 engine just right on digging  while my ponie was slowly losing e in the turn fight....then to, the pilot was probably sharper than most because even in a "rat" race with a 5 thousand foot floor, I couldn't lose this guy, but I could out run him any time.
Blue Skies and wind at my back and wish that for all!!!

Offline Widewing

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 8801
Re: P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"
« Reply #10 on: June 30, 2014, 09:25:31 PM »
:airplane: No! I got into a turn fight with one and the first thing that happened, he wound up on my tail, even though I was pulling some strong "G"s, that old big R-2800 engine just right on digging  while my ponie was slowly losing e in the turn fight....then to, the pilot was probably sharper than most because even in a "rat" race with a 5 thousand foot floor, I couldn't lose this guy, but I could out run him any time.

Was it painted blue? Spads were powered by a R-3350-26 making about 2,700 hp.
My regards,

Widewing

YGBSM. Retired Member of Aces High Trainer Corps, Past President of the DFC, retired from flying as Tredlite.

Offline earl1937

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2290
Re: P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"
« Reply #11 on: June 30, 2014, 09:37:15 PM »
Was it painted blue? Spads were powered by a R-3350-26 making about 2,700 hp.
:airplane: Yes WW, and while I was trying to get out of their way, they looked black and meaner than a "rattlesnake" in a corn crib with no rats. I guess they were the bigger engine, cause we used to run into those reservist coming out of Pensacola naval air station. We were all just a bunch of over grown kids with overgrown supped up toys, but what a great time in my life.
We had one of them follow us to home plate one day and he "beat" up the runway and wound up with some kind of reprimand, but he later was any outstanding pilot in a A4 in Nam and I can remember his name because it was our first president, Washington, can't remember the first name.   
Blue Skies and wind at my back and wish that for all!!!

Offline danny76

  • Gold Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2583
Re: P-51K vs 3 "skyraiders"
« Reply #12 on: July 02, 2014, 10:49:19 AM »
I can remember his name because it was our first president, Washington, can't remember the first name.   

Irving? :D

Great story Earl  :salute
"You kill 'em all, I'll eat the BATCO!"
The GFC

"Not within a thousand years will man ever fly" - Wilbur Wright