The White Sands, NM, Shoot, Part Three
(Read Parts One & Two first)
The Ace Up the Sleeve Saves My Hide
The old saying that practice makes perfect was the plan for the next two weeks. We had come to White Sands to practice for two weeks so the show would go flawlessly. The plan was that the Army would shoot a laser-guided artillery round and follow with the Cobra shooting a tank. The Air Force would then drop a TV guided bomb followed by three laser-guided bombs. The Navy would then drop a Walleye and blow up the final target. For those who are wondering about the Walleye, I don’t think the Walleye that the Navy dropped was a fish because it made a huge explosion. Matter of fact it was the biggest explosion of the day in the live-fire demonstration.
For two days we attended briefings while each of our aircraft had a special radar transponder installed in them so White Sands control tower could know exactly where we were at every moment. They told us if we wandered into areas where we were not authorized to be, or disappeared from their radar for more than a few seconds, they would scramble jets to get us. They didn’t make it sound like it would be a friendly visit after they found us. This was really going to be a big party. There were lots of Air Force generals wandering around looking things over.
Finally we started flying. The plan was that a Cobra and a Scout helicopter would go undetected down a draw the left side of the bleachers where the spectators would be. And also that the other two Cobras and the remaining Scout would go unnoticed down a draw on the right side of the bleachers. The following describes the script and the plan as we designed it.
Helicopters that remain close to the ground can get very close to someone on the ground without their knowing they are there. The announcer was going to tell the spectators to look to their left and at that same time the Cobra and Scout would come up out of the draw only a few hundred yards from the spectators, facing and pointing straight at them. This was called “un-masking”. The spectators would be looking straight into the weapons of the Cobra, which would come as a sobering sight in that the attack helicopter could get that close to them undetected.
While the spectators were looking into the face of the first Cobra and the announcer was telling them about the capabilities of the helicopter, I would come out of the draw in my Cobra to their right and dash across the open area. Clearing some big power lines I was going to drop into position to shoot a tank, which was in front of the stands. The dash and getting into position ready to fire was all to be completed in about twelve seconds. As soon as I was in position the announcer would tell the spectators to look back to their front where he would point out the Cobra that had somehow got out in front of them without their noticing. Then I would blow up the tank, which was about three thousand meters from me. The announcer would then have the folks in the stands look to their right where the remaining Cobra and Scout would appear out of the draw. Five helicopters in all would have gotten very close to them without their suspecting a thing. It would be a bit shocking to look down the barrels of big guns and missiles that some how appear out of thin air. It was a pretty well orchestrated show!
True to any good plan we had a backup plan. In the event my aircraft or missile failed to fire, the second Cobra in the draw to the right had a missile and would move into position and shoot the tank. The tank was a US M-47 tank brought in from Germany at $25,000 shipping cost. I had no idea the value of the tank but the shipping cost seemed a little high to just pop it one time and it would be trash.
On our first two days of flying we went through dry runs and did not carry any missiles. Finally on the third day we got to carry a real missile and shoot an old truck. Everything went like clock work for us. Our show looked good and we hit our target. The Air Force had a little problem and missed with their laser-guided bombs. Their aircraft that was supposed to guide the bombs to the target had the wrong code and so the bombs missed their mark. Following the practice we were told to take the next week off. The Air Force was told they would have to practice every day to ensure that they could hit the target. Of course the solution was quick and easy but commanders often got nervous and over reacted.
Over the next week we went to the Wind Sands National Park and looked at the white sand. And we found some time to do a little Christmas shopping. Others wandered and around and spent time seeing other sights.
As the days counted down we went back to flying. Two days before the real shoot we had a live fire practice again. This time we had a little problem. There were two controllers trying to tell us what to do. One was on one radio back at a big control building and the other was on another radio behind the stands where the spectators would be. Supposedly they were coordinated and working together. I had three radios to talk on in my Cobra. The first one I used to talk with the fellow back in the big building; the second one I talked to the guy behind the stands; the third was used to talk to the other aircraft.
The two fellows giving me instructions started a countdown on when to fire the missile. One said, “T minus thirty” and the other said, “T minus sixty”. I acknowledged both radio calls and continued to wait to shoot. When the guy behind the stands said, “Red 22 fire”, we pulled the trigger. We hit the target. Then the guy in the big building, who had a radar system to monitor our rounds, called and wanted to confirm I had fired the missile. I responded and told him that I had fired the missile. He got all excited about it.
After the shot was over I was told to report to the big building. It was clear they were not happy about something. I flew to the big building and went in to find out what was up. A guard met me and escorted me to a briefing room. Soon the fellow that I had been talking with in the big building entered the room. I had met him at one of the briefings prior to this day. He looked grim and simply said, “You are in big trouble”.
In a few minutes about a dozen people had gathered in the room. No one sat at the head of the table but seemed to be waiting for whoever was going to be in charge to arrive. Eventually the big guy walked in and the show started. The leader sitting at the head of the table opened with, “We all know what the problem is. The question is what are we going to do about it”. For the first few minutes I wasn’t sure what they were talking about but soon I came to realize by the conversation that they saw me as the problem and felt that I had fired the missile before I was authorized to.
When I realized what they thought I jumped into the conversation and said, “Wait a minute. I fired the missile when the guy at the stands said to. It’s you boys that aren’t coordinated”. That remark didn’t seem to be well received and I was told that they were coordinated. There were a few more remarks back and forth with the group saying I fired without permission and me saying that I fired when the guy on the site told me to fire.
It was my one voice against the group and so I decided I needed a little ammunition. At that point in the conversation I said, “In my aircraft I have a tape that records all three radios and everything that is said on them and the intercom. It will prove that you boys are not coordinated and that I was told to fire before I fired”. Now that brought silence to the group until the leader said, “Please go get the tape”. My personal guard escorted me back out to my aircraft. My copilot asked if there was a problem. I told him thee was but I thought my tape would clear everything up.
In Army aircraft there is no provision for recording anything but on some occasions we took a cassette tape player and recorded everything. We would take a small “in the ear” or bug earphone and plug it into the “mic” outlet of the recorder. With the earphone inside the helmet and plugged into the mic outlet it acted as a microphone and would record everything that the pilot heard inside the helmet. We had to be very careful with our recordings because they often contain uncomplimentary remarks about some of our leaders.
Back inside I went with the guard following closely behind. This building had some high level secret stuff and most folks like me don’t get to just wander around loose. When I was back in the room with all of the friendly faces I sat the tape recorder on the table. It took a few times of testing to get close to the spot where I was given the command to fire, but after a bit I found it. The entire group sat in silence as they listened to the three radios and intercom conversations.
Soon they heard one voice tell me to fire and the other tell me there was still T minus one minute. In a second or two the sound of the missile being fired was heard and I pointed that out to them but the rest needed no explanation. A few more seconds of tape played before the leader said, “You can turn the tape player off now. Mr. Karn you can go now but everyone else remains. Mr. Karn we will need your tape”.
I smiled and said, “Sorry sir, the tape stays with me”. He responded by saying he would have a copy made. That seemed reasonable to me so I went with my tape and made sure my tape didn’t get lost while a copy was being made. After the copy was made I was escorted back out to my aircraft and I was on my way. I had survived a close one because I had proof.
It’s really important to have a backup plan or an ace up your sleeve. Most of the time things work like they should and everyone is happy but there are those other times when things go wrong and then everyone starts looking for someone to blame. It’s in these times when a person doesn’t seem to have many friends. The best person to depend upon is always going to be you. That works best when you have an ace left up your sleeve. The tape recoding was my ace. When things get rough and there is no other choice you play the ace you’ve been holding.
The Ace Up the Sleeve Saves My Hide
The old saying that practice makes perfect was the plan for the next two weeks. We had come to White Sands to practice for two weeks so the show would go flawlessly. The plan was that the Army would shoot a laser-guided artillery round and follow with the Cobra shooting a tank. The Air Force would then drop a TV guided bomb followed by three laser-guided bombs. The Navy would then drop a Walleye and blow up the final target. For those who are wondering about the Walleye, I don’t think the Walleye that the Navy dropped was a fish because it made a huge explosion. Matter of fact it was the biggest explosion of the day in the live-fire demonstration.
For two days we attended briefings while each of our aircraft had a special radar transponder installed in them so White Sands control tower could know exactly where we were at every moment. They told us if we wandered into areas where we were not authorized to be, or disappeared from their radar for more than a few seconds, they would scramble jets to get us. They didn’t make it sound like it would be a friendly visit after they found us. This was really going to be a big party. There were lots of Air Force generals wandering around looking things over.
Finally we started flying. The plan was that a Cobra and a Scout helicopter would go undetected down a draw the left side of the bleachers where the spectators would be. And also that the other two Cobras and the remaining Scout would go unnoticed down a draw on the right side of the bleachers. The following describes the script and the plan as we designed it.
Helicopters that remain close to the ground can get very close to someone on the ground without their knowing they are there. The announcer was going to tell the spectators to look to their left and at that same time the Cobra and Scout would come up out of the draw only a few hundred yards from the spectators, facing and pointing straight at them. This was called “un-masking”. The spectators would be looking straight into the weapons of the Cobra, which would come as a sobering sight in that the attack helicopter could get that close to them undetected.
While the spectators were looking into the face of the first Cobra and the announcer was telling them about the capabilities of the helicopter, I would come out of the draw in my Cobra to their right and dash across the open area. Clearing some big power lines I was going to drop into position to shoot a tank, which was in front of the stands. The dash and getting into position ready to fire was all to be completed in about twelve seconds. As soon as I was in position the announcer would tell the spectators to look back to their front where he would point out the Cobra that had somehow got out in front of them without their noticing. Then I would blow up the tank, which was about three thousand meters from me. The announcer would then have the folks in the stands look to their right where the remaining Cobra and Scout would appear out of the draw. Five helicopters in all would have gotten very close to them without their suspecting a thing. It would be a bit shocking to look down the barrels of big guns and missiles that some how appear out of thin air. It was a pretty well orchestrated show!
True to any good plan we had a backup plan. In the event my aircraft or missile failed to fire, the second Cobra in the draw to the right had a missile and would move into position and shoot the tank. The tank was a US M-47 tank brought in from Germany at $25,000 shipping cost. I had no idea the value of the tank but the shipping cost seemed a little high to just pop it one time and it would be trash.
On our first two days of flying we went through dry runs and did not carry any missiles. Finally on the third day we got to carry a real missile and shoot an old truck. Everything went like clock work for us. Our show looked good and we hit our target. The Air Force had a little problem and missed with their laser-guided bombs. Their aircraft that was supposed to guide the bombs to the target had the wrong code and so the bombs missed their mark. Following the practice we were told to take the next week off. The Air Force was told they would have to practice every day to ensure that they could hit the target. Of course the solution was quick and easy but commanders often got nervous and over reacted.
Over the next week we went to the Wind Sands National Park and looked at the white sand. And we found some time to do a little Christmas shopping. Others wandered and around and spent time seeing other sights.
As the days counted down we went back to flying. Two days before the real shoot we had a live fire practice again. This time we had a little problem. There were two controllers trying to tell us what to do. One was on one radio back at a big control building and the other was on another radio behind the stands where the spectators would be. Supposedly they were coordinated and working together. I had three radios to talk on in my Cobra. The first one I used to talk with the fellow back in the big building; the second one I talked to the guy behind the stands; the third was used to talk to the other aircraft.
The two fellows giving me instructions started a countdown on when to fire the missile. One said, “T minus thirty” and the other said, “T minus sixty”. I acknowledged both radio calls and continued to wait to shoot. When the guy behind the stands said, “Red 22 fire”, we pulled the trigger. We hit the target. Then the guy in the big building, who had a radar system to monitor our rounds, called and wanted to confirm I had fired the missile. I responded and told him that I had fired the missile. He got all excited about it.
After the shot was over I was told to report to the big building. It was clear they were not happy about something. I flew to the big building and went in to find out what was up. A guard met me and escorted me to a briefing room. Soon the fellow that I had been talking with in the big building entered the room. I had met him at one of the briefings prior to this day. He looked grim and simply said, “You are in big trouble”.
In a few minutes about a dozen people had gathered in the room. No one sat at the head of the table but seemed to be waiting for whoever was going to be in charge to arrive. Eventually the big guy walked in and the show started. The leader sitting at the head of the table opened with, “We all know what the problem is. The question is what are we going to do about it”. For the first few minutes I wasn’t sure what they were talking about but soon I came to realize by the conversation that they saw me as the problem and felt that I had fired the missile before I was authorized to.
When I realized what they thought I jumped into the conversation and said, “Wait a minute. I fired the missile when the guy at the stands said to. It’s you boys that aren’t coordinated”. That remark didn’t seem to be well received and I was told that they were coordinated. There were a few more remarks back and forth with the group saying I fired without permission and me saying that I fired when the guy on the site told me to fire.
It was my one voice against the group and so I decided I needed a little ammunition. At that point in the conversation I said, “In my aircraft I have a tape that records all three radios and everything that is said on them and the intercom. It will prove that you boys are not coordinated and that I was told to fire before I fired”. Now that brought silence to the group until the leader said, “Please go get the tape”. My personal guard escorted me back out to my aircraft. My copilot asked if there was a problem. I told him thee was but I thought my tape would clear everything up.
In Army aircraft there is no provision for recording anything but on some occasions we took a cassette tape player and recorded everything. We would take a small “in the ear” or bug earphone and plug it into the “mic” outlet of the recorder. With the earphone inside the helmet and plugged into the mic outlet it acted as a microphone and would record everything that the pilot heard inside the helmet. We had to be very careful with our recordings because they often contain uncomplimentary remarks about some of our leaders.
Back inside I went with the guard following closely behind. This building had some high level secret stuff and most folks like me don’t get to just wander around loose. When I was back in the room with all of the friendly faces I sat the tape recorder on the table. It took a few times of testing to get close to the spot where I was given the command to fire, but after a bit I found it. The entire group sat in silence as they listened to the three radios and intercom conversations.
Soon they heard one voice tell me to fire and the other tell me there was still T minus one minute. In a second or two the sound of the missile being fired was heard and I pointed that out to them but the rest needed no explanation. A few more seconds of tape played before the leader said, “You can turn the tape player off now. Mr. Karn you can go now but everyone else remains. Mr. Karn we will need your tape”.
I smiled and said, “Sorry sir, the tape stays with me”. He responded by saying he would have a copy made. That seemed reasonable to me so I went with my tape and made sure my tape didn’t get lost while a copy was being made. After the copy was made I was escorted back out to my aircraft and I was on my way. I had survived a close one because I had proof.
It’s really important to have a backup plan or an ace up your sleeve. Most of the time things work like they should and everyone is happy but there are those other times when things go wrong and then everyone starts looking for someone to blame. It’s in these times when a person doesn’t seem to have many friends. The best person to depend upon is always going to be you. That works best when you have an ace left up your sleeve. The tape recoding was my ace. When things get rough and there is no other choice you play the ace you’ve been holding.
posted by Bruce | 4:04 PM
1 Comments:
Great story...all three parts. It's unfortunate that we must have an "ace" up our sleeve to cover ourselves. You must be smarter than your accusers or you don't survive. You Cobra pilots lead dangerous and yet intriguing careers. No wonder so many stories and games have been made from the Cobra chopper lifestyle.
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