October 27, 1967, Mission To Hanoi: VA-196 A-6A Version 2.0

[Uncarina]

"The A-6 was one of the greatest combat aircraft ever. Period. End of discussion. And that’s not just my viewpoint; it’s the opinion of almost everyone who ever flew one into hostile fire.”
 

“[On] October 27, Phil and I ran Hanoi. It was the wildest ride of my life. The planners wanted three strings of seeds placed in the marshy waterway on Hanoi’s eastern flank. The skipper selected three crews: his own, one of the hotshot junior officer crews, and us...Everything went as planned until we emerged from a pass between two 1500-foot karst mountains and turned towards Hanoi. Terrain was no longer a problem: it was flat and low all the way to the target, and I eased the A-6 down to two hundred feet. We immediately got singer-low, and the bright red SAM warning light started to blink on and off; they knew we were out there, but they couldn’t lock on yet. I pushed the twin throttles full forward and steadied up on our course to the target. The heavy plane responded and accelerated towards five hundred knots. With twenty miles still to go, the SAM warning light came on steady, and singer-high sounded in our headsets; they had a lock on us. I went down. When the radar altimeter read a hundred feet, the SAM light started blinking again; we were back to singer-low. The waters of the meandering Red River rushed by, first on one side and then the other.

 

— Flying Low by B. K. Bryans

https://a.co/1KtTt8R

 

I’m building this one as a tribute to B.K. Bryans and Phil Waters, who flew this mission aboard 401 (Buno. 152626). They flew down streets in Hanoi below the level of the buildings’ rooftops to avoid the tremendous antiaircraft fire, and dodged several SAM’s. After the mission an aircraft maintenance chief presented Capt. Bryans with the throttle quadrant, which was bent forward 18 degrees. Both crewmen were nominated for the Navy Cross (BK Bryans (2011) Flying Low, 3rd edition). Since then Capt. Bryans authored several books, and I’ve very much enjoyed and recommend the several that I’ve read. You can check them out at bkbryans.com, or search at Amazon.

 

I started my build in 1/32 scale back in 2014. You can see the thread here:

 

Sadly, Captain Bryans passed away shortly not long after I started the build, and I lost motivation. Now, I've started this tribute build again using this kit:

 

Yes, 1/48 scale, simply because I no longer have the room for a 1/32 Intruder. My plan is to build this aircraft in a prelaunch configuration, so I've added the flight crew, taken from the excellent Tamiya F-4B kit. For markings I'll be using the AOA decals 48-006 Intruders From the Sea, and I'm using the exquisite Hypersonic GRU-5 seats. It was a shame to remove the molded harnesses (in different positions for each seat), but fortunately the flight crew fit just fine. Thirdly, I'm using the Quinta cockpit set. Aside from this I added some wiring on the rear deck. I still need to add a matte coat for the figures then a gloss coat for the helmets,  apply the seat decals, and finish adding the seat harnesses to the crew, but the cockpit is almost completed. Stay tuned!

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,  Tom

Edited October 14, 2021 by Uncarina

[Uncarina]

"The flak came, sporadic at first and then more intense. Steely-eye had his head in the scope. I had no inclination to invite him to look. At about ten miles (eighty seconds) to go, all hell broke loose. I couldn’t even estimate how many guns were shooting at us. Off to our left, the muzzle flashes formed a solid band that stretched for several miles along the west side of the city. The string of guns to our right was shorter and less dense, but they were closer. Flak lit up the area around us to the point where I could see the buildings and streets that rushed towards us. A broad street appeared ahead, and it was right on our course. I descended, and we roared down the street at rooftop level. I had a brief thought about the Grand Canyon and the cable that hung between the two rims; the cable I’d always missed somehow. I didn’t want to hit a wire right then. The tracers formed a dense canopy close over our head. They were high because the buildings on either side shielded us: we were a little too low for the anti-aircraft rounds to find us. But all those rounds had to hit something."

 

— Flying Low by B. K. Bryans

https://a.co/1KtTt8R

 

I've added a few of the remaining details to the cockpit before I attach the pilots, which I will do later in the build. The seat decals are from the AOA sheet, and the pull-rings are from the Quinta set. Time to move on to the nose-gear bay and intakes!

 

 

 

 

Cheers,  Tom

[chrish]

Wow!

Very nice!

[easixpedro]

Awesome! Looks great so far! Lyle Bull was a long time resident of Oak Harbor WA, and I flew with his son (who became an A-6 B/N as well). He was part of that Navy Cross mission IIRC. Or at least one a few days later…

Peter

[Uncarina]

Thank you both! I appreciate your support and encouragement. BK Bryans (known as B^2 by his B/N) grew up in Tucson, attended the same college I did and had some similar experiences I did growing up. I was very privileged to be able to talk with him shortly before he passed away. I had planned my original build to be a gift for him, but perhaps his family would appreciate this one.

 

I must say this is no shake and bake kit so far, but if I built 90% of the 1/32 kit, I should be able to complete this! I’m also building the Meng F/A-18E, and that kit is a gem by comparison.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[easixpedro]

https://www.intruderassociation.org/navy_cross.asp
 

you can read about the mission here…plenty of other great stories there too. October 67 was really the high point of ops over North Vietnam and everything started tapering off after that (until 72, but a lot of things had changed, including the goals, but that’s a different topic). If you don’t have Mr. Morgan’s Osprey series on the Intruders in Nam, I highly suggest it. The early Intruder ops are fascinating and terrifying at the same time. So many stories…and they went through so many men. Think VA-196 lost 3 of 4 a/c in one raid in August 67…

 

And lastly, the USN just stood up another Growler squadron VAQ-144 “Main Battery” as a nod to 196. Kept the numbers sequential for the VAQ, but took everything else.

[Uncarina]

Thanks for the heads-up! I’ve added it to my reference bookmarks. Back in 2014 I was steeped in researching, but now I have to relearn!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Out2gtcha]

Wow, super nice pit! 

[Uncarina]

Thanks Brian! Installing the whole Quinta set took less than an hour. They sure are game changers aren’t they?

 

Cheers,  Tom

[aircommando130]

That's awesome! The crew really makes it look real. I just ordered his book on Amazon too!

 

Cheers...Ron

[Uncarina]

Thanks Ron! I think you will really enjoy reading it.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Daywalker]

Another one signed on Tom, you're doing a magnificent job so far and I plan to steal borrow your tips here.  I have the Hobby Boss 1/48 A6-A kit to build, in honor of a man shot down in one in January '69.  I have worn a POW/MIA bracelet with his name on it for nearly 30 years, and have wanted to honor him by building this kit.

 

His name was Capt. Edwin J. Fickler, VMA(AW)-242.

 

Capt. Edwin J. Fickler MIA

[Uncarina]

Well it’s an honor to have you aboard! There will be some corrections in store for the airframe as I get further into the build, maily because Trumpeter then Hobby Boss incorporates some A-6E features. All pretty easy! Thank you for passing along Capt. Fickler’s history. I know he would be honored by your build.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Uncarina]

I've stalled this build after wrestling with the fit of the instrument panel cover and fairing the intakes into the fuselage. I don't remember having this much work with the 1/32 kit, but this one will definitely need some putty and work. I am not abandoning the build, but right now I have a commitment to finish the Lancaster and am looking for something easier to keep me motivated. Thanks for following this far!

 

Cheers,  Tom