The Wild Weasels "Daredevils of the skies"
by Mike Nastasi
Introduction
During the early days of the Vietnam War, the United States Air Force had almost full autonomy over the skies of Vietnam. However, once the Soviet Union and China began arming the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), with advanced Surface to Air missile (SAM) systems, the U.S. domination of the skies was abrubtly challenged. To deal with the new SAM threat, the U.S. Air Force decided to dedicate men and machine exclusively to the SAM's. Thus a new breed of aviator and aircraft were born, the "Wild Weasels."
The purpose of the "Weasels" was to seek out and engage NVA SAM sites, and if possible destroy them. Often times though, the only way the Weasel pilots could locate a SAM site was by getting the NVA to fire a SAM at them, thus revealing their position. Tantamount to a suicide mission, the Weasel missions were amongst the most dangerous sorties of the war. Losses in the Weasel squadrons were among the highest of the war. In the early stages of the Weasel development, the aircraft and its avionics were not ideally suited for this new and dangerous mission. However as the war progressed, the U.S. Air Force developed a dedicated Weasel aircraft, the Republic F-105G Thunderchief. The "Thud" as it is affectionately known to the pilots who flew it, is recognized as the workhorse of the Vietnam War. The men who flew the F-105 love the airplane and from all accounts the aircraft performed superbly throughout the war.
One such Wild Weasel is retired U.S. Air Force Colonel George Acree. Colonel Acree flew the F-105 both as a bomber and a Weasel aircraft. With over 200 missions over North Vietnam to his credit, Colonel Acree was one of a different breed of men. Colonel Acree and the other Weasel pilots flew the most dangerous missions of the war and did so with courage, honor and professionalism. Putting aside the nasty politics that governed the Vietnam War, the Weasel pilots accepted their mission and carried it out faithfully. The men who flew the Weasel missions in the Vietnam War did so to a varying degree of success, but they paved the way for the Wild Weasel program to become a major part of the modern day United States Air Force.
The Birth of the Wild Weasels
On July 24, 1965 a United States Air Force F-4 was shot down over North Vietnam by a surface to air missile (SAM). This incident marked the beginning of a new kind of war in the skies over Vietnam. Total U.S. domination of the sky was now challenged like never before and it forced the U.S. to rethink its tactics and strategies in carrying their enormous air power into the heart of North Vietnam.
During the first few years of the war, the Soviet Union and China were basically staying out of the war in Vietnam. However, once the U.S. committed to total war the Soviets and Chinese began arming the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) with advisors and equipment. At first this was limited to anti-aircraft (AAA) guns and small arms, but eventually the NVA acquired advanced SAM's to defend against the relentless U.S. airstrikes. The system the NVA was provided was the SA-2 Guideline radar guided surface to air missile system. This missile was designed as a medium range, medium altitude surface to air missile by the Soviets, who then began equipping the NVA with the missiles and its FAN SONG guidance radar. Additionally the Soviets provided the NVA with deadly radar directed AAA. This development spelled big trouble for the U.S. and its aircraft.
One of the more frustrating aspects of the introduction of the SAM's into North Vietnam was the fact that the U.S. Air Force watched them being built but were powerless to do anything about it. President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara absolutely prohibited the Air Force from attacking the sites. Because the SAM's were Soviet made, McNamara was sure there were Soviet advisors at the sites and he did not want to chance infuriating the Soviets and possibly draw them into the conflict, so he ordered the sites to be left alone. The U.S. Air Force watched helplessly as hundreds of the deadly SAM sites were constructed and became operational. This micromanagement of the air war would continue throughout the conflict, much to the chagrin of the Air Force and its pilots, who battled the SAM's on a daily basis.
Now that the SAM threat in North Vietnam was a reality, the U.S. Air Force was forced to come up with a solution to the SAM problem. As the war dragged on, aircraft and pilot losses to the SAM's were mounting, and something needed to be done to deal with the problem. The solution was a dedicated anti-SAM aircraft, whose sole mission would be to take out the SAM sites. The project was called Project Weasel or Wild Weasel 1, and thus the "Wild Weasels" were born.
The project called for the installation of radar homing and warning (RHAW) sets into F-100F Super Sabre aircraft. This new equipment would allow the aircrew in the Super Sabre to get a bearing on a SAM when it turned on its radar. It also was fitted with a launch warning detector, which would alert the aircrew when a SAM was launched. Applied Technologies Corporation developed this new equipment, and the U.S. government signed a contract with them for the production of the new RHAW sets for installation in the F-100's. The sets were designated AN/APR 25, and the installations began immediately.
The next step in Project Weasel was to choose aircrews for the new "Weasel" aircraft. Each aircrew was made up of a pilot, and an electronic warfare officer (EWO). EWO's were also known as "Bears", or "Gib"(Guy in the back). The EWO was responsible for monitoring the new radar sets and locating the SAM sites, and basically being the eyes and ears of the aircraft for the pilot. The pilots were chosen from the ranks of the existing F-100F cadre, and they were amongst the best and brightest the Air Force had to offer. The EWO's were picked from the ranks of B-52 bomber aircrews, and were experts in radar and electronics. The relationships between the pilot and the EWO became extremely close, with each man relying on one another for their survival. With the new equipment in place, and the aircrews selected, training began in October 1965.
Training was conducted at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Major Gary Willard directed the Wild Weasel project, and it was basically a crash course in SAM suppression. The equipment and tactics were new to the pilots and EWO's. The aircrews were told of the SA-2 and its characteristics, and they flew mock missions against simulated SA-2 radars. The training was rushed, and soon the aircrews were informed of their mission, to locate and destroy NVA SAM positions. There was one catch however, to locate the SAM sites the Weasels had to fly into North Vietnamese airspace in advance of a strike force, let themselves be tracked by the SAM radar, and then be fired upon by the SAM site. With North Vietnam's thick foliage, this was the only surefire way of finding the SAM sites. If this wasn't unsettling enough, the tour of duty for the Weasels was 100 missions into North Vietnam.
The new Weasel crews were shocked to hear of their new mission, which was nothing short of a suicide mission. One of the new weasels, EWO Captain Jack Donovan, summed up the feelings of all the Weasels about their new mission, when he said, " You want me to fly in the back of a little tiny fighter aircraft with a crazy fighter pilot who thinks he's invincible, home in on a SAM site in North Vietnam, and shoot it before it shoots me, you gotta be shittin me!" Despite the apprehension, the Weasel crews went forward with their suicide mission, and in early November 1965, they deployed to Korat AFB in Thailand to begin their Wild Weasel missions.
Wild Weasel 1 began with five F-100F aircraft and five aircrews. The Weasel crews began their mission in December 1965, with Major Willard leading the first strike into North Vietnam. The Weasel missions were code named Iron Hand missions, and their purpose was to lead a strike force into North Vietnam, and pave the way for the strike force to drop its bombs. They did this by going out in hunter/killer teams. The Weasels would pair up with a flight of F-105D fighter/bombers and try to locate a SAM site. The Weasels would then attack the site to mark it, and the F-105D's would finish it off. With Operation Rolling Thunder (the bombing campaign of North Vietnam that began in 1964) in full effect, the Wild Weasels were about to prove their worth in combat for the first time.
On December 22, 1965, the Wild Weasels scored their first SAM kill in North Vietnam. Captain Al Lamb the pilot, and Captain Jack Donovan, his EWO led the mission into North Vietnam that day, and when they encountered a hostile NVA SAM site, they engaged it and destroyed it. With this success, the Weasels demonstrated their worth to the Air Force, and from then on, the Wild Weasels were in Vietnam to stay. Despite the early success however, the original Weasels suffered a fifty-percent casualty rate in their ranks, and it was clear that new tactics and equipment would have to be developed.
During the Weasels missions it became clear that the F-100F Super Sabre was not ideally suited to the Weasels mission. It was too slow, and could not keep up with the accompanying F-105D fighter-bombers. Therefore, the Air Force decided to begin testing a prototype F-105 Thunderchief for use as a Wild Weasel aircraft. At the same time, the groundwork was being laid for a dedicated Wild Weasel training school at Nellis AFB in Nevada, to specifically train the new Wild Weasels.
