[Matt Wiser]

Payback time for the raid on Sheppard:



Over Central Texas: 1310 Hours:


Corvette Flight was over Central Texas, having not only topped up their tanks from the KC-135s over Mineral Wells, but had also met up with the Wild Weasel element tasked with the SEAD portion of the mission. They had gone in past I-20, and just a few miles south of the interstate was the front lines. And as had been planned, they were threading the boundary between the Nicaraguan II Corps and the East German “Kampfgruppe Rosa Luxemburg.” And so far, there was no reaction from the defenses on either side.

“Two minutes to Route 377,” Goalie said from 512's back seat.

“Copy,” Guru replied. “No threats so far.” He was keeping an eye out for any possible threat, whether SAMs, AAA, MiGs, or such things as power lines or Radio/TV transmitter towers. Though man-made obstacles were marked on their maps, there was no telling what Ivan had built since the invasion and occupation. Then he called the AWACS. “Crystal Palace, Corvette One-one. Say threat?”

“Corvette One-one, Crystal Palace. Threat bearing zero-nine-seven for eighty-five, high, going away. Second threat bearing one-niner five, high, steady.”

“Roger, Crystal Palace.”

“Lead, Two,” Kara called. “Search radar at Two O'clock.”

“Got it,” Goalie said.

“Flight, Lead. Music on.” Guru ordered. That meant to turn on their ECM pods.

“Copy, Lead,” Kara replied.

“Three copies,” Sweaty.

“Four, copy,” Hoser.

The terrain flew past, as the rolling hills of this part of Texas gave way to some more open terrain. Coming out of the terrain would make the defenses' job easier. One reason they were coming in at only 450 feet AGL.

“All it takes is one guy with a field phone and they wake up,” Guru said.

“Don't want to think about it,” Goalie replied. “Thirty seconds to nav point.”

“Got it,” Guru replied. “Highway 377 dead ahead.

As Corvette Flight overflew the highway, they passed over a Nicaraguan supply convoy. The truckers and their escorts heaved a sigh of relief that the Yanqui aircraft had passed them by, apparently having business elsewhere. And the convoy escort commander, unknown to Guru, stayed off the radio. If the Yanquis have business with those East German snobs, good. They deserve it.

“One minute to Highway 67,” Goalie said.

“One minute,” Guru replied. “Flight, Lead. Switches on.” That meant for everyone to arm their weapons.

“Copy,” Kara replied, and the others followed suit.

“Highway 67....mark!” Goalie called, and the two-lane highway flashed by below them.

“Turning,” Guru called. He made a right turn for U.S. 281, and when they reached that road, it was the IP.

“Twenty seconds,” Goalie said.

“Switches set?”

“All ready back here,” she replied.

“And IP....now!” Guru said .”Flight, Lead. PULL!”

Four F-4Es and two F-4Gs began to pull up. As they did, their threat receivers lit up. “Corvette, Michelob. Time for us to go to work, fella,” the Weasel leader called. Then “Magnum” calls began coming over the radio as Standard-ARM missiles went after the SA-2 site and at least one SA-4 battery.

“Copy that, Michelob. Get some,” Guru replied. He was pulling up, and as he did, Stephenville appeared at his Twelve O'clock, and so did the target. “Flight, Lead. Target in sight. Lead's in hot!”


At Stephenville Municipal Airport, the 274th IBAP (Fighter-Bomber Regiment) was getting ready for another mission. The Second Squadron's strike against Sheppard AFB had been a disaster, and yet, Air Army command wanted another mission against the base. This time, the Third squadron was tasked with the mission, and their Su-17M3s were in the process of being armed and fueled, while the First Squadron had just gone out on a series of Close-support missions. Then the air raid alarm began to sound, and both the 57-mm and 23-mm batteries guarding the airport began to fire.

“Flak coming up,” Goalie said.

“You noticed,” Guru replied. He lined up part of the ramp where a dozen Su-17s were parked. “Steady....and HACK!” He hit the pickle button, and a dozen Rockeye CBUs came off the aircraft. He firewalled the throttle and got back low. “Lead's off target.”

On the ramp, a SAF Major, the commander of Third Squadron, heard the air raid alarm and glanced skyward. He saw the dot approaching, and the smoke behind it. From experience, he knew what was coming. F-4 Phantom, and he knew they didn't come alone. “Take cover!” He shouted, and jumped into a slit trench. Then all hell broke loose around him as Rockeye CBU bomblets exploded.

Guru was jinking as he headed north, and even had an SA-7 missile pass above 512 as he headed north. As he made one of his jinks, Goalie was looking to their rear. “SHACK!”She called. “Good hits!”

“Secondaries?” Guru asked. He turned back north as he did so.

“Several,”

“Good enough!' Guru said. He beat a path right for I-20.


“Two's in hot!” Kara called. She lined up the southern part of the ramp area, and saw the smoke and flame from where Guru had laid his Rockeyes. Ignoring the flak coming up, she watches as an antiradar missile flew toward a flak site and exploded in the middle of it, and all of a sudden the GUN warning on her RWR went off. “Steady,,,,,and HACK!” Twelve Rockeye CBUs came off her aircraft,

The SAF Major looked up from his trench, and saw a second F-4 coming in. There was a lot of smoke and flame as aircraft, fuel and munitions trucks, and other vehicles exploded under the hail of CBU bomblets, Then he saw bombs coming off the F-4, and he knew what was coming. He ducked back down, pulling another pilot down with him.

Kara called, “Two off target,” and she, too, firewalled the engines and headed north. Some tracers flew above her mount, 520, and there was a missile trail that flew behind her, but Kara was able to get clear of the target, jinking as she did so.

“GOOD HITS!” Brainiac called from the rear seat.

“We got secondaries?” Kara asked.

“Got some.”

“Three's in hot!” Sweaty called. She had twelve Mark-82 Snakeye bombs, and she intended to lay them down the runway. Ignoring the 23-mm and 57-mm flak coming up, and even an SA-4 that was launched just before its fire-control radar vehicle took a HARM, she centered the runway in her pipper. “HACK!” She called, and a dozen five-hundred pound bombs came off her aircraft.

The SAF Major shook from concussion in his trench as he heard not only Sweaty's F-4 make its run, but the exploding bombs. He peeked up from the trench to see the last two bombs land just off the runway, and then he ducked back down. One more aircraft was coming in.

“SHACK!” Preacher called as Sweaty pulled away.

“Three's off,” she called, then Sweaty asked her backseater, “Good hits?”

“Right on the runway.”

She grinned underneath her oxygen mask and did some more jinking. An SA-4, probably launched in optical mode, came up, but it flew harmlessly over her, as she was below the missile's engagement envelope. Then she headed north for I-20.

“Four's in!” Hoser said. He easily picked out the fuel dump east of the runway, and he, too, ignored the flak coming up at him. Unlike the others, his EW warning showed no threats as he came in. Fuel bladders, storage tanks, and fuel trucks came into view as he lined up several fuel trucks in his pipper. “HACK!” Once more, Mark-82s came off, and he got back down low and headed north. “Four's off target.”

The SAF Major lifted his head again as he saw Hoser's F-4 come in. Not going for the runway, but he saw the bombs come off the plane, and his heart sank. The fuel dump. The F-4 walked its bombs across the fuel dump, and several large explosions followed. The Major dropped his head back into the trench as sympathetic detonations followed. And the antiaircraft guns kept firing.

“Good hits!” KT Thornton, Hoser's backseater, called.

“Secondaries?” Hoser called back. He jinked as an SA-7 flew past his aircraft. “That was close.”

“Big ones!”

Hoser smiled beneath his oxygen mask. Then he, too, headed for I-20.


In Stephenville proper, the East German commander was talking with the Mayor. He, along with the Army's chief Political Officer, was trying to explain to the Mayor that the presence of the East Germans actually meant that things would be calm in the area. 'You may rest assured, Mayor, that we in the National People's Army are not the animals in the Soviet MVD, or in their own Army's Rear-Area Protection Divisions.”

“And the airport?” The Mayor asked. He wasn't collaborating for opportunity's sake. No, he, unknown to the Soviets and now the East Germans, was reporting via several clandestine channels to the American military-who, exactly, he didn't know, but he was conspicuously alive while several prominent collaborators had turned up dead. Then the air raid alarm sounded.

“You may be also assured, Mayor,” the Political Officer said. “The Air Forces of the Socialist Bloc have complete air supremacy in this area. You do not need to worry about being bombed.”

The Mayor looked out the window and saw the F-4s going in on their bomb runs, and at least one missile trail from somewhere come in and explode some target on the ground. And the antiaircraft fire
came up and failed to hit anything. “You were saying?”

Curious, the East Germans went to the window and watched the last two F-4s make their bomb runs, followed by several large fireballs as fuel tanks at the airport exploded. The East German general shot a nasty glance at his Political Officer, then smiled at the Mayor. “My colleague here may have spoken prematurely.”

When he heard Hoser call off target, Guru pumped his fist. Then he called his flight. “Corvettes, form on me. Michelob, we're clear of the target.”

“Roger that, Corvette Lead,” the Weasel leader called. “We're on our way out.”

As they headed north, Goalie asked, “Are the Nicaraguans still asleep?”

“I'm not complaining,” Guru replied. “Are you?”

“Hell, no!” Goalie said. “Let them sleep.”

Thirty seconds later, Kara's F-4 came in next to Guru's in Combat Spread. Then Sweaty and Hoser formed up as well, and the four-ship headed north for I-20. Then the Weasels came in and the six-ship went over the Nicaraguans, and not a shot was fired at them as the Phantoms crossed the front line.

“Michelob, Corvette. Thanks, fella.” Guru said to the Weasel leader.

“Anytime,” Michelob Two-one replied. “Maybe we can do this again.” Then the two F-4Gs broke formation and headed for the tankers.

Guru and the rest of Corvette Flight headed for Sheppard. After waiting for two Marine flights to depart, and another 335th flight as well, the tower cleared them in to land. The F-4s came into the pattern and landed, and as Guru taxied 512 in, he and Goalie finally took off their oxygen masks. “Now I'm drained,” Guru said.

“You're not the only one,” Goalie said. “Toughest one we've had in a while.”

“No kidding,” Guru replied as he taxied 512 into its revetment, and both crew had popped their canopies and raised them. After taxiing in, Sergeant Crowley gave the “stop” signal, and Guru did, then he shut down the engines. “That one's done.”

“And one more today,” Goalie said as she took off her helmet.

“Yep,” Guru acknowledged as took off his helmet and stood up in the cockpit as Sergeant Crowley brought the crew ladder.

“How'd it go, Major?” Crowley asked.

“Good one, Sergeant,” Guru said as he climbed down. “Won't have to worry about those guys bombing us for a few days.”

“If you say so, sir,” Crowley said as Goalie climbed down. 'How's my bird?”

“512's working like a champ, Sergeant,” Guru said. “Get her ready for the next one. And this'll be the last one today.”

“Word is we're standing down due to weather?” Crowley asked.

“We are,” Guru replied. “And you guys can get caught up maintenance wise, and then just plain sleep.”

“Thanks, Major!”

“Don't thank me. Mother Nature's the one you should be thanking. Now get 512 ready,” the Major said.

“You got it, sir!” Crowley said. “You heard the man,” he told his ground crew. “Let's get her ready for one more.”

Nodding, Guru and Goalie headed to the entrance to the revetment, and found Kara and Brainiac waiting. “What'd you think?” Guru asked his wingmate.

“Of all the ones we've flown the last two or three days?” Kara asked. “That one had the most opposition.”

“I'll go along with that,” Sweaty said as she and Preacher came up. “They had flak, but it was wild.”

Guru nodded. “Makes you wonder who was on those guns,” Goalie said.

“Whoever they were,” Hoser said as he arrived. “They were lousy shots.”

“Maybe Russians and not East Germans, for all we know,” Kara pointed out.

“Save it for the debrief,” Guru said. “Come on, let's get that done, get something to eat, then we have one more.”

“Then we have that weather stand-down, right?” Sweaty asked.

“You got it.”

The members of Corvette Flight headed for Squadron Ops, and when they got there, they found Major Dave Golen and Lt. Sandi Jenkins and their GIBs talking. “Guru,” Golen said.

“How'd it go?” Guru asked.

“Went to someplace you went yesterday,” Golen said. “The Terrell Airport.”

“They've got it back operational?”

“It was,” Sandi said. “We put some bombs on the runway, and it's out of commission for another day.”

“Debrief yet?” Guru asked.

“Yes, but just enjoying what's left of this nice day before going out again,” Golen said.

“Enjoy it, because tomorrow? Wind and rain,” Guru said. “Good luck on the next one.”

“Thanks, Guru,” Dave Golen replied.

“Anytime,” Guru said. Then they went into the Ops building and found it busy as usual. Guru noticed the Exec, Capt. Mark Ellis, and waved him over. “Mark,”

“Boss,” Ellis nodded. “How'd it go?”

“Those Fitters won't be bothering anyone for a while.” Guru said. He glanced towards his office. “Anything?”

“Nothing you need to sign,” Ellis said. “Ross came through on the radar parts. They'll be here tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting.”

“Good,” the CO said. “Anything on the elevator for Sandi Jenkins' regular mount?”

“Not yet, but Ross has it at the top of his priority list.”

Guru nodded, then had an idea. “Tell him to talk to either the 450th or the 301st,” he told Ellis. Those two wings were the other two F-4E units in Tenth Air Force. “If they've got a bird that's no longer flyable and they're using it for parts....”

“Gotcha, Boss,” the XO said. He made a note, for future reference.

“Otherwise, that's a factory-level part, and that comes from Japan.” Guru reminded his Exec.

Ellis nodded. “He'll find one, one way or another.”

“Good,” Guru said. Then he went back to his flight members. “Let's get out of our gear, and meet in the briefing room. Licon can debrief, then we get something to eat and drink, and get ready for the next one.”

“And what are you going to do on the stand-down?” Kara asked.

“Get caught up on one thing that's more important than paperwork,” Guru said.

“Let me guess: sleep?”

“You got it.”