THE AVIATION HISTORIANIssue No 29 101

LTHOUGH THE WAR in South-east Asia was officially over, it had been a busy few months for the USAF’s 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (TRW). In late March 1975 the 432nd

had been directed to support Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of American personnel and dependants from Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Three of the Wing’s five squadrons flew missions covering the April 12 evacuation, with the other two squadrons at readiness. Two weeks later, the 432nd was at it again for Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of American personnel from Saigon. The Wing launched 68 sorties, with four squadrons providing cover for US Marine Corps (USMC) and USAF helicopters flying “evac” missions.

Just when the Wing was getting its crews and aircraft back into a training rhythm, another crisis was dropped on its doorstep; the American merchant vessel SS Mayaguez had been seized on May 13 by Cambodian Khmer Rouge revolutionaries, and the US Seventh Air Force required the now-missing vessel to be found.

The 432nd TRW had been formed in September 1966 from the 6234th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) at Royal Thai Air Force Base (RTAFB) Udorn in Thailand as a McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II Wing. Squadrons were added and

subtracted to its structure but by early 1975 the Wing consisted of four F-4 squadrons and one RF-4C squadron, each assigned 24 Phantoms.

Two of the F-4 squadrons — the F-4E-equipped 421st Tactical Fighter Sqn (TFS) and 25th TFS — focused their training on the air-to-air mission, while the 4th TFS and 13th TFS, equipped with a mixture of F-4Ds and F-4Es, concentrated on the ground-attack role, including laser-guided bomb operations. The 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Sqn (TRS) rounded out the wing and was the only RF-4 photo-recce variant unit in theatre.

Captain John Zink was a newly minted pilot assigned to the 13th TFS, known as “The Panthers”. Fresh from F-4 conversion training in May 1974, Zink flew as a wingman in the Panthers, in which the majority of the squadron had completed one, if not two, previous tours in South-east Asia. Although things had quietened down by the time Zink arrived, the base was still close to potential action. John’s first combat sortie was flying cover for Frequent Wind.

Lieutenant Jim Bortz, a Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) in the 14th TRS, had arrived in early 1975, but had already flown combat missions owing to the nature of his work. As it was for Zink, this was Bortz’s first operational assignment following F-4 conversion training. After completing his six-month checkout, he took leave before arriving in Thailand.

Although the USA was no longer involved

When Khmer Rouge forces seized the civil container ship SS Mayaguez off the coast of Cambodia in May 1975, the American war machine swung back into action, despite its recent withdrawal from the conflict in neighbouring Vietnam. BILL CAHILL details the role of the F-4s of the USAF’s 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing during the incident

OPPOSITE PAGE The Mayaguez was seized by Khmer Rouge soldiers on the afternoon of May 12, 1975, and the following morning US Navy Lockheed P-3 Orions were sent to locate and photograph the vessel. ABOVE An F-4E of the 432nd TRW’s 421st TFS with shark’s mouth — to spit deadly fire from its M61 nose-mounted six-barrel cannon.

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