The flight of three F-4 Phantom II fighter jets and the tanker continued banking around the storms while refueling, when suddenly the Tanker flew them directly into a heavy storm cell
In‑flight refueling made long‑range air operations possible in Southeast Asia. Heavily loaded aircraft such as the F‑105 Thunderchief, F‑4 Phantom, and B‑52 Stratofortress relied on tanker support to reach their targets and return. Taking on fuel in the air allowed them to carry full bomb loads, and search‑and‑rescue helicopters were also able to extend their operating range through aerial refueling.
Aerial refueling required highly accurate timing and navigation. Bombers, fighters, and reconnaissance aircraft were tightly scheduled to rendezvous with tankers at specific locations and times.
Refueling fighter and reconnaissance aircraft close to combat areas was a complex task. Multiple meeting zones, called “anchors,” were established over Thailand, Laos, South Vietnam, and the Gulf of Tonkin so pilots could use the nearest airborne “gas station” en route to and from their targets. At times, 50 or more aircraft would converge and orbit over a broad region while fuel was transferred. Tankers frequently flew over hostile territory to meet and refuel aircraft that otherwise would not have been able to return. Many pilots credited the success of their missions—and in some cases their survival—to timely refueling from these tankers.
On a dark, stormy night at Ubon, Thailand, in 1969, a formation of three F‑4 Phantoms with the call sign “Killer” waited to launch on a mission over northern Laos. The flight was led by then‑Captain Luke Graves, a fighter pilot who completed 177 combat sorties over North Vietnam and northern Laos between 1968 and 1969. He flew the F‑4D as part of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, the “Wolfpack.” The weather was described as “delta sierra,” with severe thunderstorms scattered throughout the area of operations.
“I’ll never forget that the water was up to my ankles on the ramp as I was trying to pre-flight my aircraft,” said Graves. The mission had originally been scheduled for an afternoon launch, but the on-target time kept being pushed back due to weather. At last, around 11 p.m., they received clearance to take off. What was supposed to be a daytime flight had now become a night mission, and the area was still packed with thunderstorms.
Their assignment was to destroy an anti-aircraft site at a location known as the “Birds Head,” near the border between North Vietnam and Laos. The plan was to head toward the target, rendezvous with a tanker for refueling, and then strike the site. Almost immediately, they encountered a massive wall of thunderstorms, and Graves placed the formation in a 3‑mile radar trail to punch through the weather. Once they finally broke out on the other side, they contacted ground control to request a refueling slot and were informed that the three tankers—“Cherry,” “Peach,” and “Lemon”—had been forced by the weather to pull back and were now operating together in a relatively small area.
Killer Flight, the formation of three F‑4s, turned back through the band of intense storm cells and switched to the tanker frequency, only to hear all three tankers crowded into the same small area, arguing over which aircraft was supposed to be at what altitude. With several other strike flights also needing fuel, the situation was becoming increasingly hazardous as the three tankers remained bunched together. Eventually, Killer Flight was assigned to “Cherry Anchor” for refueling. The three Phantoms and the tanker circled around the thunderstorms while taking on fuel, when suddenly the tanker led them straight into a powerful storm cell. Graves had just finished refueling and was in the pre-contact position when they entered the weather. He immediately initiated a “lost wingman” procedure, directing his two wingmen to break left and right. With few safe options for separation, Graves rolled his jet inverted beneath the tanker to create distance.
“Flying upside down underneath a tanker while in a thunderstorm on instruments with a full fuel and bomb load was a once-in-a-lifetime thriller,” said Graves.
No aircraft collided, and the formation was able to regroup, top off their fuel, and then press on toward the target, which was, unsurprisingly, ringed by thunderstorms. They eventually located a break in the weather and dived toward the objective. The frequent lightning flashes silhouetted their aircraft, allowing the gunners to spot them and open fire. At that point, they were fully committed, with no option but to drive straight through the barrage and strike the target.
“It felt like we were diving into a volcano and reminded me of Edgar Allen Poe’s story Descent into the Maelstrom”.
Fortunately, none of the aircraft took any hits, but with thunderstorms on all sides they had no clear escape route. Graves made a split-second decision to drop the formation down to the deck rather than climb up and out. The catch was that the region was packed with mountains and jagged karst formations, making low-level flight at night something they would normally never attempt.
“I was going visual because of the lightning strikes… flick, flick, and I could see where I was going and avoid the karst ridge.” Finally, they found a hole and popped back up to cruising altitude.
By this stage, all three crews were pretty shaken by how wild the mission had become. When they checked in with Wolfpack, they were informed that Ubon was completely weathered in and were ordered to fly back through the same thunderstorms to refuel again and wait for further instructions. Exhausted and running on adrenaline, Graves asked his backseater to take the controls and head for Udorn instead of Ubon, since Udorn was still open.
“I figured we had filled our bravery square for the night, so I just took us to Udorn and bought the boys a drink.”
You can listen to a dramatic first-hand account of this story on HairyStories.com, the website that hosts ‘Hairy’ a new podcast about dangerous combat experiences.
Photo by Airwolfhound from Hertfordshire, UK, via Wikipedia, U.S. Air Force and Matt Graves
