Iron Hand A-4 aircraft orbited over a known site, or between sites, at 10,000 ft, fired their Shrikes, and then rolled in to drop ordnance…
On May 23, 1972, Lt. Dennis J. Sapp of VA-55 took off from USS Hancock (CVA-19) with his wingman, Lt. Ken Bray, on an Iron Hand mission supporting an Alpha strike against targets northeast of Haiphong in North Vietnam. Their section had two objectives: to destroy a SAM site next to the target and to suppress a dangerous group of SAM sites surrounding Haiphong near the strike area.
According to Peter Mersky in US Navy and Marine Corps A-4 Skyhawk Units of the Vietnam War, Sapp was flying A-4F BuNo 154996, armed with two AGM-45 Shrike anti-SAM missiles and four Rockeye bomblet canisters. The A-4Fs had recently received the Target Identification Acquisition System, which enabled the pilot to lock the radar emissions from a SAM site or flak battery onto the cockpit display, then use the gunsight to track the target and determine the best time and place to release weapons. Iron Hand A-4s typically orbited above a known site, or between several sites, at 10,000 feet, launched their Shrikes, and then rolled in to deliver their ordnance. This setup allowed for a far more direct attack than the longer-range Shrike launches typically required of A-6 and A-7 crews.
Sapp broke his section away from the main strike group to move ahead, and they were soon engaged by two SAMs launched from the Haiphong area. He and his wingman quickly took evasive action and narrowly avoided both missiles. Sapp then pressed on to his assigned target area. Despite the site being heavily concealed, he located it and dropped two Rockeye canisters while under defensive fire from 37 mm flak positions. He destroyed all five radar vans at the center of the site, while his wingman knocked out three SAMs on their launchers. Fires and explosions trailed the two aviators as they departed the area. From 20 miles away, Sapp photographed smoke rising above 20,000 feet. The target was later identified as a SAM storage area hidden inside a mountainside.
Sapp led his section to its assigned station and carried on with the mission, using their Shrikes and remaining Rockeyes to suppress Haiphong’s defenses so the strike aircraft could reach their targets. For his actions on this mission, Sapp was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
US Navy and Marine Corps A-4 Skyhawk Units of the Vietnam War is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force
