Pardo's Push
Encyclopedia
Pardo's Push was an aviation maneuver carried out by Captain Bob Pardo in order to move his wingman's badly damaged F-4 Phantom II
to friendly air space during the Vietnam War
.
, 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base
, Thailand
. In March 1967, they were trying to attack a steel mill in North Vietnam
just north of Hanoi
.
s were hit by anti-aircraft guns. Aman's plane took the worst damage; his fuel tank had been hit, and he quickly lost most of his fuel. He did not have enough fuel to make it to a tanker aircraft over Laos
.
To avoid having Aman and Houghton bail out over hostile territory, Pardo decided to try pushing the airplane. Pardo first tried pushing the plane using Aman's drag chute compartment but turbulence prevented this from occurring.
Next, Pardo tried to use Aman's tailhook
to push the plane, the Phantom having been originally designed as a naval aircraft equipped with a heavy duty tailhook for landings aboard aircraft carriers.
Aman lowered his tailhook and Pardo moved behind Aman until the tailhook was against Pardo's windscreen. Pardo told Aman to shut down both of his J79 jet engines, as Aman was nearly out of fuel and the engines interfered with Pardo's plan. The push worked, reducing the rate of descent considerably, but the tailhook slipped off the windscreen every 15 to 30 seconds, and Pardo would have to reposition his plane. Pardo also struggled with a fire in one of his own engines and eventually had to shut it down. In the remaining 10 minutes of flight time, Pardo used the one last engine to slow the descent of both planes.
With Pardo's plane running out of fuel after pushing Aman's plane almost 88 miles, the planes reached Laos airspace at an altitude of 6000 feet. This left them about two minutes of flying time. The two pilots and their backseaters ejected, evaded capture, and were picked up by rescue helicopters.
Although Pardo was initially criticized for not saving his own aircraft, he and Wayne eventually received the Silver Star
for the maneuver, albeit nearly two decades after the incident.
and had lost his voice and mobility, he founded the Earl Aman Foundation, which raised enough money to buy Aman a voice synthesizer, a motorized wheelchair, and a computer. In concert with the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association ("River Rats"), the foundation later worked to buy a van for Lt Col Aman, which Aman used until his death. In peace or war, says Bob Pardo, "if one of us gets in trouble, everyone else gets together to help."
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,...
to friendly air space during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Background
Captain Bob Pardo (with back-seater 1st Lt Steve Wayne) and wingman Captain Earl Aman (with back-seater 1st Lt Robert Houghton) were assigned to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing8th Fighter Wing
The United States Air Force 8th Fighter Wing is the host unit at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea and is assigned to Seventh Air Force...
, 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base
Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base
Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base is a Royal Thai Air Force facility and is the home of Wing 21 of the RTAF 2nd Air Division. It is located in East-Central Thailand, near the city of Ubon Ratchathani, in the Ubon Ratchathani Province. It is approximately 305 miles North-East of Bangkok...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. In March 1967, they were trying to attack a steel mill in North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
just north of 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...
.
The push
On March 10, 1967, the sky was clear for a bombing run, but both F-4 Phantom IIF-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,...
s were hit by anti-aircraft guns. Aman's plane took the worst damage; his fuel tank had been hit, and he quickly lost most of his fuel. He did not have enough fuel to make it to a tanker aircraft over Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
.
To avoid having Aman and Houghton bail out over hostile territory, Pardo decided to try pushing the airplane. Pardo first tried pushing the plane using Aman's drag chute compartment but turbulence prevented this from occurring.
Next, Pardo tried to use Aman's tailhook
Tailhook
A tailhook, also arresting hook or arrester hook, is a device attached to the empennage of some military fixed wing aircraft...
to push the plane, the Phantom having been originally designed as a naval aircraft equipped with a heavy duty tailhook for landings aboard aircraft carriers.
Aman lowered his tailhook and Pardo moved behind Aman until the tailhook was against Pardo's windscreen. Pardo told Aman to shut down both of his J79 jet engines, as Aman was nearly out of fuel and the engines interfered with Pardo's plan. The push worked, reducing the rate of descent considerably, but the tailhook slipped off the windscreen every 15 to 30 seconds, and Pardo would have to reposition his plane. Pardo also struggled with a fire in one of his own engines and eventually had to shut it down. In the remaining 10 minutes of flight time, Pardo used the one last engine to slow the descent of both planes.
With Pardo's plane running out of fuel after pushing Aman's plane almost 88 miles, the planes reached Laos airspace at an altitude of 6000 feet. This left them about two minutes of flying time. The two pilots and their backseaters ejected, evaded capture, and were picked up by rescue helicopters.
Although Pardo was initially criticized for not saving his own aircraft, he and Wayne eventually received the Silver Star
Silver Star
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
for the maneuver, albeit nearly two decades after the incident.
Postscript
In later years, Col Bob Pardo continued to remain concerned for the well-being of his fellow airmen. When he learned that Earl Aman, by then a retired lieutenant colonel, was suffering from Lou Gehrig's diseaseAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
and had lost his voice and mobility, he founded the Earl Aman Foundation, which raised enough money to buy Aman a voice synthesizer, a motorized wheelchair, and a computer. In concert with the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association ("River Rats"), the foundation later worked to buy a van for Lt Col Aman, which Aman used until his death. In peace or war, says Bob Pardo, "if one of us gets in trouble, everyone else gets together to help."
In popular culture
- In the adventure/drama TV series JAGJAG (TV series)JAG is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television and, for the first season only, NBC Productions...
, episode 5.03, a manoeuvre based on Pardo's Push is used by the show's lead character, Harmon Rabb, in order to get another aircraft to safety. In the credits of the episode the following appears: "On March 10th, 1967, U.S. Air Force Captain Robert Pardo used his F-4 Phantom to push a fellow American's badly damaged jet from North Vietnam into friendly territory. We salute Captain Pardo for his inspirational courage and ingenuity."
See also
- James Robinson RisnerJames Robinson RisnerJames Robinson "Robbie" Risner was a general officer and professional fighter pilot in the United States Air Force.Risner is a double recipient of the Air Force Cross, the second highest military decoration for valor that can be awarded to a member of the United States Air Force...
, a pilot who used his F-86 SabreF-86 SabreThe North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...
to push a fellow pilot's plane during the Korean WarKorean WarThe Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.