F-111

Product Spotlight: The Mayaguez Incident

The Mayaguez incident took place between Kampuchea (now Cambodia) and the United States from May 12th to 15th, 1975, less than a month after the Khmer Rouge took control of the capital Phnom Penh ousting the U.S.-backed Khmer Republic. After the Khmer Rouge seized the U.S. merchant vessel SS Mayaguez in a disputed maritime area, the U.S. mounted a hastily-prepared rescue operation. U.S. Marines recaptured the ship and attacked the island of Koh Tang where it was believed that the crew were being held as hostages.

Encountering stronger than expected defenses on Koh Tang, three United States Air Force helicopters were destroyed during the initial assault and the Marines fought a desperate day-long battle with the Khmer Rouge before being evacuated. The Mayaguez’s crew were released unharmed by the Khmer Rouge shortly after the attack on Koh Tang began. The names of the Americans killed, including three Marines left behind on Koh Tang after the battle and subsequently executed by the Khmer Rouge, are the last names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Following Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger’s instructions, P-3 Orion aircraft stationed at Naval Air Station (NAS) Cubi Point in the Philippines and at U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield in Thailand took off to locate Mayaguez. The aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea, then en route to Australia, was ordered into the area. The destroyer escort USS Harold E. Holt and the guided missile destroyer USS Henry B. Wilson were both ordered to proceed at high speed from the Philippine Sea towards Mayaguez’s last known location.

An alert order was sent to 1st Battalion 4th Marines (1/4 Marines) at Subic Bay and to the 9th Marine Regiment on Okinawa. A reinforced company from 1/4 Marines was ordered to assemble at NAS Cubi Point for airlift to Thailand, while a 1,100-man Battalion Landing Team (BLT) assembled in Okinawa.

On the early morning of May 13th, the P-3 Orions identified large radar returns near Poulo Wai and dropped flares on the suspected location of Mayaguez provoking Khmer Rouge gunfire. Low on fuel, the two Orions returned to base and were replaced with another Orion from Patrol Squadron 17. At 08:16 local time the Orion made a low pass over Poulo Wai positively identifying Mayaguez and again drawing Khmer Rouge gunfire.

Shortly afterwards the Khmer Rouge leader, Sa Mean, ordered Captain Miller to get Mayaguez underway. At 08:45 Mayaguez set off towards the northeast following one of the Swift Boats. The Orion continued to track Mayaguez as it left Poulo Wai. Once the location of Mayaguez was identified, Admiral Gayler ordered the commander of the Seventh Air Force, Lieutenant General John J. Burns, at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, to move combat aircraft to the area.

At 13:00 two unarmed United States Air Force (USAF) F-111 fighter-bombers diverted from a training mission began making low-level high-speed passes by Mayaguez. Once the F-111s had left, Sa Mean ordered Captain Miller to follow the Swift Boats around Koh Tang and drop anchor approximately 1.5 km north of the island. Two F-4 Phantoms soon arrived over Mayaguez and began firing their 20 mm cannon into the water in front of the ship. The F-4s were followed by A-7D Corsairs and more F-111s which continued to fire into the sea in front of and behind the ship indicating that no further movement should be attempted.

At 16:15, the Khmer Rouge ordered Mayaguez’s crew onto two fishing boats which then took them closer to the shore of Koh Tang.

Look for Hobby Master’s latest F-111 to swoop in towards the end of February.

Product Spotlight: Pave Drag

**Hobby Master’s 1:72 scale RAAF General Dynamics F-111C “Aardvark” Strike Aircraft – “Pave Tack Prototype” A8-138, No.1 Squadron, 1984-5**

The Ford Aerospace AN/AVQ-26 Pave Tack is an electro-optical targeting pod for military attack aircraft. It uses a laser and a forward looking infrared to find and designate targets for laser-guided bombs and other precision-guided munitions. Pave Tack’s images are routed to a cockpit display, usually for the weapon systems officer.

Pave Tack was developed in the late 1970s and entered service in 1982, and was initially used by the USAF McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and General Dynamics F-111C Aardvark strike aircraft. Its combat debut came in 1986 during Operation El Dorado Canyon’s air raid against Libya by F-111F aircraft stationed at RAF Lakenheath, England. F-111s used it to great effect in the Gulf War of 1991, both against fixed targets and against tanks.

F-4 crews called Pave Tack “Pave Drag” because it was carried externally. Pave Tack is a large installation, with the pod alone weighing some 1,385 lb (629 kg) and measuring 166 inches (4,220 mm) in length. On the F-4, the size of the pod meant that it had to be carried on the centerline station in place of the standard drop tank; it imposed a substantial aerodynamic drag penalty and was generally unpopular. The F-111C and F-111F carried the Pave Tack pod on a rotating carriage in its internal bomb bay, retracting it when not in use to reduce drag and protect the sensors from damage.

About 150 AVQ-26 pods were built, substantially less than originally planned. The last USAF Pave Tacks were withdrawn with the retirement of the F-111 in 1996.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) purchased ten Pave Tack pods in 1980 for its F-111 fleet. All 24 F-111Cs were wired for the pod, although there were not enough pods for all to be simultaneously equipped. Following the retirement of the USAF’s F-111F in 1996 the RAAF purchased surplus pods to equip each of its F-111Cs to carry its own.

The Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) ordered an initial batch of eight pods in 1984 for delivery in 1987. It may have subsequently obtained additional pods from USAF surplus. The RoKAF uses the pods on its F-4 Phantoms.

Hobby Master’s upcoming RAAF General Dynamics F-111C “Aardvark” Strike Aircraft would eventually become the prototype platform for use with the Pave Tack pod, which was later phased out for better performing equipment and more updated platforms. Nevertheless, look for this rendition to fly in some time in July.