RANDY CUNNINGHAM
Vietnam 1972
3 wins in one mission
May 10, 1972. After a period of three years of respite, the Americans resumed their air operations over North Vietnam. For a few days, the North Vietnamese have launched a vast offensive in the direction of the south. The aircraft carrier Constellation, which was en route to the United States, is recalled. Its planes are used over the An-Loc region.
That day, Lt. Randy Cunningham and his radar operator, Lt. Willie Driscoll, aboard their F-4J NG 100, were escorting a formation to bomb the Haiphong rail hub.
As the A-6s and A-7s dumped their kills, Cunningham and his regular wingman, Lt. Grant, circled over the objective, trying to avoid the North Vietnamese SAMs as best they could. Following a new evasive maneuver, Cunningham finds himself with two MiGs. 17 in its wake
A brutal break-out and the first MiG. cannot adjust his shot. His wingman, launched at full power, cannot avoid overtaking the F-4. Already Cunningham's finger pulled the trigger. A Sidewinder missile leaves its sabot, clings to the hot trail of the MiG. and, less than eight hundred meters further, explodes destroying the MiG.
As they have a large reserve of fuel, the two Phantoms decide to continue their mission, because the sky seems filled with North Vietnamese planes. Moments later, they see three more F-4s struggling with eight MiGs. 17 and a MiG. 21.
Cunningham dives to the aid of a Phantom struggling with two enemy planes, one of them is very close, in the tail of the F-4. Cunningham warns the pilot to clear to his right. When this one executes the maneuver, Cunningham launches a new Sidewinder. The MiG explodes seconds later. The pilot managed to eject. Cunningham then decides to return home.
On the way back, Cunningham sees a MiG. 17 isolated; the enemy has spotted him and is approaching. The American decides to make a frontal pass. He takes it badly. It is placed exactly in the line of fire of the guns of the North Vietnamese. The Phantom clears away. The MiG. perform the same maneuver. A whirlwind fight then ensues.
Obviously, Cunningham is dealing with a pilot who knows his job. But the fight probably lasts too long for the North Vietnamese who must be starting to have problems with his fuel reserve. He suddenly emerges and swoops down. It thus offers itself to the missiles of the American. A Sidewinder catches up with the MiG. and explodes in its nozzle. The North Vietnamese plane continues its dive towards the ground. It won't straighten out. Three victories in a single mission!
Arrived above Nam Dinh, a surface-to-air missile exploded near the Phantom, putting its hydraulic circuit out of service. From then on, all that remains is to evacuate the plane that has become uncontrollable.
It is a helicopter that drops Randy Cunningham and Willie Driscoll aboard the aircraft carrier Constellation, where the crew reserves them a monumental reception.
Thanks to this hat-trick, the Cunningham-Driscoll crew brought his score to 5 homologated victories. The two men had, in fact, already shot down, before this outing, a MiG. 21, January 19 and a MiG. 17 on May 8. They will also be the only aces of the American Navy (Driscoll being associated with the success of its pilot) during the Vietnam War.
Born on December 8, 1941 (Pearl Harbor Day) in Los Angeles, Cunningham had coached his university's swimming team to the title of United States champion. He joined the Navy in March 1967 and received his wings eighteen months later. Assigned to the VF-96 “fighting Falcons”, he completed two rounds of operations in Vietnam from July 1969. His motto:“Look for your enemies. Don't ask yourself how many there are, but where they are.”
C.-J. E