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The Skyhawk
A study in simplicity, the A-4 Skyhawk resulted from Douglas Aircraft Company designer Ed Heinemann’s concern about the increasing weight and cost of combat aircraft appearing during the 1950s. The A-4 ran counter to this trend, incorporating a small delta wing that eliminated the need for a heavy wing-folding mechanism for improved storage aboard aircraft carriers.
In the skies over Vietnam, the A-4 logged more combat missions than any other naval aircraft, including notable strikes against bridges and power plants in North Vietnam and close air support of troops engaged in ground combat in South Vietnam.
According to the book The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver, one of the most incredible Skyhawk missions happened on Jul. 23, 1966, during the POL campaign. Commander Wynn F. Foster, skipper of Oriskany’s VA-163, who had been Commander James Stockdale’s wingman when he was shot down in November 1965, was flying his 238th combat mission, an attack on storage facilities in Haiphong. Foster was one of the few Korean War veterans, having flown 75 sorties in F9F Panthers with VF-33 off USS Kearsarge (CVA-33). Shortly after going “feet dry,” Foster’s division dived toward the target and ran into a barrage of flak.
A-4 pilot with right forearm severed by North Vietnamese AAA shrapnel
Foster’s wingman, Lieutenant (jg) Tom Spitzer, had just checked into the squadron and was flying his first mission:
‘I called the flak to my wingman’s attention and told him to keep jinking. A few seconds later I heard a loud “bang” followed by a “whoosh” and I felt a stinging sensation in my right elbow. I realized I had been hit and looked down at my right arm. The arm was missing from the elbow down and half my right forearm was lying on the starboard console.’
Foster had taken a hit from a 57mm shell; the shrapnel had severed his forearm. He took the stick in his left hand and turned back over the water as he called “Mayday” and told Spitzer to keep jinking. His airspeed was dropping, so he pushed over in a shallow dive, leveling off when he reached 220 knots:
‘The burst had blown out most of my cockpit canopy, and the cockpit was littered with shrapnel and blood. The wind noise was terrible as I tried to communicate with Spitzer. My arm didn’t hurt but I was bleeding quite badly. I momentarily considered trying to make it back to the ship but realized I would probably pass out before I got there. The nearest “friendly” was the SAR destroyer which was stationed about 30 miles from the coast-in point.’
Ejection
Descending to 2,500 feet, Foster realized he was flying at 70 percent power. Pushing the throttle forward, the engine immediately spooled up, undamaged. Climbing back to 4,000 feet, he contacted USS Reeves (DLG-24), informing them he and Spitzer were 15 miles away, approaching from the southwest. Leveling off at 3,000 feet, he saw the ship turn toward him. He felt light-headed from blood loss and shock, and was experiencing tunnel vision.
When he was three miles from the ship, he pulled the seat face curtain with his left hand. The ejection sequence went “as advertised,” and he found himself suspended under the canopy, drifting toward the water below. “My oxygen mask was still on and my visor was down. I removed the oxygen mask and dropped it. I looked around. The view was beautiful – blue ocean, white clouds above and the destroyer steaming down below. The war seemed a million miles away.”
Remaining on active duty
Foster was only in the water a few minutes before he was picked up by Reeves’ whaleboat and returned to the ship. Once aboard he was taken to sick bay and transferred back to Oriskany two days later. Since she was scheduled to return to Cubi Point within a week, he remained aboard in sick bay.
Once ashore in treatment, Foster was in recuperation and therapy for many months, all the while fighting to remain on active duty. His request was eventually approved and he remained on active duty until retiring as a captain in 1972. Foster was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for the mission and also received the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for leading a POL strike a few days earlier. Sadly, wingman Tom Spitzer was killed in the fire that struck Oriskany that October.
The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo credit: U.S. Navy
