USS Midway VA-25's Toilet Bomb
Stercus Accidit
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USS Midway VA-25's Toilet Bomb
Found this story recently in my email from a good friend of mine:
For those too young to remember, during Viet Nam conflict, carriers were so woefully short of ordinance that missions were often launched with onl a half load just to keep the sortie rate up so that the REMF's in D would not send out blistering messages about failure to support the war effort, etc.
Given that the loss rate approached, and sometime exceeded, one aircraft a day, all will understand that there was a degree of reticence to launch with less than a full load -- if I must dance with the elephant at least let's make it worth while. Nevertheless, the indomitable spirit of the carrie aviators, and their squadron-mates, prevailed in some rather perverse ways see below).
I have every hope that today's successors to the mantel left at the Cubi "O" Club bar persevere as well. Kick the tires, light the fires, bolt for the blue and brief on guard -- last one up is lead. Thought you'd get a kick out of one squadron's ingenuity. Yes, this really happened.
Once again history is stranger then fiction, and a lot funnier:
USS Midway VA-25's Toilet Bomb
In October 1965, CDR Clarence J. Stoddard, Executive Officer of VA-25 "Fist of the Fleet", flying an A-1H Skyraider, NE/572 "Paper Tiger II" from Carrier Air Wing Two aboard USS Midway carried a special bomb to the North Vietnamese in commemoration of the 6-millionth pound of ordnance dropped.
This bomb was unique because of the type... it was a toilet! The following is an account of this event, courtesy of Clint Johnson, Captain, USNR Ret. Captain Johnson was one of the two VA-25 A-1 Skyraider pilots credited with shooting down a MiG-17 on June 20, 1965.
"I was a pilot in VA-25 on the 1965 Vietnam cruise. 572 was flown by CDR C. W. "Bill" Stoddard. His wingman in 577 (which was my assigned airplane) was LCDR Robin Bacon, who had a wing station mounted movie camera (the only one remaining in the fleet from WWII).
The flight was a Dixie Station strike (South Vietnam) going to the Delta. When they arrived in the target area and CDR Stoddard was reading the ordnance list to the FAC, he ended with "and one code name Sani-flush". The FAC couldn't believe it and joined up to see it. It was dropped in a dive with LCDR Bacon flying tight wing position to film the drop.
When it came off, it turned hole to the wind and almost struck his airplane. It made a great ready room movie. The FAC said that it whistled all the way down.
The toilet was a damaged toilet, which was going to be thrown overboard. One of our plane captains rescued it and the ordnance crew made a rack, tailfins and nose fuse for it. Our checkers maintained a position to block the view of the air boss and the Captain while the aircraft was taxiing forward.
Just as it was being shot off we got a 1MC message from the bridge, "What the hell was on 572's right wing?" There were a lot of jokes with air intelligence about germ warfare. I wish that we had saved the movie film.
For those too young to remember, during Viet Nam conflict, carriers were so woefully short of ordinance that missions were often launched with onl a half load just to keep the sortie rate up so that the REMF's in D would not send out blistering messages about failure to support the war effort, etc.
Given that the loss rate approached, and sometime exceeded, one aircraft a day, all will understand that there was a degree of reticence to launch with less than a full load -- if I must dance with the elephant at least let's make it worth while. Nevertheless, the indomitable spirit of the carrie aviators, and their squadron-mates, prevailed in some rather perverse ways see below).
I have every hope that today's successors to the mantel left at the Cubi "O" Club bar persevere as well. Kick the tires, light the fires, bolt for the blue and brief on guard -- last one up is lead. Thought you'd get a kick out of one squadron's ingenuity. Yes, this really happened.
Once again history is stranger then fiction, and a lot funnier:
USS Midway VA-25's Toilet Bomb
In October 1965, CDR Clarence J. Stoddard, Executive Officer of VA-25 "Fist of the Fleet", flying an A-1H Skyraider, NE/572 "Paper Tiger II" from Carrier Air Wing Two aboard USS Midway carried a special bomb to the North Vietnamese in commemoration of the 6-millionth pound of ordnance dropped.
This bomb was unique because of the type... it was a toilet! The following is an account of this event, courtesy of Clint Johnson, Captain, USNR Ret. Captain Johnson was one of the two VA-25 A-1 Skyraider pilots credited with shooting down a MiG-17 on June 20, 1965.
"I was a pilot in VA-25 on the 1965 Vietnam cruise. 572 was flown by CDR C. W. "Bill" Stoddard. His wingman in 577 (which was my assigned airplane) was LCDR Robin Bacon, who had a wing station mounted movie camera (the only one remaining in the fleet from WWII).
The flight was a Dixie Station strike (South Vietnam) going to the Delta. When they arrived in the target area and CDR Stoddard was reading the ordnance list to the FAC, he ended with "and one code name Sani-flush". The FAC couldn't believe it and joined up to see it. It was dropped in a dive with LCDR Bacon flying tight wing position to film the drop.
When it came off, it turned hole to the wind and almost struck his airplane. It made a great ready room movie. The FAC said that it whistled all the way down.
The toilet was a damaged toilet, which was going to be thrown overboard. One of our plane captains rescued it and the ordnance crew made a rack, tailfins and nose fuse for it. Our checkers maintained a position to block the view of the air boss and the Captain while the aircraft was taxiing forward.
Just as it was being shot off we got a 1MC message from the bridge, "What the hell was on 572's right wing?" There were a lot of jokes with air intelligence about germ warfare. I wish that we had saved the movie film.
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Unfortunatley the improvised weapon skipped across the ground and smashed into the side of a Bell UH1-B in a low hover.....thats when the sh*t really hit the fan.
The pilots of the Vietnam war all agreed that the latest weapon procurements had really gone down the pan.
The pilots of the Vietnam war all agreed that the latest weapon procurements had really gone down the pan.
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Precision Bumming?
Why visit the 'Oval Office' when it can visit you?
I bet they were 'bowled' for six when that dropped on them!
At least it shows why the Spams were bogged down in 'Nam for years.
Ok, I'm done....
Why visit the 'Oval Office' when it can visit you?
I bet they were 'bowled' for six when that dropped on them!
At least it shows why the Spams were bogged down in 'Nam for years.
Ok, I'm done....
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When it hit the target did the enemy have time to kiss their @rse goodbye?
Before the invention of the laser the LTD was the Loo Target Designator
Before the invention of the laser the LTD was the Loo Target Designator
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They must've been round the bend. Did anyone have to carry the can for that mission? How much paperwork was involved? Still it's a good job the crew didn't have to evacuate. I reckon the VC met their Waterloo on that trip. Was it a successful trap on the return leg? Was the launch mechanism wired into the squat switch? Was the debriefing a stand up affair, or did they get to sit down?
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LOL..............I was able to buy hasegawa model of showing this sortie.
I think it was kit number bp104 and the text said skyraider with special bomb.
It even had my dad's name and numbers which means they probably made it out of the mig kill kit since the plane in question was on both the toilet drop and the mig kill mission.
Somewhere there is a very shakey movie of this but it may not have survived.
I think it was kit number bp104 and the text said skyraider with special bomb.
It even had my dad's name and numbers which means they probably made it out of the mig kill kit since the plane in question was on both the toilet drop and the mig kill mission.
Somewhere there is a very shakey movie of this but it may not have survived.
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Rolling Thunder-Box.
I seem to remember reading about similar incedents in WWII. It was known for Lancaster groundcrews to "fill" a chemical toilet which was dropped with the incediaries over the target. This practice was stopped however following complaints of biological warfare raised through the Red Cross.
