Flight of the Intruder
Encyclopedia
Flight of the Intruder is a 1991
film directed by John Milius
, which is based on the novel of the same name
by A-6 Intruder
pilot Stephen Coonts
. The film stars Danny Glover
as Commander Frank 'Dooke' Camparelli, Willem Dafoe
as Lieutenant Commander Virgil 'Tiger' Cole, and Brad Johnson
as Lieutenant Jake 'Cool Hand' Grafton.
, his BN and friend is dead. Disturbed and covered in blood, Jake walks into a debriefing with Commander Frank Camparelli and the executive officer, Commander "Cowboy" Parker. After a brief exchange of what he could recall from his flight, Camparelli tells him to put Morgan's death behind him and to write a letter to Morgan's wife, Sharon. A new pilot is then introduced in the ready room—Jack Barlow, who is named "Razor" because of his young appearance. The next morning, a memorial service is held for Morgan, in which the letter Jake wrote to Sharon is narrated.
Lieutenant Commander Virgil Cole arrives on a C-2 Greyhound, then shortly speaks with Camparelli.
Jake, his room-mate Sammy Lundeen, Bob "Boxman" Walkawitz and "Mad Jack" fly into Subic Bay
the next day. After landing, he goes to see Sharon, but she's already departed. He runs into a woman named Callie Troy, who is packing Sharon's things.
After an altercation with civilian merchant mariners in the Tailhook Bar, Jake runs into Callie again in a café. After spending the night with her, she reveals her husband was a pilot himself and was killed on a solo mission over Vietnam.
Jake returns to the carrier where Camparelli confronts him regarding the incident. Cole and Jake are paired on "Iron Hand" A-6Bs loaded with Standard ARMs and Shrikes for SAM suppression. On the mission, they encounter and manage to evade a North Vietnamese MiG-17.
Jake suggests to Cole that they bomb Hanoi
, which could get them court martialed. Cole rejects the idea.
On the next mission, Jake and Cole are paired up with Boxman. After hitting their suspected target, Boxman is shot down and killed by another SAM. On the TV news in the ready room, US aircraft debris are flashed in victorious manner by the Vietnamese in Hanoi. Cole agrees with Jake to attack Hanoi. They read through maps and articles and decide on SAM City.
While on a mission to bomb a power plant in the vicinity of Hanoi, they drop two of their Mark 82 Snake Eyes, leaving eight for the missile depot. On their first pass, their armament computer goes out and after barely surviving a SAM detonation, their bombs do not release. They come back around and release, the missile depot is obliterated. After landing, Camparelli informs them of their court martial at Subic Bay.
The court martial charges are dropped when Operation Linebacker II
is ordered by President Richard M. Nixon and their mission is covered up. The next day, Camparelli grounds them while the rest of the carrier's A-6 and A-7 crews conduct a daylight raid to destroy anti-aircraft emplacements. Camparelli is hit by a ZSU-23-4
AA gun and crash lands, his bombardier dead. Sammy Lundeen is hit and has to head for the ocean. Razor is ordered by Camparelli to disengage. Jake and Cole fly one more time to assist Camparelli. They destroy the ZSU, but are heavily damaged and forced to eject. Jake lands near the crashed Intruder and runs to cover with Camparelli. Separated from Jake, Cole tries to evade the NVA when he gets into a scuffle with one. He successfully kills him with his bayonet, but is mortally wounded. He comes in radio contact with Jake and lies to him, telling him he has already gotten away. Moments later, a pair of U.S. Air Force A-1 Skyraiders (Sandy) appear and to provide cover. Cole instructs the lead Sandy to drop ordnance on him and pops smoke. He is killed by the Skyraiders along with a few dozen NVA and possibly a ZSU. Jake and Camparelli retreat into the wooded areas away from their aircraft, while being pursued by a sniper. The Jolly Green Giant helicopter sent in to retrieve them drops a jungle penetrating cable. Jake hooks Camparelli on and takes his pistol and hides in a ditch waiting for any snipers to appear. While Camparelli is being pulled to the helicopter, a sniper pops up and Jake jumps out firing his handguns. The penetrator is sent back down and after a suspenseful wait, Jake is hoisted to the helicopter and the Skyraiders conduct one final napalm run.
The film ends with Jake reading a letter from Callie and talking to Camparelli, congratulating him on being selected for promotion to Captain and says he would like to be on that ship. Camparelli replies that he wouldn't have it any other way.
. She went out for two weeks of filming in November 1989. The film crew kept the ship's fire party busy with numerous small electrical fires started with their lighting equipment.
A-6E Intruders from VA-165 Boomers were used for the film. Members of the Boomers spent 2 weeks on the Independence, and Paramount rented the carrier at a cost of $1,000,000 a day.
The ship seen on plane guard station in the background as Grafton threw Morg's fuzzy dice overboard after his memorial service was USS William H. Standley (CG-32).
Future US Senator Fred Thompson played a major speaking part during the court-martial sequence of the film, portraying a Captain in the Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. Ed O'Neill
was originally cast in the movie but when the movie was screened for test audiences, they laughed at him, as they all perceived him as his Married With Children character, Al Bundy
. The director recast his character and reshot those scenes.
A-1 Skyraider
s and an HH-3 "Jolly Green Giant"
rescue helicopter
in various action sequences, with brief appearances of Navy aircraft including the A-7 Corsair, C-2 Greyhound and the F-4 Phantom II
, as well as a North Vietnamese MiG-17
.
Two early variants of the A-6 Intruder, the A-6A and A-6B, are portrayed in the film by A-6E (without the TRAM targeting equipment) as all surviving A-6 variants at the time of filming had been updated to A-6E or KA-6D standards. The A-6A is a conventional bomber and the A-6B carried specialized electronics and weapons for SEAD
missions (the Navy called this "Iron Hand", the Air Force called it "Wild Weasel
".)
The Shilka anti-aircraft vehicle
seen at the end was never used during the Vietnam War. Its first combat use was during the Yom Kippur War
in 1973.
's notable 1964 music hit "Downtown
" on their way back from the prohibited bombing run on a Hanoi SAM missile depot exhilarated from their success.
Flight of the Intruder
, a video game based on the movie was released in 1991. Developed by Rowan Software, Ltd. and published by Spectrum Holobyte
, the game allowed players the choice of flying either the A-6 intruder or the F-4 from aircraft carriers against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Players were challenged both by the comprehensive enemy defenses and the restrictive and complex rules of engagement
. Realistic features included unreliable missiles and smokey engines for the Phantom. (As in real life, the trail would disappear in afterburner
.) At lower realism settings, F-4's had missiles and an internal cannon - in contrast to real USN whose F-4's were armed only with missiles.
1991 in film
The year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...
film directed by John Milius
John Milius
John Frederick Milius is an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures.-Early life:Milius was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Elizabeth and William Styx Milius, who was a shoe manufacturer. Milius attempted to join the Marine Corps in the late 1960s, but was rejected...
, which is based on the novel of the same name
Flight of the Intruder (novel)
Flight of the Intruder is a novel written by Stephen Coonts in 1986 telling the stories of United States Navy aviators flying the A-6 Intruder – a two man, all-weather, aircraft carrier based strike aircraft on missions during the Vietnam War. The main character is Jake "Cool Hands" Grafton, a...
by A-6 Intruder
A-6 Intruder
The Grumman A-6 Intruder was an American, twin jet-engine, mid-wing attack aircraft built by Grumman Aerospace. In service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps between 1963 and 1997, the Intruder was designed as an all-weather medium attack aircraft to replace the piston-engined A-1 Skyraider...
pilot Stephen Coonts
Stephen Coonts
Stephen Coonts is an American thriller and suspense novelist.Coonts grew up in Buckhannon, West Virginia, a small coal-mining town and earned an B.A. degree in political science at West Virginia University in 1968...
. The film stars Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
as Commander Frank 'Dooke' Camparelli, Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
as Lieutenant Commander Virgil 'Tiger' Cole, and Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson (actor)
Brad Johnson is an American actor and former Marlboro Man.Johnson's first acting credit was in the low-budget biker film The Nam Angels , and shortly after he had his first co-starring role in a major film when he played the role of Ted Baker in the 1989 film Always, directed by Steven Spielberg...
as Lieutenant Jake 'Cool Hand' Grafton.
Plot
Lieutenant Jake "Cool Hand" Grafton and his bombardier/navigator(BN) and best friend Lieutenant Morgan "Morg" McPhearson are flying over the Gulf of Tonkin towards North Vietnam. Morgan navigates their way in while Jake makes comments about him taking his work too seriously. Once calling "feet dry" and passing the coast, they hit their target, a suspected truck park which turns out to be trees. While flying back out over the Gulf of Tonkin, Morgan is shot in the neck by a Vietnamese peasant and Jake declares an emergency. Upon landing on the USS Independence (CV-62)USS Independence (CV-62)
The fifth USS Independence is a of the United States Navy. It was the fourth and final member of the Forrestal-class conventional-powered Supercarrier...
, his BN and friend is dead. Disturbed and covered in blood, Jake walks into a debriefing with Commander Frank Camparelli and the executive officer, Commander "Cowboy" Parker. After a brief exchange of what he could recall from his flight, Camparelli tells him to put Morgan's death behind him and to write a letter to Morgan's wife, Sharon. A new pilot is then introduced in the ready room—Jack Barlow, who is named "Razor" because of his young appearance. The next morning, a memorial service is held for Morgan, in which the letter Jake wrote to Sharon is narrated.
Lieutenant Commander Virgil Cole arrives on a C-2 Greyhound, then shortly speaks with Camparelli.
Jake, his room-mate Sammy Lundeen, Bob "Boxman" Walkawitz and "Mad Jack" fly into Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
the next day. After landing, he goes to see Sharon, but she's already departed. He runs into a woman named Callie Troy, who is packing Sharon's things.
After an altercation with civilian merchant mariners in the Tailhook Bar, Jake runs into Callie again in a café. After spending the night with her, she reveals her husband was a pilot himself and was killed on a solo mission over Vietnam.
Jake returns to the carrier where Camparelli confronts him regarding the incident. Cole and Jake are paired on "Iron Hand" A-6Bs loaded with Standard ARMs and Shrikes for SAM suppression. On the mission, they encounter and manage to evade a North Vietnamese MiG-17.
Jake suggests to Cole that they bomb Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, which could get them court martialed. Cole rejects the idea.
On the next mission, Jake and Cole are paired up with Boxman. After hitting their suspected target, Boxman is shot down and killed by another SAM. On the TV news in the ready room, US aircraft debris are flashed in victorious manner by the Vietnamese in Hanoi. Cole agrees with Jake to attack Hanoi. They read through maps and articles and decide on SAM City.
While on a mission to bomb a power plant in the vicinity of Hanoi, they drop two of their Mark 82 Snake Eyes, leaving eight for the missile depot. On their first pass, their armament computer goes out and after barely surviving a SAM detonation, their bombs do not release. They come back around and release, the missile depot is obliterated. After landing, Camparelli informs them of their court martial at Subic Bay.
The court martial charges are dropped when Operation Linebacker II
Operation Linebacker II
Operation Linebacker II was a US Seventh Air Force and US Navy Task Force 77 aerial bombing campaign, conducted against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam during the final period of US involvement in the Vietnam War...
is ordered by President Richard M. Nixon and their mission is covered up. The next day, Camparelli grounds them while the rest of the carrier's A-6 and A-7 crews conduct a daylight raid to destroy anti-aircraft emplacements. Camparelli is hit by a ZSU-23-4
ZSU-23-4
The ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" is a lightly armored, self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system . ZSU stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka , meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount". The "23" signifies the bore diameter in millimeters. The "4" signifies the number of gun barrels. It...
AA gun and crash lands, his bombardier dead. Sammy Lundeen is hit and has to head for the ocean. Razor is ordered by Camparelli to disengage. Jake and Cole fly one more time to assist Camparelli. They destroy the ZSU, but are heavily damaged and forced to eject. Jake lands near the crashed Intruder and runs to cover with Camparelli. Separated from Jake, Cole tries to evade the NVA when he gets into a scuffle with one. He successfully kills him with his bayonet, but is mortally wounded. He comes in radio contact with Jake and lies to him, telling him he has already gotten away. Moments later, a pair of U.S. Air Force A-1 Skyraiders (Sandy) appear and to provide cover. Cole instructs the lead Sandy to drop ordnance on him and pops smoke. He is killed by the Skyraiders along with a few dozen NVA and possibly a ZSU. Jake and Camparelli retreat into the wooded areas away from their aircraft, while being pursued by a sniper. The Jolly Green Giant helicopter sent in to retrieve them drops a jungle penetrating cable. Jake hooks Camparelli on and takes his pistol and hides in a ditch waiting for any snipers to appear. While Camparelli is being pulled to the helicopter, a sniper pops up and Jake jumps out firing his handguns. The penetrator is sent back down and after a suspenseful wait, Jake is hoisted to the helicopter and the Skyraiders conduct one final napalm run.
The film ends with Jake reading a letter from Callie and talking to Camparelli, congratulating him on being selected for promotion to Captain and says he would like to be on that ship. Camparelli replies that he wouldn't have it any other way.
Production
Flight of the Intruder was filmed partly on the USS Independence (CV-62)USS Independence (CV-62)
The fifth USS Independence is a of the United States Navy. It was the fourth and final member of the Forrestal-class conventional-powered Supercarrier...
. She went out for two weeks of filming in November 1989. The film crew kept the ship's fire party busy with numerous small electrical fires started with their lighting equipment.
A-6E Intruders from VA-165 Boomers were used for the film. Members of the Boomers spent 2 weeks on the Independence, and Paramount rented the carrier at a cost of $1,000,000 a day.
The ship seen on plane guard station in the background as Grafton threw Morg's fuzzy dice overboard after his memorial service was USS William H. Standley (CG-32).
Future US Senator Fred Thompson played a major speaking part during the court-martial sequence of the film, portraying a Captain in the Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. Ed O'Neill
Ed O'Neill
Edward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes...
was originally cast in the movie but when the movie was screened for test audiences, they laughed at him, as they all perceived him as his Married With Children character, Al Bundy
Al Bundy
Al Bundy is a fictional character from the U.S. television series Married... with Children. He was played by Ed O'Neill.-Character history:...
. The director recast his character and reshot those scenes.
Box office performance
Flight of the Intruder was released theatrically in the United States on January 18, 1991, earning $5,725,133 in its first weekend on 1489 screens. Its final theater gross was $14,587,732.Critical response
The film earned mostly negative reviews upon its release, with many reviewers noting inconsistencies in plot and continuity errors in the final edit, as well as the low-budget special effects. Roger Ebert called the film a "mess", noting that "some scenes say one thing, some say another, while the movie develops an absurd and unbelievable ending and a final shot so cloying you want to shout rude suggestions at the screen."Aircraft
The film features U.S. Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
A-1 Skyraider
A-1 Skyraider
The Douglas A-1 Skyraider was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the late 1940s and early 1980s. It became a piston-powered, propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after a French World War I fighter...
s and an HH-3 "Jolly Green Giant"
Sikorsky S-61R
The Sikorsky S-61R is a twin-engine helicopter used in transport or search and rescue roles. A developed version of the S-61/SH-3 Sea King, the S-61R was also built under license by Agusta as the AS-61R...
rescue helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
in various action sequences, with brief appearances of Navy aircraft including the A-7 Corsair, C-2 Greyhound and the F-4 Phantom II
F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
, as well as a North Vietnamese MiG-17
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the USSR from 1952 and operated by numerous air forces in many variants. Most MiG-17 variants cannot carry air-to-air missiles, but shot down many aircraft with its cannons...
.
Two early variants of the A-6 Intruder, the A-6A and A-6B, are portrayed in the film by A-6E (without the TRAM targeting equipment) as all surviving A-6 variants at the time of filming had been updated to A-6E or KA-6D standards. The A-6A is a conventional bomber and the A-6B carried specialized electronics and weapons for SEAD
SEAD
Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses , also known as "Wild Weasel" and "Iron Hand" operations in the United States, are military actions to suppress enemy surface-based air defenses , primarily in the first hours of an attack.One fourth of American combat sorties in recent conflicts have been SEAD...
missions (the Navy called this "Iron Hand", the Air Force called it "Wild Weasel
Wild Weasel
A Wild Weasel is an aircraft specially equipped with radar seeking missiles, and tasked with destroying the radars and SAM installations of enemy air defence systems....
".)
The Shilka anti-aircraft vehicle
ZSU-23-4
The ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" is a lightly armored, self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system . ZSU stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka , meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount". The "23" signifies the bore diameter in millimeters. The "4" signifies the number of gun barrels. It...
seen at the end was never used during the Vietnam War. Its first combat use was during the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
in 1973.
Differences from book
The movie featured various changes to many minor characters from the book, changing some and merging others.- Boxman, for example, was a bombardier-navigator in the book and a pilot in the film. Razor's callsign was derived from his bushy mustache in the book and from looking too young to shave in the film. Cowboy Parker was the squadron operations officer (third in command) in the book and executive officer (second in command) in the film.
- The Hanoi Raid launched by Jake and Tiger Cole in the movie was aimed at a stockpile of surface-to-air missiles in downtown Hanoi. In the book, their target was the National Assembly building, to which they failed to inflict any real damage.
- Tiger Cole is killed in the climax of the movie, while in the book he is successfully rescued along with Jake.
- The carrier is called the Shiloh in the book. In the film, it is the USS IndependenceUSS Independence (CV-62)The fifth USS Independence is a of the United States Navy. It was the fourth and final member of the Forrestal-class conventional-powered Supercarrier...
.
- Jake's love affair with Callie was an important part of the book, but was glossed over in the movie. He met Callie in Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in the book, because she was a diplomat and not working for the navy as seen in the film.
- Jake and Cole's tribunal was held on the carrier in the book and not on base as shown in the film.
- Grafton and Cole were not grounded after the tribunal as shown in the film, they were back on the schedule after the trial.
- Commander Camparelli does not fly a mission and get shot down as portrayed in the film. The other plane crash involves a A-1 SkyraiderA-1 SkyraiderThe Douglas A-1 Skyraider was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the late 1940s and early 1980s. It became a piston-powered, propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after a French World War I fighter...
codenamed "Sandy" trying to locate Jake and Cole.
- After the Hanoi raid, nobody was aware of the attack that took place as shown in the film. Camparelli later discovers the truth when looking at maps of a mission Grafton and Cole are flying and not seeing the SAM sites that attacked their plane.
- In the book Jake kills three North Vietnamese soldiers armed with AK-47AK-47The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
s, while the film shows him killing a sniper.
Popular music
The movie features many 1950s and 1960 pop and rock n' roll music. Dafoe and Johnson sing Petula ClarkPetula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
's notable 1964 music hit "Downtown
Downtown (Petula Clark song)
"Downtown" is a pop song composed by Tony Hatch which, as recorded by Petula Clark, became an international hit – No. 1 in the US and No. 2 in the UK – at the end of 1964.-Original recording:...
" on their way back from the prohibited bombing run on a Hanoi SAM missile depot exhilarated from their success.
Video game
- Main article, Flight of the Intruder (video game)Flight of the Intruder (video game)Flight of the Intruder is a 1990 flight simulator developed by Rowan Software and published by Spectrum Holobyte for the PC , Commodore Amiga and Atari ST. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991 with Imagineering as the developer and Mindscape as the publisher...
Flight of the Intruder
Flight of the Intruder (video game)
Flight of the Intruder is a 1990 flight simulator developed by Rowan Software and published by Spectrum Holobyte for the PC , Commodore Amiga and Atari ST. It was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991 with Imagineering as the developer and Mindscape as the publisher...
, a video game based on the movie was released in 1991. Developed by Rowan Software, Ltd. and published by Spectrum Holobyte
Spectrum HoloByte
Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher originally based in Alameda, California.The company was founded in 1983 and was most famous for its simulation games, notably the Falcon series of flight simulators and Vette!, a driving simulator from 1989...
, the game allowed players the choice of flying either the A-6 intruder or the F-4 from aircraft carriers against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Players were challenged both by the comprehensive enemy defenses and the restrictive and complex rules of engagement
Rules of engagement
Rules of Engagement refers to those responses that are permitted in the employment of military personnel during operations or in the course of their duties. These rules of engagement are determined by the legal framework within which these duties are being carried out...
. Realistic features included unreliable missiles and smokey engines for the Phantom. (As in real life, the trail would disappear in afterburner
AfterBurner
The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs.Originally, portablemonopoly.net was a website created to petition Nintendo to put some kind of light in their Game Boy Advance system...
.) At lower realism settings, F-4's had missiles and an internal cannon - in contrast to real USN whose F-4's were armed only with missiles.