The USS Bon Homme Richard* (CVA-31) has just returned to Yankee Station from a 10-day break in operations. With Air Wing 21 embarked CVA31 had begun combat operations in support of the Republic of South Vietnam in late February 1967. Onboard were VA-212 Rampant Raiders (A4E), VA-215 Barn Owls (A1J Skyraider) and VA-76 Spirits (A4C) making up the attack portion of the air wing. A new list of ‘Alpha’ priority targets was released by the Johnson war planners. Today’s strikes around Haiphong promise much heavier anti-aircraft defences than has been seen up to now.
The morning strike recovered with many battle-damaged aircraft and the grim news that VA-76 pilot Charles Stackhouse has been downed by a MiG17.
The afternoon strike group is just getting ready to launch...
* 1-8 players
* 45 minute Sortie
* Custom Kneeboard
You are part of Dodge, a flight of VA-212 Rampant Raider A4-E Skyhawks. You are armed with 6 x Mk 82 bombs and a 300gal centreline tank. Your mission is to destroy 4 warehouses in the Haiphong area (Krasnodar-Pashkovsky is being used as this area).
Enemy SAMs are located along the northern edge of the Kuban River. Flying mid-altitude will be suicidal. You should either fly ultra-low or above 10,000ft, alternatively chose your own route further south of the river. South route will also be dangerous due to enemy air patrols and potential SA-2 sites.
You have a pair of EA-6B Prowlers and a pair of A-4Es who will fly ahead to try to locate and/or destroy enemy air defences. They will focus on the north edge of the river to clear a corridor for you. The mission is incredibly difficult, and it is highly likely that there will be casualties.
This mission will test:
*A4 Skyhawk Start Up procedures
*Carrier Takeoff (does not require supercarrier) - easy launch spawns available.
*Navigation (waypoint and TACAN)
*RWR Use
*CCRP Dive bombing
*Fuel Management
*Air to air combat
Single Player
It will be difficult to destroy all four targets, For single players destroying 2 or more warehouses is considered a win.
Multiplayer
By changing loadouts it will be very easy to create a complex mission for a squadron to fly. Players could take on SEAD and CAP roles in addition to the main strike package.
Required Mods:
The mission was written using the A4 Skyhawk mod version 2.1.1. This excellent mod can be found here:
https://github.com/heclak/community-a4e-c/releases/
You will also need the Version 1.1 EA-6B Intruder mod (AI only) from here...
https://filehorst.de/download.php?file=dqizfhyr
Audio
The authentic background radio chatter you may hear during this mission has been taken from this brilliant YouTube channel...
https://www.youtube.com/@TheRavenHistoryChannel
