"Chico The Gunfighter"
'Chico', a unique-role 366th Tactical Fighter Wing 'Gunfighters' F-4E
(68-339) operated out of Da Nang, South Vietnam in 1972. This painting has
been featured in the popular magazines Smoke Trails, Flight Journal,
Combat Aircraft, Ghost Wings, and FineScale Modeler. See the Chico's
Story below for Wade's original article. Notice the gun pods and Navy
Rockeyes.
Each print is signed and numbered by the artist, and countersigned by the
pilot, Col. J. D. Pewitt, USAF (Ret), then Director of Operations and later Vice
Commander of the 366th. Overall print dimensions are 20 x 27; image size
15.75 x 24. Printed on 100 lb. Potlatch McCoy Cover (Silk finish) - acid free.
Each print comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
(68-339) operated out of Da Nang, South Vietnam in 1972. This painting has
been featured in the popular magazines Smoke Trails, Flight Journal,
Combat Aircraft, Ghost Wings, and FineScale Modeler. See the Chico's
Story below for Wade's original article. Notice the gun pods and Navy
Rockeyes.
Each print is signed and numbered by the artist, and countersigned by the
pilot, Col. J. D. Pewitt, USAF (Ret), then Director of Operations and later Vice
Commander of the 366th. Overall print dimensions are 20 x 27; image size
15.75 x 24. Printed on 100 lb. Potlatch McCoy Cover (Silk finish) - acid free.
Each print comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
THE STORY OF CHICO THE GUNFIGHTER
by Wade Meyers
(c) Wade Meyers 2000-2005
Things were getting pretty hot in upper South
Vietnam during the spring 1972 North Vietnamese
Army invasions across the DMZ. As a result, a
somewhat unique mission for one F-4E Phantom, little
known until this painting, was born of opportunity
and circumstance, and not a little initiative on one
officers part. At the time of this bold enemy
offensive, the Da Nang based 366th Tactical Fighter
Wing Gunfighters was the last F-4 Wing in South
Vietnam, and very close to the DMZ. These factors
inspired Gunfighters Director of Operations Colonel
J. D. Pewitt to conceive the idea of operating one of
the Wings F-4Es as a free-roaming and heavily armed
strike-recce aircraft to help stem the fast-moving
enemy tide and collect up to the minute feedback on
rapidly changing NVA positions and operations.
This aircraft attacked targets based on intelligence
information regarding troop movements, ammunition
storage, POL, riverboat traffic and other assets in the
areas near to and above the DMZ. There being no
existing provision under the Rules of Engagement
for such a unique aircraft operating alone, Chico
operated administratively as a Stormy Fast FAC,
which was one callsign of then-existing F-4
high-speed FACs at Da Nang.* Under the ROE, this
allowed Chico to roam alone and unescorted. HQ 7AF
assigned the callsign "Chico" for two reasons: First,
it was an established FAC callsign (in keeping with
the FAC persona). Secondly, the callsign was no
longer in use, so there would be no confusion with
real FACs performing controller duties. Accordingly,
the Chico name alerted airborne FACs that a special
F-4 was available.
After consulting with armament technicians, and
subsequent approval for the unique mission from HQ
7AF, an F-4E-37-MC (68-339) belonging to the 421st
TFS Black Widows was fitted with SUU-23/A gun pods
on the outboard pylons; a pair of Navy Mk 20 Rockeye
II Cluster Bombs on each inboard station; one ALQ-87
ECM pod carried in the right front missile bay; two
AIM-7 Sparrow radar missiles in the aft wells; and one
600-gallon centerline drop tank. The USN Mk 20
munition was readily available at Da Nang from the
Marine Corps F-4 contingent deployed there, and
was selected because it was deemed the best
weapon for tank, boat, and ammunition dump attacks.
It also provided more reliable coverage for highly
transient targets such as trucks and missile
transports than the usual Air Force Mk 82 Snakeye
500 lb. bombs or Napalm canisters. I believe, and the
body of evidence suggests, that Chico was likely the
only USAF Phantom to employ Mk 20 Rockeye IIs in
Vietnam. The SUU-23/A gun pod, an improvement of
the SUU-16/A Ram Air Turbine driven pod, had been
in use with the Gunfighters since the late 1960s. The
Chico loadout was easily reconfigured so the aircraft
could be used for normal daily strike missions.
Col. Pewitt flew this Phantom frequently from April to
June 1972. In fact, there were only five pilots who
flew 68-339 in her Chico configuration: Col. Pewitt; Lt
Col Al LaGrou, 366 TFW Stan/Eval Chief; Capt. Jack G.
Merrell, Jr., 366 TFW Command Post, and supplier of
these five names; Col. George W. Rutter, 366 TFW
Wing Commander; and a Brigadier General from
Saigon (HQ MACV), who came up to Da Nang for a
visit and one Chico mission. In June, the Wing
moved to Takhli RTAB, Thailand, and, due to the
distances involved, it was no longer practical to
operate the relatively short ranged/short notice
Chico the Gunfighter. The aircraft was utilized with
devastating success in its intended purpose, but
remained the only USAF F-4 operated in this
configuration and mission. She was truly a special
aircraft. The accompanying painting depicts a mission
flown on 21 May 1972 in the Ashau River Valley just
below the DMZ. Col. Pewitt and his WSO Lt. Steve
"Bubba" Craighead earned their nomination for the
Silver Star medal this day for successful repeated
gun-strafe attacks on a very heavily armed enemy
site pinning down friendly troops.
*There were a total of three F-4 Fast FAC callsigns in
1972, all with the 366 TFW at Da Nang: Chico, the
subject of my painting (there was only one aircraft,
F-4E 68-339, which operated as Chico), and the two
regular high-speed FAC groups, Stormy and
Gunsmoke. The all out North Vietnamese Easter
invasions on three fronts into South Vietnam called
for radical changes to the traditional way FAC
operations were conducted up to that time. Now the
enemy was pouring tremendous numbers of troops,
AAA guns and SAMs, the latter including the SA-2
radar guided missile and the brand new SA-7
heat-seeker, into the region encompassing the DMZ
and the northern sectors of Military Region I, in
which Da Nang was located. With all this enemy
firepower, it became necessary for Fast FACs to
sustain speeds of at least 400-450 knots IAS at the
very low altitudes they were forced to operate lest
they come back with big holes! The Chico concept
was but one 366 TFW innovation at this critical time.
Chico complimented the Strike Lead tactics Stormy
and Gunsmoke FACs were employing. Strike Lead
meant that a Stormy or Gunsmoke FAC (flown by a
seasoned crew) would take off with a bombed up F-4
on his wing, and together they would go hunting. The
FAC, or Strike Lead, would mark the target with
smoke rockets (and sometimes by strafing the target
with his internal cannon, the rising dust marking the
target), and while his wingman immediately attacked
the fresh target, the FAC would move ahead to
another hot area.
References:
Col. James D. Pewitt, USAF (Ret), 366 TFW Director of
Operations/Vice Commander.
Col. Tom Colvin, USAF (Ret), 366 TFW/421 TFS.
Official USAF History of the 366th Tactical Fighter
Wing in Southeast Asia (1972) (Declassified).
Kent L Malcolm, Chico's Crew Chief, in a letter to
Flight Journal magazine.
Copyright Wade Meyers 2000-2006
by Wade Meyers
(c) Wade Meyers 2000-2005
Things were getting pretty hot in upper South
Vietnam during the spring 1972 North Vietnamese
Army invasions across the DMZ. As a result, a
somewhat unique mission for one F-4E Phantom, little
known until this painting, was born of opportunity
and circumstance, and not a little initiative on one
officers part. At the time of this bold enemy
offensive, the Da Nang based 366th Tactical Fighter
Wing Gunfighters was the last F-4 Wing in South
Vietnam, and very close to the DMZ. These factors
inspired Gunfighters Director of Operations Colonel
J. D. Pewitt to conceive the idea of operating one of
the Wings F-4Es as a free-roaming and heavily armed
strike-recce aircraft to help stem the fast-moving
enemy tide and collect up to the minute feedback on
rapidly changing NVA positions and operations.
This aircraft attacked targets based on intelligence
information regarding troop movements, ammunition
storage, POL, riverboat traffic and other assets in the
areas near to and above the DMZ. There being no
existing provision under the Rules of Engagement
for such a unique aircraft operating alone, Chico
operated administratively as a Stormy Fast FAC,
which was one callsign of then-existing F-4
high-speed FACs at Da Nang.* Under the ROE, this
allowed Chico to roam alone and unescorted. HQ 7AF
assigned the callsign "Chico" for two reasons: First,
it was an established FAC callsign (in keeping with
the FAC persona). Secondly, the callsign was no
longer in use, so there would be no confusion with
real FACs performing controller duties. Accordingly,
the Chico name alerted airborne FACs that a special
F-4 was available.
After consulting with armament technicians, and
subsequent approval for the unique mission from HQ
7AF, an F-4E-37-MC (68-339) belonging to the 421st
TFS Black Widows was fitted with SUU-23/A gun pods
on the outboard pylons; a pair of Navy Mk 20 Rockeye
II Cluster Bombs on each inboard station; one ALQ-87
ECM pod carried in the right front missile bay; two
AIM-7 Sparrow radar missiles in the aft wells; and one
600-gallon centerline drop tank. The USN Mk 20
munition was readily available at Da Nang from the
Marine Corps F-4 contingent deployed there, and
was selected because it was deemed the best
weapon for tank, boat, and ammunition dump attacks.
It also provided more reliable coverage for highly
transient targets such as trucks and missile
transports than the usual Air Force Mk 82 Snakeye
500 lb. bombs or Napalm canisters. I believe, and the
body of evidence suggests, that Chico was likely the
only USAF Phantom to employ Mk 20 Rockeye IIs in
Vietnam. The SUU-23/A gun pod, an improvement of
the SUU-16/A Ram Air Turbine driven pod, had been
in use with the Gunfighters since the late 1960s. The
Chico loadout was easily reconfigured so the aircraft
could be used for normal daily strike missions.
Col. Pewitt flew this Phantom frequently from April to
June 1972. In fact, there were only five pilots who
flew 68-339 in her Chico configuration: Col. Pewitt; Lt
Col Al LaGrou, 366 TFW Stan/Eval Chief; Capt. Jack G.
Merrell, Jr., 366 TFW Command Post, and supplier of
these five names; Col. George W. Rutter, 366 TFW
Wing Commander; and a Brigadier General from
Saigon (HQ MACV), who came up to Da Nang for a
visit and one Chico mission. In June, the Wing
moved to Takhli RTAB, Thailand, and, due to the
distances involved, it was no longer practical to
operate the relatively short ranged/short notice
Chico the Gunfighter. The aircraft was utilized with
devastating success in its intended purpose, but
remained the only USAF F-4 operated in this
configuration and mission. She was truly a special
aircraft. The accompanying painting depicts a mission
flown on 21 May 1972 in the Ashau River Valley just
below the DMZ. Col. Pewitt and his WSO Lt. Steve
"Bubba" Craighead earned their nomination for the
Silver Star medal this day for successful repeated
gun-strafe attacks on a very heavily armed enemy
site pinning down friendly troops.
*There were a total of three F-4 Fast FAC callsigns in
1972, all with the 366 TFW at Da Nang: Chico, the
subject of my painting (there was only one aircraft,
F-4E 68-339, which operated as Chico), and the two
regular high-speed FAC groups, Stormy and
Gunsmoke. The all out North Vietnamese Easter
invasions on three fronts into South Vietnam called
for radical changes to the traditional way FAC
operations were conducted up to that time. Now the
enemy was pouring tremendous numbers of troops,
AAA guns and SAMs, the latter including the SA-2
radar guided missile and the brand new SA-7
heat-seeker, into the region encompassing the DMZ
and the northern sectors of Military Region I, in
which Da Nang was located. With all this enemy
firepower, it became necessary for Fast FACs to
sustain speeds of at least 400-450 knots IAS at the
very low altitudes they were forced to operate lest
they come back with big holes! The Chico concept
was but one 366 TFW innovation at this critical time.
Chico complimented the Strike Lead tactics Stormy
and Gunsmoke FACs were employing. Strike Lead
meant that a Stormy or Gunsmoke FAC (flown by a
seasoned crew) would take off with a bombed up F-4
on his wing, and together they would go hunting. The
FAC, or Strike Lead, would mark the target with
smoke rockets (and sometimes by strafing the target
with his internal cannon, the rising dust marking the
target), and while his wingman immediately attacked
the fresh target, the FAC would move ahead to
another hot area.
References:
Col. James D. Pewitt, USAF (Ret), 366 TFW Director of
Operations/Vice Commander.
Col. Tom Colvin, USAF (Ret), 366 TFW/421 TFS.
Official USAF History of the 366th Tactical Fighter
Wing in Southeast Asia (1972) (Declassified).
Kent L Malcolm, Chico's Crew Chief, in a letter to
Flight Journal magazine.
Copyright Wade Meyers 2000-2006
Remarque 1
Phantom parked
Remarque 2
Phantom Taxing
Remarque 3
Phantom in flight
Only five pilots flew F-4E-37-MC 68-0339 in her Chico the Gunfighter loadout.
Here 366 TFW Commander Col. George W. Rutter stops off at the Da Nang
Arm/Dearm area prior to a Chico mission. (Pewitt) (c) Wade Meyers 2000-2005
Here 366 TFW Commander Col. George W. Rutter stops off at the Da Nang
Arm/Dearm area prior to a Chico mission. (Pewitt) (c) Wade Meyers 2000-2005
F-4E 68-0339 on the 421 TFS line at Da Nang decked out in all her Chico
glory with 20 mm gun pods and Mk. 20 Rockeye II cluster bombs. The
Chico missions were over and above normal frags, and 339 pulled her
share of daily strike missions with her Phantom sisters before changing
into her Chico guise for afternoon seek and destroy sorties. The pilot
in flight gear is Lt Col Al LaGrou, the 366 TFW Standardization and
Evaluation check pilot. (Pewitt) (c) Wade Meyers 2000-2005
glory with 20 mm gun pods and Mk. 20 Rockeye II cluster bombs. The
Chico missions were over and above normal frags, and 339 pulled her
share of daily strike missions with her Phantom sisters before changing
into her Chico guise for afternoon seek and destroy sorties. The pilot
in flight gear is Lt Col Al LaGrou, the 366 TFW Standardization and
Evaluation check pilot. (Pewitt) (c) Wade Meyers 2000-2005
Here at Ozark Airfield Artworks we offer a large selection art prints. These
prints mainly depict modern and historic aviation along with military, civil
and space flight. We also deal with naval subjects and military armor and
infantry works. These prints are from all the top national and international
artists along with some local artists. Many of our prints are signed by the
artist and by famous pilots and veterans. If you are looking for a specific
plane, pilot, artist or subject please contact us.
prints mainly depict modern and historic aviation along with military, civil
and space flight. We also deal with naval subjects and military armor and
infantry works. These prints are from all the top national and international
artists along with some local artists. Many of our prints are signed by the
artist and by famous pilots and veterans. If you are looking for a specific
plane, pilot, artist or subject please contact us.
Copyright © Ozark Airfield Artworks 2005 All Rights Reserved
All sales are subject to availability.
All sales are subject to availability.
All images are copyrighted by the individual artist and may not be
reproduced without their consent.
reproduced without their consent.
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