"T Bird" wrote in message
...
I made a cruise On Yorktown CV-10 . Late 64 and up till june 65 . A
cruise was still 9 months then . I believe we had 5 Skyhawks on board .
Most of the Nam cost time was S2 F,s doing surveillance flights along
the coast . But our Sky Hawks flew missions into Nam . Left with
ordanance and came home empty . I was a bridge watch stander , Helmsman
So I had a good view of the Flt Deck . So , Am I right , We had
carrier ops as early as , Early 65 ?? Or Earlier ???


I don't know if the dates are that big a secret anymore or not. Probably not
as every reporter knew about it anyway, but we started flying recon "Yankee
Team"(May 64) with RF-8's and Air Force RF-101's into Laos, which was three
months before the Tonkin Gulf Incident (Aug 64). After a couple of RF-8's
received ground fire, flew into mountains, and other things, they started
having a F-8 fly escort for them, but that was just so they knew why the
RF-8 didn't come back. The first RF-8 was lost on 6 June 1964, easy day to
remember as it was the anniversary of "D-Day". I am having a senior moment
and I can't recall the pilots name. He was captured and escaped from the
Pathat (sp?) Lao, and later rescued. I believe he and Diter Dingler an A-1
pilot were the only two Naval Aviators to escape and be rescued during the
whole SE Asia War Game. At that time it wasn't very likely they were going
to recover any pilots from Laos. Good SAR in that area had to wait for the
Air Force to put bases in Thailand and secret forward SAR bases in Cambodia
and Laos.

The route was through the northern part of South Vietnam, the north into
Laos (Plain of Jars mainly), and return the same way. A big "L" or sometimes
a big "U". Due to the fuel situations etc., more than one mission cut the
corners and returned to the boat via North Vietnam, but officially it was
never noticed, and I don't remember Ho Chi Mien saying anything about it
either, but he had to know. After Aug 64 flight plans were straight over
North Vietnam, and a month or so later air strikes were started into Laos.
Then things got serious!