The Gunfighter's Page

Commanding Officers

Cdr. Bob Cooke	Cdr. Jim Foster	Cdr. Stolly Stollenwerck

Cdr. Pete Easterling	Cdr. Bill Brandel	Cdr. Greg Gregory

MODELS OF F-8 EQUIPPED: F-8 C/D/E/H (First models were E's; these were swapped for earlier C & D models with squadrons deploying to SEA. The C's and D's were replaced by H's -- "remanufactured" D's).

SIGNIFICANT OPERATIONS: 1965 Paris Airshow; Key West hotpad duty Oct 64, Jul - Aug 67; PHIBLEX 10-67

Our squadron color was red; our flight suits were tan. The Skipper wanted them red. The washing & cleaning people put our tan suits in with red dye, and…they turned purple. We were hailed as the VF-13 Plums by the rest of the ship. The skipper said we would wear our purple plum flight suits…and we did. Here is the photo of that glorious day just before manning our planes. The Skipper, Jim Foster, is far right. The skipper had no idea, but he is about to get very wet.

We started lining up for takeoff and the Skipper goes to the port (left) cat to be first off. The “shooter” touched the deck and the Skipper’s plane started rolling, not a big jump start, but a roll. The steam in the catapult had failed and Jim went off the bow at about 60 mph, well below flying speed. He flopped into the water. The Officer of the Deck on the ship did a remarkable job by turning the ship fast enough to avoid hitting Jim. He was actually turning the ship before Jim hit the water. Jim’s problem was to get out of the plane and pretty fast as it did not float. He opened the canopy lever, but the water pressure kept the canopy from moving. He immediately, and intelligently, realized the only way to get out was to eject. He pulled the face curtain and the seat ejected him through the canopy and into the water-safely.

When the Skipper was put on the flight deck by the helo, he immediately went to the nearest VF-13 airplane and started banging on the side so he could take the plane. Tom Donahue had been gone 8 months too, and his wife was waiting for him at Cecil. He said he never moved a muscle. He continued to look straight ahead and just waited. The Air Boss again came on the PA and told Jim he had to be cleared by sick bay before he could fly again.

DATES:	TO:	CAG:	Carrier/Location:
Oct 64 - Nov 64	Carribean	10 - Cdr. Tom Hayward	CVA-38 Shangri-la
Jan 65	W. Atlantic	10 - Cdr. Fred Koch	CVA-38 Shangri-la
Apr 65 - Sep 65	Med	10 - Cdr. Fred Koch	CVA-38 Shangri-la
Jun 66 - Jul 66	Gitmo	8 - Cdr. Obie Oberg	Guantanamo Bay
Aug 66 - Sep 66	W. Atlantic	8 - Cdr. Obie Oberg	CVA-38 Shangri-la
Sep 66 - May 67	Med	8 - Cdr. Obie Oberg, Cdr. Bruce Bagwell	CVA-38 Shangri-la
Aug 67	Gitmo	8 - Cdr. Bruce Bagwell	CVA-38 Shangri-la
Sep 67 - Oct 67	W. Atlantic	8 - Cdr. John Dixon	CVA-38 Shangri-la
Nov 67 - Jul 68	Med	8 - Cdr. John Dixon; Cdr. Bob Lovelace	CVA-38 Shangri-la
Jan 69 - Jul 69	Med	8 - Cdr. Bob Lovelace	CVA-38 Shangri-la