Dealing with a Dictator below his "Line of Death"

USS America (CV 66), USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67), USS Nimitz (CVN 68), and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) fill Piers 11 and 12 at Naval Station Norfolk to the brim in numerical order on October 1, 1985.  America's deployment to the Mediterranean beginning in March the following year would be an eventful one, capped by strikes against Libya.  (Wikimedia Commons)

USS Coral Sea (CV 43) passes USS Farragut (DDG 37) as she passes Norfolk Naval Shipyard in 1985.  The following year, both ships would become involved in military operations against Libya. (Hampton Roads Naval Museum file)

By Thomas Grubbs
Contributing Writer


Introduction

The phrase “state sponsor of terrorism” is one that has been thrown around so often in the last twenty years that it has lost some of its gravity.  That being said, there are some nations, particularly the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran, that do engage in such acts to near universal international condemnation today.  Older readers may recognize that one nation has been left off of this list: Libya.

Muammar Gaddafi

Libya is a large nation on the North African coast, sandwiched between Egypt to the east and Tunisia and Algeria to the west. Located along ancient trade routes between Africa and Europe, the nation has been inhabited since the late Bronze age by the ancestors of the Berber people and incorporated into the Carthaginian, Roman and Ottoman Empires before being conquered by Italy in 1911. Interestingly, the Barbary Wars of the early 19th century that marked the first tentative steps onto the international stage by the United States Navy were waged against pirates operating from Libyan ports that marked the start of a long and difficult history between the two nations. During the Second World War, it was the scene of heavy fighting between the British 8th Army and the German Afrika Corps. At the end of 1951, a newly independent Libya was handed over to the Libyan people as a constitutional monarchy under the hereditary leadership of King Idris I.

The discovery of significant oil reserves in 1959 transformed what was one of the poorest nations on earth into one of the wealthiest. However, thanks to the incompetence and corruption of the king and his inner circle, most of the resulting oil wealth fell into the hands of a few extremely wealthy individuals. Idris was overthrown on September 1, 1969, in what has become known as Al Fateh Revolution by a group of rebellious army officers led by a young signal corps colonel named Muammar Gaddafi.

Col. Gaddafi in 1970. (Stevan Kragujevic via Tanja Kragujevic/Wikimedia Commons)

Born into a poor Berber family in 1942, Gaddafi entered the Royal Military Academy in 1963 as this was the only method of upward social mobility for poor Libyans at the time. Disgusted by Idris’ corruption and close ties to the West, he was the ringleader of the Al Fateh Revolution that overthrew the monarch and replaced him with what was on the surface a progressive liberal democratic government. A promoter of Islamic Socialism and an Islamic modernist, he built closer ties to neighboring Egypt, expelled the nation’s Jewish and Italian minorities, removed western military bases on Libyan soil (including Wheelus Air Base, which was at one time the largest American military facility outside the United States), made Sharia law the basis of the Libyan criminal justice system and unsuccessfully lobbied for pan-Arab political union under Libyan leadership.

The centerpiece of an intensive cult of personality, he ruled by decree and maintained control of both the military and foreign relations apparatus despite the formation of the Basic People’s Congresses, allegedly a system of direct democracy. He wrote down his political and societal views, known as the Third International Theory, in the Green Book which became required reading for all Libyans. In addition to the political reforms, he also attempted to eradicate endemic diseases such as malaria, raised the minimum wage, improved higher education, nationalized and expanded the oil industry that provided much of the national GDP and removed many societal restrictions on women to vastly improve the standard of living within the country.

Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat shares a laugh with Col. Gaddafi in 1977. (Wikimedia Commons)

By the late 1970s, he became more and more communistic in outlook, consolidating power into his own hands, seizing control of the press, suppressing civil liberties, seizing private property and monetary wealth over a certain amount, and dismantled the existing legal system, drawing significant domestic backlash primarily from Islamic fundamentalists. His personal eccentricities (all female bodyguard corps, sleeping in a traditional Bedouin tent both in Libya and abroad, wearing of military uniforms or traditional Arab garb, etc) made him the darling of the international press. His press conferences, some posted to YouTube, make for comedic gold. Colonel Gaddafi may have been nuttier than a fruitcake but being crazy does not necessarily make one an idiot. He wisely leveraged Libya’s significant oil wealth into building up an impressive role on the world stage and improving the lives of his people. These actions would make him far more enemies than friends and bring him to the attention of a superpower not willing to tolerate his antics.

Gulf of Sidra and disco bombing

Libya, as stated earlier, was home to vast oil reserves, the sale of which allowed Libya to provide foreign aid to less fortunate nations in Africa along with entering into a political and military alliance with Egypt. However, Gaddafi’s eccentricity and unpredictable nature, combined with his insistence that Egypt launch a cultural revolution along the lines of the one in Libya, rapidly deteriorated relations between the two. In addition, Gaddafi was virulently anti-western and anti-Israel, winning him no allies in Europe. He provided material and monetary aid to the PLO and militant left-wing terrorist groups around the world, including the Red Army faction in Germany, Action Direct in France, the PIRA in Ireland and most infamously the Black September Organization that perpetrated the Munich Massacre in 1972. These acts soon rendered Libya an international pariah. However, third world nations soon saw Gaddafi as an anti-colonialist crusader and natural ally of theirs.

Gaddafi knew that his antics would sooner or later draw military retaliation from Europe or the United States, so he purchased significant amounts of armaments on the open market, mostly from the Warsaw Pact or the Soviet Union. Some equipment, primarily self-propelled guns, missiles and fighters were purchased from Italy and France. This made Libya a regional power, able to influence events around the North African coast and to a lesser extent in the Mediterranean basin.

Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi had been supporting anti-western terrorism for several years when he declared a “line of death” in the Gulf of Sidra, north of the Libyan coast.  Determined to offer a response, President Reagan ordered a battle force into the area in March 1986.  Libya fired surface to air missiles at American aircraft and three fast missile attack craft towards the fleet.  U.S. Navy aircraft disabled the shore battery, sank two of the patrol craft, and damaged the third. In his 1997 painting, "Moment of Impact, Operation Prairie Fire," artist Morgan Ian Wilbur depicts the end of one of Qaddafi's patrol boats. (Navy Art Collection, Accession No. 97-057-A)

As part of his anti-Western, anti-colonial stance, Gaddafi financed a variety of leftist terrorist groups operating throughout Europe. The Western response to Libyan provocations was primarily limited to UN declarations and freedom of navigation operations by the United States Navy in the Gulf of Sidra, which had been claimed in its entirety by Libya. These freedom of navigation exercises provoked a series of low-level clashes between the two sides throughout the first half of the 1980s with the Libyans coming off second.

An F/A-18A Hornet with the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 "Black Knights" catches a wire aboard USS Coral Sea (CV-43) off the coast of Libya on March 18, 1986. (Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Knepp/ Wikimedia Commons)

The final straw came with the bombing of a nightclub in West Berlin in the early morning hours of April 5, 1986, that left three dead, including two U.S. Army sergeants, and 229 injured. Combined with the existence of terrorist training camps on Libyan soil, a more robust response was required. American president Ronald Reagan demanded a military retaliation for the death of innocent civilians in the terrorist attacks. The result was Operation El Dorado Canyon. 

At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger briefs the press concerning strikes made against Libyan targets by aircraft from the Coral Sea, Saratoga, and America battle groups on March 25, 1986, weeks before much larger strikes coordinated with U.S. Air Force aircraft took place against multiple Libyan targets during Operation El Dorado Canyon. His hand is gesturing below Gaddafi's so-called "line of death" in the Gulf of Sidra, while the coastline is outlined showing Libya's territorial waters as recognized by the U.S. (Defense Visual Information Archive)

Operation El Dorado Canyon

Gaddafi knew that sooner or later he would be subject to military retaliation from the victims of the terrorist assaults that he had helped finance. Therefore, he embarked on a truly impressive buying spree on the international arms market that gave Libya one of the densest air defense networks on earth. In the skies, some 220 MiG 21, 130 MiG 23 and 125 MiG 25s from the Soviet Union and a further 120 French Mirage F1s provided a potent shield. On land, 108 SA2, 108 SA3, 50 SA8 and 50 SA6 launchers backed by 27 French made Crotale surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) could make life dangerous for any aircraft that got through. A third line of defense was provided by 200 Soviet ZSU23-4 self-propelled radar-guided anti-aircraft (SPAAG) weapon systems. Needless to say, the effort required to breach these defenses would need to be on an equally massive scale.

President Ronald Reagan meets with bipartisan members of the U.S. Congress to discuss the air strike on Libya, Operation El Dorado Canyon, in Room 208 of the Old Executive office building on April 14, 1986. (University of Texas via Wikimedia Commons)

President Reagan targeted several locations, mostly in Benghazi, for the retaliatory air strikes, codenamed Operation El Dorado Canyon. The intent was to send a message that Libyan support of terrorism would not be tolerated. A total of 18 F-111 attack bombers flying from bases in the United Kingdom would strike Bab al Aziza barracks, Murat Sidi Bilal camp and Tripoli airfield.

A U.S. Navy Grumman F-14A Tomcat aircraft from fighter squadron VF-33 Starfighters, left, and a Grumman KA-6D Intruder aircraft from attack squadron VA-34 Blue Blasters prepare to take off the aircraft carrier USS America (CV 66) during flight operations off the coast of Libya on April 17, 1986. A Grumman EA-6B Prowler from Marine tactical electronic warfare squadron VMAQ-2 Det.Y Playboys is visible in the background. The aircraft were assigned to Carrier Air Wing 1 (CVW 1) aboard America for a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea from 10 March to 15 September 1986. On April 15, 1986, America´s aircraft participated in Operation El Dorado Canyon.
(Photographer's Mate Airman David Casper/ U.S. Defense Imagery, VIRIN DN-ST-86-10023 via Wikimedia Commons)

A further 15 A-6E Intruders from the aircraft carriers USS America (CV 66) and USS Coral Sea (CV 43) would strike Jamahiriya Barracks and Benina Airfield. All locations were related to command and control of the Libyan military machine or were home to defending fighters. The raid was made harder by the fact that many nations, most notably France, denied American overflight of their territory for fear of retaliatory terrorist attacks.

Grumman F-14A Tomcats from fighter squadron VF-33 Starfighters are visible through the steam of the catapults on the aircraft carrier USS America (CV-66) during flight operations off the coast of Libya on April 17, 1986. The aircraft were assigned to Carrier Air Wing 1 (CVW-1) aboard America for a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea from March 10 to September 15, 1986. On April 15,1986, America´s aircraft participated in "Operation El Dorado Canyon", the bombing of Libya. (Photographer's Mate Airman David Casper/ U.S. Defense Imagery, VIRIN DN-ST-86-10024 via Wikimedia Commons)

The Americans struck in the early morning hours of April 15, 1986. The entire raid took less than 12 minutes from beginning to end and inflicted heavy damage to all targets. Bab al Aziza was all but leveled by 13 2000-lb bombs while Murat Sidi Bilal was hit by a further 12. Tripoli and Benina airfields absorbed a further 60 and 72 500-lb bombs respectively. Jamahiriya was pulverized by no less than 70 500-lb bombs. 
 
Heavy use of anti-radiation missiles prevented meaningful intervention from the Libyan SAMs while the darkness provided protection from the MiGs and Mirages. A single F-111 was shot down over the Gulf of Sidra by a ZSU23-4 with both crewmen killed on impact. All surviving aircraft arrived back in England or back on board their carriers by 10am Libyan time less a single aircraft that was forced to land in Rota, Spain, the victim of an overheated engine.

A flight deck crewman checks an A-7E Corsair II aircraft from attack squadron VA-72 Blue Hawks aboard the aircraft carrier USS America (CV 66) during flight operations off the coast of Libya on April 17, 1986. The aircraft is armed with an AIM-9L Sidewinder missile on the fuselage station, a Mark 20 Rockeye II bomb on the middle wing pylon and an AGM-45 Shrike missile on the outside wing pylon. VA-72 was assigned to Carrier Air Wing 1 (CVW 1) aboard America for a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea from March 10 to September 15, 1986.  Two days earlier, America´s aircraft participated in Operation El Dorado Canyon. (Photographer's Mate Airman David Casper/ U.S. Defense Imagery, VIRIN DN-ST-86-10022 via Wikimedia Commons)

Aftermath

The attack on Bab al Aziza narrowly missed Colonel Gaddafi and his family who evacuated minutes before the bombs hit. This in turn led to speculation that Gaddafi was deliberately targeted and that Libyan sympathizers within the Italian government had provided advanced warning to the Libyans of the incoming attack.

In his later years, Gaddafi used a monument symbolizing Libyan defiance against the Operation El Dorado Canyon air strikes (and the downing of one of the F-111s conducting the operation) as a backdrop.  During the revolution that toppled him in 2011, the monument was defaced and removed. (Daily Mail)

An estimated 60 Libyans lost their lives in the bombings, including the alleged adopted daughter of Gaddafi. There is considerable debate over whether or not the deceased infant presented to the international press was indeed Hana Gaddafi and even if Colonel Gaddafi had an adopted child at all. Gaddafi retaliated to the attack by firing a pair of SCUD missiles at the American Coast Guard Station on the island of Lampedusa that missed. It is also believed that the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and the hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 were done in retaliation as well. The UN condemned the attack as an unwarranted act of aggression by the United States while the USSR and China described the attack as unprovoked. Survivors of the attacks on both sides received monetary compensation for their losses from a $1.5 billion compensation fund established by Libya in 2008. Hard feelings persist regarding Operation El Dorado Canyon and its aftermath on both sides to this day.

Conclusion

No civilized nation can tolerate the existence of terrorism, be it a small group of fringe extremists or a massive state-sponsored organization. Like the pirate of an earlier age, the terrorist is hostis humani generis: an enemy of the human race. Despite the near universal condemnation by the international community, Operation El Dorado Canyon was a proportional and justified response to a terrorist attack that could not have gone unanswered. Col. Gaddafi managed to successfully rehabilitate his international reputation after the tragic events of 9/11 and was removed from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism in 2006.

U.S. Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz stands by the iconic statue of a fist crushing an American warplane, which was long associated with Col. Qadhafi’s Bab AlAzizya compound in Tripoli, but now serves a symbol of the city’s central role in the February 17 Revolution in the center of Tripoli Street in Misurata, Libya, on November 26, 2011. Cretz's successor as ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens, was killed by Islamic militants in Benghazi on September 11, 2012.  (U.S. State Department photo)

Tired of the regime’s incipient corruption and the regime’s crackdown on a rising tide of fundamentalist Islamism, the Libyan people rebelled as part of the Arab Spring uprising in April 2011. Forced out of power, he took refuge in a loyalist stronghold in Sirte. Attempting to flee again on October 20, his convoy was attacked by NATO aircraft supporting anti-Gaddafi irregulars in the area, forcing him to seek refuge in a nearby construction site. Anti-Gaddafi militia, following up on the airstrike, captured both Gaddafi and a number of his companions while he was hiding in a culvert drainpipe. Muammar Gaddafi was summarily executed by the militiamen on the spot with footage of the dictator’s violent demise widely broadcast on western media. Unfortunately, Gaddafi’s death did not end the Libyan Civil War, which continues to this day with heavy civilian casualties and an ongoing NATO military intervention. 

Editor's Note: Thomas Grubbs earned a master's degree in military history from Southern New Hampshire University and is currently a park ranger interpreter at Vicksburg National Military Park. His research interest is in the history of the dreadnought battleship. 

The Silent Screwtop of VAW-123, Part 2

Near the E2-C Hawkeye on static display at Ely Park on Naval Station Norfolk stands a monument to three naval aviators lost on August 15, 2007, when their Hawkeye, Greyhawk 620, crashed shortly after launch from USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during training operations in the Atlantic. (M.C. Farrington)

By Captain Alexander G. Monroe, USN (Ret)
HRNM Docent & Contributing Writer

In the last post exploring the history of the E-2C Hawkeye on static display at Ely Park at Naval Station Norfolk, some operations in which Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 123 (VAW-123) took part in were outlined briefly. Now may be an appropriate time to learn more of its rich heritage.

An E-2A Hawkeye with VAW-123 sits on the flight line at NAS Norfolk, Virginia, in June 1967.  (Defense Visual Information Archive) 

During the Vietnam War, the initial 1967 combat deployment for the squadron was aborted by the terrible fire aboard USS Forrestal (CVA 59) in which 134 crewmen were killed. Though one Hawkeye was on the catapult awaiting launch when the fire began, it was rapidly cleared of personnel, and there was only minor damage to squadron aircraft. On April 8, 1972, VAW-123 again deployed for wartime operations as part of Carrier Air Wing Three, embarked in USS Saratoga (CVA 60). The early part of the transit to Vietnam was devoted to preparation for hostile operations. Included in the topics reviewed were rules of engagement for Linebacker I and II operations, E-2 coordination during downed pilot evolutions, navigation assistance available to attack aircraft, flight coordination to coast-in-points and targets during armed reconnaissance operations. Careful preparation bore fruit during the deployment which included 175 days spent in operations on line. The squadron was instrumental in conducting a five-hour operation resulting in rescuing and returning to the ship an aviator who had been downed by anti-aircraft missiles near Vinh and was stranded 17 miles within enemy territory.

On December 18, 1972, the squadron returned to Yankee Station for its last on line period,[1] and the ship returned to Norfolk on February 13, 1973. The squadron had provided 97 percent of Airborne Early Warning coverage for Commander Task Force 77 during Linebacker I and II. It had played a key role in Operation Ironhand, in which the Navy and Air Force worked together to suppress surface-to-air missile sites. Additionally, it earned the Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet (AIRLANT) and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Safety Awards. A key aspect of the April 9, 1973 change of command was the squadron being awarded the AIRLANT Battle Efficiency E. Commander James D. “Jack” Larison, the outgoing squadron CO, observed that combat gave the opportunity to see the result of training and readiness.[2]

Times since the end of the Vietnam War have been eventful for this country and for VAW-123. The nation has faced a series of challenges as a result of shifts in world order and the alliances to which we are a party. Adversaries also broadened from the armed forces of nation-states to nonstate actors, culminating in a direct attack upon the United States. From 1989 to the present, domestic and international operations have involved the squadron and the eight aircraft carriers in which they have been embarked. The names of operations in which they have participated are a partial catalog of contingencies in which national power, often in tandem with that of other nations, has been applied: Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Deny Flight/Deliberate Force, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Inherent Resolve, and New Dawn. Their consistent performance[3] in highly diverse operational settings has played and continues to play a vital role in maintaining world stability and national safety and survival.

An air-to-air silhouetted left side view of an E-2 Hawkeye airborne-early-warning (AEW) aircraft assigned to the aircraft carrier USS America (CV 66), May 6,1981. (National Archives and Records Administration via Naval History and Heritage Command) 

Another mission that VAW-123 and other carrier airborne early warning squadrons have been deeply invested in was alluded to in the squadron’s 1990 Command History. Commander Michael L Maurer noted that VAW-123 “opened the year with a detachment to NAS Key West, Florida, as part of the Congressionally mandated War on Drugs.” According to some observers, what was needed to stem the flow of dangerous drugs into the country was a robust anti-drug campaign that only the armed forces could conduct. Because of the restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act, armed forces could only provide “detection and monitoring,” with “interdiction and arrest” left to civilian law enforcement authorities.[4] The squadron sent detachments to NAS Key West in January and May 1990 and to Howard Air Force Base in the former Canal Zone to participate in Panama Surveillance Operations from August 13 to September 1, 1990.[5] Detachments of the squadron deployed to the Naval Station at Roosevelt Roads Puerto Rico[6] from August to October 1996 and worked in “close conjunction with Coast Guard and DEA assets to hold a non-stop vigil in a dedicated effort to stem the flow of illegal drugs into the United States…”[7] The Drug War goes on to this very day, and seizures have been impressive.[8] Overall effectiveness is hard to evaluate because while amounts of illegal drugs seized are known, amounts shipped are not[9]

Pilots from Airborne Early Warning Squadron 123 (VAW-123) takes notes in the ready room of USS America (CV 66), probably during Operation Desert Shield. (Defense Visual Information Archive)

Desert Shield/Desert Storm (August 2, 1990-January 16, 1991 and January 17, 1991-February 28, 1991) were responses to the invasion of oil rich Kuwait by its neighbor Iraq on August 2, 1990. The Saudi Arabian government requested assistance four days later, and by November 29, 1990, the United Nations Security Council issued Resolution 678, which included a demarche requiring Iraq to leave Kuwait by January 15, 1991, or face forced ejection. VAW 123 was embarked in USS America (CV 66) as part of Carrier Air Wing One and had left Norfolk on December 28, 1990. Following this rapid deployment, it arrived in the Red Sea on January 17th, 1991, the day after commencement of Desert Storm operations. It operated from the America in the Red Sea and from a detachment based ashore at Sheik Isa airfield on Bahrain. It provided traditional VAW functions of threat detection and control of raids against coastal and strategic targets in Kuwait and Iraq. Its aircraft controlled successful destruction of two Iraqi MiG 21s by F-18 aircraft, and in February 1991 controlled eleven delivery packages that destroyed two Scud missile sites.[10]

The wide variety of and location of VAW-123 operations is shown among other places in 1993 in Operation Deny Flight a NATO effort to enforce a “no fly” zone over Bosnia Herzegovina set forth in UN Resolutions 781 and 816. On August 30, 1993, it became the second Hawkeye Squadron to conduct overland air operations in the area, and these continued until October when the squadron embarked in USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), transited the Suez Canal enroute to Somalia to provide humanitarian assistance in Operation Restore Hope. To that date the squadron had flown 25 years of accident free operations, had flown 51,526 hours and recorded 11,755 arrested carrier landings. In Somalia it provided flight following operations for United Nations’ humanitarian relief flights in and out of Mogadishu.

Petty Officer 1st Class Jonathan Butler from Norfolk, Virginia, verifies the torque on a pitch actuator on an E-2C Hawkeye assigned to the Screwtops of VAW-123 in the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). As an aviation machinist mate aboard Ike, Butler is responsible for maintaining and troubleshooting aircraft components.  Ike and its carrier strike group are deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, maritime security operations and theater security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class J. Alexander Delgado/ Defense Visual Information Archive)

The most involved of the contingency operations has been Enduring Freedom, which resulted from the attack on the United States by Islamic extremists. On September 11, 2001, 19 individuals hijacked four commercial airliners and flew two of them into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and in so doing murdered over three thousand innocent citizens. Enduring Freedom, which began on October 7, 2001, was fashioned to destroy places of refuge chiefly in Pakistan and Pakistan for Al Qaeda and Taliban insurgents, though other locations such as the Philippines were involved in the nascent Global War on Terror (GWOT). The effort resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden, sponsor of The 9/11 attack and neutralization of considerable insurgent strength. The scope and variety of operations marked a shift for VAW-123 to support expeditionary warfare from land based detachment such as Udeid Air Base in Qatar. The 2003 squadron history noted ability to provide “an airborne element of theater command… supporting air, ground and Naval Operations.”

On March 20, 2016, an E-2C Hawkeye assigned to the Screwtops of VAW-123 performs pre-flight checks on the flight decks of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) during a Composite Training Unit Exercize (COMPUTEX) in preparation for a future deployment. (Defense Visual Information Archive) 

Finally and most important, the display at Ely Park recognizes the service and sacrifice of three aviators from the VAW-120 Greyhawks, the replacement training activity for all aviators bound for the VAW community, who were lost in a crash after launching from USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).[11] They were Lieutenant Ryan K. Betton, the Aircraft Commander, Lieutenant Cameron “Gazer” Hall, and Lieutenant junior grade Jerry R. Smith.[12]

Results of the Judge Advocate General’s Manual investigation were released about a year after the crash. It recited known facts: that the aircrew was practicing take offs and landings from the ship in clear weather and calm seas, about 150 miles southeast of its Norfolk, Virginia homeport. It was Lt. j.g. Smith’s first night catapult shot. Just after the 2300 launch it appeared to climb, then lost altitude and crashed in 3000 feet of water after about ten seconds of flight. Investigators considered any and all explanations for the mishap. The Truman deck log shows that the aircraft entered the water at 2311. Twenty-four seconds later, rescue personnel were notified and Truman’s engines were stopped on an emergency basis and placed on “maneuvering” combination. The commanding officer and navigator were on the bridge. A plane guard helicopter from HS-7 searched, as did other aircraft. By thirteen minutes later both port and starboard Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) were in the water and searchlights energized and scanned the surface. Though a “green light at bearing 220 (R)” was noted, only a fuel slick and aviator’s helmet were found.

Though there was some indication of malfunction of an angle of attack indicator the day before the fatal crash, the problem could not be duplicated and the plane’s original maintenance record was on board the aircraft and lost in the crash. The Board held that, "the evidence is not sufficient to form an opinion on the cause or causes of the crash," adding that no debris had been recovered or was likely to be recovered that "will adequately explain the cause of this crash."[13]

A memorial service held at Norfolk Naval Station’s David Adams Memorial Chapel on August 23, 2007, was a poignant time of remembrance in which common threads joining the three aviators emerged: (1) love of flying and the Navy; (2) love and support of family; and (3) respect and admiration of those with whom they served. Commander Jeff Trent, the Greyhawk Commanding Officer eulogized them as those “who embodied the best about our Armed Forces…they didn’t sit on the sidelines.” He continued, noting that, “he couldn’t imagine the depth of grief of the families.” He added a note of lightness to the proceedings by noting that “Gazer” Hall had a reputation abound the squadron as a “joker” and that he liked to invite him to his stateroom “so he could hear his hunting and fishing stories.[14]

Equally moving were the tributes of others. Lt. Jason Buckley recalled Lt. Betton, the aircraft commander and a Virginia Military Institute graduate, as a “true southern gentleman even though he was from Michigan and spoke Canadian French.” Lt. Josh Wenker described Lt. Cameron Hall from Louisiana as, “a little cocky…such a kid at heart that you couldn’t help but like him.” Lt. John Horn remembered that Lt. j.g. Jerry Smith, “gave him a phony winning lottery ticket on his 24th birthday,” and that most important, “whenever I needed someone to talk to, Jerry was always there.” [15] Lt. Betton’s widow moved some present to tears when she described how their son Ian ran to his father a few weeks before at a fly in. Eric Smith, Lt. j.g. Smith’s brother, noted that he thought of his brother’s philosophy–of living each day as it were one’s last. The families and others in the congregation were surrounded by the elements of Navy ritual and ceremony from which they seemed to gather strength and solace from hearing of the lives and achievements of these young men.[16]

The E2-C Hawkeye on static display at Ely Park on Naval Station Norfolk. (M.C. Farrington)

The display and associated monument provide lessons in performance, perseverance and sacrifice. In May 2018, Norfolk television channel WTKR named the Screwtops “Squadron of the Month” after it was awarded the Battle Efficiency E for the second consecutive time. Commander Patrick Dzieken, VAW-123’s Commanding Officer, stated that the cameras were standing among, “the best men and women in the U.S. Navy” and, “that awards such as the E don’t happen by themselves, but fine men and women of the Screwtops make them happen.” Lt. j.g. Smith’s brother spoke of perseverance, taking each day after the terrible accident as it comes.

As William Faulkner put it in accepting a 1949 Nobel Prize, “I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail.” The monument below the Hawkeye at Ely Park is a powerful reminder that, as the Betton family said in a statement, “Freedom sometimes requires the ultimate sacrifice, but we are thankful that Ryan was willing to protect the liberties on which the country was founded.”[17]

Notes:

[1] This period saw the massive bombardment of the Hanoi/Haiphong area known as Linebacker II, generally thought to have ended the conflict.

[2] CO VAW-123 Ltr 5700 ADMIN/bah Ser 98 Command History dated February 11, 1973.

[3] On October 16th, 1993, while conducting Deny Flight operations, the squadron completed 25 years of accident-free operating.

[4] The U.S. Coast Guard has law enforcement power under Title Four of the United States Code.

[5] CO VAW-123 Ltr 5750 Ser 00/CO/11 Command History 1990 dated April 13, 1991.

[6] The Coast Guard was loaned Hawkeye aircraft but after a fatal crash of Coast Guard aircraft number 3105 on August 24, 1990, it returned the Hawkeyes to the Navy.

[7] CO VAW-123 Ltr 5750 Ser 00/47, Command History dated March 18, 1997.

[8] The squadron sent detachments to Naval Station Roosevelt Roads Puerto Rico in August, September and October 1996; See CO VAW-123 Ltr 5750 Ser 00/47 of March 18, 1997

[9] Caribbean Barrier: U.S. Atlantic Command Support of Counterdrug Operations 1989-1997, U.S. Joint Forces Command Special Historical Study, Office of the Command Historian, Headquarters, U.S. Joint Forces Command, Norfolk, Virginia, December 1990, pp. 79-80.

[10] VAW Ltr 5750 Ser 00/C011, Command History dated April 13, 1991, and VAW LTR 5750 Ser00/004 dated February 25, 1992

[11] “E2C Hawkeye Crashes, Navy conducting Search,” Navy News Story 070816, Commander Naval Air Force Atlantic Fleet Public Affairs Office, August 16, 2007; See also USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) Deck logbook of August 15, 2007.

[12] “Navy identifies 3 aviators lot in crash off carrier,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, Kate Wiltrout and Louis Hansen, August 17, 2007.

[13] “Navy can’t pinpoint the cause of fatal Hawkeye crash,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, Kate Wiltrout, August 26, 2008; See Also SIR Form 3750/8.

[14] “Memorial Service held for fallen aviators,” Navy News Story 070831, Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Elizabeth Gilson, August 31, 2007 and “Family, Friends Recall Aviators,” Newport News Daily Press, Stephanie Heinatz, August 24, 2007.

[15] Ibid.

[16] “1500 gather to remember 3 Navy fliers killed at sea,” Norfolk, Virginian-Pilot, Kate Wiltrout, August 24th, 2007; See again Heinatz above

[17] See Channel Three Squadron of the Month program of May 31, 2007 and also “Suffolk Navy Pilot Lost,” Newport News Daily Press, Stephanie Heinatz, August 18, 2007.


About the author: Captain Alexander "Sandy" G. Monroe, a retired surface warfare officer, is the author of In Service to Their Country: Christchurch School and the American Uniformed Services (2014) as well as official histories on U.S. Atlantic Command counternarcotic operational assistance to civilian law enforcement agencies and the treatment of Haitian asylum seekers at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was also dispatched to the Arabian Gulf on assignment for the director of naval history during Operation Earnest Will.

Editor's note: This and every HRNM blog post by a contributing writer reflects the opinions and core beliefs of the writer and should not be construed as representing the official policies or opinions of the museum, the Department of the Navy, or the United States Government.

War Paint: NAS Oceana A-6s

Pictured here is plane #502, an A-6 Intruder from the NAS Oceana-based Attack Squadron Fifty-Five.  The black silhouette of a missile boat to the left of "502" recognizes the pilot's successful sinking of a Libyan Navy Nanuchka-class missile corvette in March 1986. A second marking is shown to the left below the the aviator's name (Lieutenant Commander Larry Jones).  This represents the air strike against Benia Air Base in Libya.  At least four MiG-23s were destroyed, with twelve others damaged. 

Picture here is an A-6E intruder from Attack Squadron Eight-Five, also based at NAS Oceana.  Its kill mark comes from the same operation as the VA-55 Intruder.  VA-85 Intruder launched strikes Lybian missile boats approaching U.S. surface ships.  After being damaged by Rockeye cluster bombs, this particular A-6 shown above fired a Harpoon anti-ship missile, sinking the Libyan vessel. 

Both the VA-55 and VA-85 strikes were part of a series of "Freedom of Navigation" operations in the Gulf of Sidra, which the Libyans claimed as their territorial water.  Disregarding this designation, the United States moved in carrier battle groups.  The Libyan government responded with aircraft intercepts and missile gunboat sorties.  Called Operation Prairie Fire and Operation El Dorado Canyon, naval fighters and bombers made several strikes against the Libyan military units in the spring of 1986.

This is an A-6, plane number "504" from the NAS Oceana based Attack Squadron Seven-Five (a.k.a. "The Sunday Punchers").  VA-75 led the Navy's air assault on the first day of Operation Desert Storm on January 17, 1991 .  The bomb markings signifies that this particular aircraft participated in thirty-four strikes against Iraqi targets.

 According a VA-75 veterans' website, "Over the next 43 days, flying around the clock, the Puncher delivered over 1.6 million pounds of ordnance, flew 2,150 combat hours in 498 sorties without a loss or damage to any aircraft. For their efforts, the Sunday Punchers became the most decorated Navy squadron of Desert Storm."

Aircraft Carriers in the Elizabeth River

One of the more awe-inspiring sights is a modern aircraft carrier navigating the Elizabeth River as she travels between Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval Station Norfolk.

USS America (CV-66) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, 1982

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) shortly after leaving the Yard and heading upstream, 1989.

USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) passing Norfolk's Town Point Park, August 1, 1987

USS Enterprise (CVN-65) passing by battleship Wisconsin  (BB-64), Nauticus, and
the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, August 30, 2011

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) docking at Naval Station Norfolk, 1997.

Builder's Model USS America

One of the crown jewels of the museum's collection is the builder's model of the aircraft carrier USS America (CV-66).  Built by the model shop of Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in the 1960s, the model is made of wood and is over six feet long at a scale 1/8" of model to one foot of real ship. The aircraft on the ship represent a 1960s-era Naval air wing with A-4 Skyhawks, RA-5 Vigilantes, A-7 Corsiar IIs, A-6 Intruders, F-4 Phantoms, and C-2 Greyhounds,   It is one of the largest ship models in the Navy's collection and can be seen in the museum's Cold War gallery.