Copyright
            A-3 Skywarrior
              Association
              1998-2007   

         WHALE LANDINGS
     

"Whale Tales"

We are posting, for your reading and enjoyment, past articles that have appeared in aviation publications, and first hand accounts of experiences while flying and serving with the A-3 Skywarrior. These will be sanctioned and controlled by the A-3 Association. If you would like to submit a story for public consumption please contact the webmaster.

• Title: "HMS Navy takes a shot at VAQ-33"

 

• Title: "All in a Days Work"
  Submitted by Ronald DeSantis

•  Title:  OOPS!
  Submitted by Chuck Huber

• Title: "What a Drag!"
  Submitted by Bill Metzger

•   Title: "Dump, Barf, Slide Flight"
  Submitted by Roger Eidenschink

• Title: Quick Turnaround
  Submitted by Nick Nickerson

• Title: My Night with Mae West!
  Submitted by Frank Cogdell. The real story of 142236.

• Title: How Not to Do It!
  Submitted by Vic Kretsinger as found in Approach magazine

• Title: ...Then the Fun Began
  Submitted by Vic Kretsinger as found in Approach magazine

• Title: Rocket Hits EA-3B in DaNang
  Photos submitted by Roger Sharrer and text by T.J. Wiley

• Title: The Purple Bullet Legend
  Submitted by L.J. "Jack" Stevenson, LCDR USN (ret) AKA Speedo. This is Jack's account of how he became known as being a little, shall we say 'intense'.

• Title: Close Shave II
  Submitted by CDR Jim Newcomb USN RET. This is Jim's first hand account of a VAH-4 Det Bravo Skywarrior's (BuNo 138966) narrow escape after a broken 2 wire trap aboard the USS Ticonderoga.

• Title: Bomb Scoring Unit
  Submitted by TD2 Kenneth Minick of the NAF Naples Radar Bomb Scoring Unit.
  Editors note: This is a piece of history and mentions the "Hoot Owls" of VAH-9.

• Title: No wonder they called it a whale
  by Gil Bouffard
  Not a 'tale' but coverage of the VQ-5 Disestablishment ceremony at NAS North Island, Ca. on June 4, 1999.

• 7/10/99 Title: April Evening
  Reprinted from Jan. 69 issue of Approach magazine.
  Author: unknown
  
  This event occurred on April 8, 1968 during carquals off San Diego aboard USS Constellation, CVA-64, in preparation for Wespac deployment of VAW-13 Det 64, later to become VAQ-133.

• Title: Close Shave
  An account from the Assoc. of Naval Aviatiors "The best of Gramps"
  Author: unknown
  
  This article was submitted by 'Ole Whaler' Vic Kretsinger. If any whalers out there have a knowledge of this event, we are interested in the date, squadron, crew, BuNo and more details. Please contact us!

• Title: Hey, Don't Forget Us Army Guys
  Written by: Gil (Buffy) Bouffard, SFC (E-7) U.S. Army 59-80 (retired). Gil earned his Navy Aircrew wings and flew in EA-3Bs with VQ-1 (68-70), as a signals collection operator/analyst, out of Atsugi, Japan. He now resides in Lathrop, Ca. Submitted to Hook magazine 1987.

• 8/8/98
  Title: Wake for the Whale
  Author: LCdr. Rick Burgess
  Portions reprinted with permission from Naval Aviation News Nov/Dec 1991 issue.
  This article reports the events of the A-3 Skywarrior's retirement ceremony on Sept. 27, 1991 at NAS Key West, Fl.

• 6/28/98
  Title: We Are Leaving The Aircraft
  Articles reprinted from Approach Magazine 1961 and USS Ranger's newspaper reporting an onboard fire and bailout of an A-3B's crew. After the crew of 3 bailout, the pilot determines the fire to be out and traps aboard Ranger with no crew and no problems on July 6, 1961.
  Author: unknown

• 3/2/98
  Title: A Wounded Whale That Took A Dive
  Author: Dale V. Clark, CDR, USN (RET) in collaboration with Charlie Cellar and Larry Sharpe
  
  This is the crews account of the loss of A-3 (BuNo 142633), occuring during a catapult launch off the USS Coral Sea on Oct. 2, 1966.