The 366th Tactical Fighter Wing and the Misty FAC’s had the F-4 controller program set to go by 12 August 1968. Students, assigned to it needed to be pilot volunteers of flight-leader caliber, having flown at least 20 combat missions in RP I and not less than 9 months remaining to serve in-theater.
Duty tour with the 366th detachment (call sign stormy) was 90 days or 50 missions–later rising to 125 days or 75 missions. The first trno volunteers were F-4 aircraft commanders. Each flew five sorties out of Phu cat AB in the rear seat of the F-100F. Returning to Da Nang, he then occupied the front cockpit of the F-4 on three missions while a Misty instructor held down the backseat. Both men finished training on 26 August and on 2 September flew their maiden FAC missions in RP I.
In general, Stormy operations resembled those of Commando Sabre. ”’ However, collocation of their detachment with strike units Iet the F-4D controllers get their out-country intelligence first hand at joint briefings. The Stormies normally flew two sorties a day. They performed road reconnaissance from 4,000-5,000 feet and at 400-knot minimum airspeed. To assess bomb damage, they made a single pass at 2,000 feet and 500 knots.
The unceasing demand for night surveillance of enemy roads and trails swayed Seventh Air Force to direct a Stormy night experiment in Laos. Beginning 24 October 1968, the F-4Dts flew one sortie per night. Enthusiastic controllers pushed for a bigger program but Seventh doubted its soundness.
Moonless or cloudless nights severely hampered reconnaissance. In addition, once the trucks doused their lights and moved on, the Stormies were hard put to find them again. Armed night recce seemed preferable in that the targets could be hit at once. Moreover–as in all night operations– safety was a gnawing concern. The blacked-out armed recce aircraft and the Stormies risked colliding or passing through one another strike formation. For example, of the first eight night sorties the Stormies flew, six near-misses occurred. To cap it off, the Stormy day/night schedule sliced deeply into FAC training time. Whereupon, Seventh Air Force decided to halt the Stormy night program for a whi1e.
In April 1969 it was resumed in Laos. The Stormies flew two sorties a night, using the starlight scope to seek out targets, and receiving flare support from C-I23 Candlesticks and C-130 Blindbats. Day strike control tactics governed, but the controller kept his dive angle on marking passes no steeper than 30 degrees.
The Stormy operation changed as experience climbed. In 1969 the sortie rate climbed to 3 a day and the number of FAC pilots grew to 10. The small F-4D detachment moved directly under the 366th Wing’s Deputy Commander of Operations in JuIy, improving coordination with the fighter squadrons of the wing. or Like the Misties, the F-4D’s worked with the RF-4Crs of the 460th Wing and was affected by the same spotty coordination and slow film-processing. In 1970 the Stormies handled strike control for tactical fighters supporting the Allied incursion into Cambodia, and continued to shoulder the bulk of the FAC load there
