Ghostriders 1968-1975 by William Walter

Author:William Walter [Walter, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781637581568
Publisher: Knox Press
Published: 2022-01-21T07:30:37+00:00

Damage to Spectre 21 that occurred on the night of 13 Nov, 1971. The actual cause of the loss of #3 & #4 propellers was never proven. (USAF Photo)

The crew of Spectre 21 (Crew of the Month—November, 1971) in front of the 16 SOS squadron building. Front row, L to R, Sgt Wolf, SSgt Patterson, SSgt Denoi, Capt Carlson, Maj McDonald, Capt Baertl. Second Row, Sgt Frost, Sgt Bedard, TSgt Warner, Maj Mackrell, Capt Witt, Lt Derosa. Rear row, Capt Sparkman, Maj Miller, MSgt Stauty, Capt Kelley. (USAF Photo)

The same night, Night Stalker (call sign Spectre 05), commanded by Capt Hobgood, searched for targets in Steel Tiger East VR 4. After tracking a truck into a camouflaged transshipment area, they opened fire, ultimately destroying 8 trucks and starting numerous secondary fires. The weather was not cooperative, so they were unable to bring their fighter escorts onto the target before the end of their mission.

Though most AC-130 missions were sent into the Ho Chi Minh Trail VR sectors, four significant TIC missions into South Vietnam were flown on 19 November 1971. Weather was bad while supporting friendly forces, so the crew relied heavily on their APQ-150 radar to identify friendly beacon locations. Throughout the night, four AC-130s tag-teamed to provide fire support for Zulu Charlie to repel aggressors, sometimes as close as 50 meters from friendly forces. An AC-130 remained overhead until 0630 when the ground team was successfully extracted by helicopter.

“The ground commander gave us a 30-50 meter firing distance. We couldn’t see the ground, friendly position or target area. The only sensor that was usable was the APQ-150 which had a good fix on the ground commander’s beacon. We determined this to be a very high risk TIC and tried to talk him out of it, but he said they were hunkered down in a bunker and to fire away! We could hear the rounds hitting over the ground radio. There was no margin for error.” Maj (Ret.) Hank Rother, EWO.

An AC-130E milestone occurred on 22 November 1971 when Excalibur (call sign Spectre 05), commanded by Capt King, located twenty-five trucks, destroyed nine, and damaged sixteen in Barrel Roll. This was the first significant truck kill mission for an AC-130E.

December 1971 brought in good weather, but trucks were getting more difficult to find, even with the Black Crow sensor. Intelligence reports surmised the PAVN had finally developed effective countermeasures to avoid detection. Target acquisition was difficult also since the PAVN had drastically changed tactics from the past season. Their early warning system was more effective and the large, compact convoys that were so common during Commando Hunt V were no longer found. Instead, each truck had to be located individually and most were well spaced and camouflaged. Frequently, trucks were found on side roads or newly built trails adjacent to the main trail to avoid detection, but visual sensors remained effective as IR and LLLTV sensor operators located hundreds of trucks every night. AAA fire was heavier than any

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