by M. L. Maki
Frosty, “Trollop, Cookie, fly direct to Alconbury. We’ll continue on station.”
KNIGHT 1 OVER SOUTHERN ENGLAND
Spike, “Puck, I’m seeing rocks and shoals in Britain.”
“What do you mean?’ You’re not worried about the kids getting into trouble, are you? They’re going to be too busy. I doubt they’ll have time for trouble.”
“Puck, it’s no different from a port call. We let them have fun but set the parameters to keep them safe. It’s us girls.”
“Weren’t the Brits more enlightened than team USA back then?”
“I hope so. Okay, we are feet wet. I caught a glimpse of shoreline. The E-2 is way north of us. I’ll do a snake, so you can sweep.” She wiggles her wings to inform the other aircraft, then takes a one G turn to the west and reverses to the east.
Puck, “Straighten out. Okay, raid warning.” On radio, “Raid warning south. We have a large formation 100 miles south of the English coast. They are at flight level 1, at 350 knots. I have visual confirmation. These are fast movers.”
“Puck, can Ghost Rider see the flight?”
“No, they are too far north.”
“Okay, we don’t have time for anyone else. Tell everyone to expedite. We’re in.”
Puck on radio, “Ghost Rider 333, Knight 1, vector Knight flights 2 and 3 to raid 2. Scramble Felix flights. Expedite.”
FLIGHT COMMAND CENTER, RAF BENTLEY PRIORY
Sir Hugh Dowding says, “Launch everything we have in Group 10 and Group 11.” A phone talker relays the order.
Dowding asks, “How can this American get visual confirmation at 100 miles?”
John Cunningham, his senior air staff officer says, “Shall we ask, sir?”
Dowding, “Later. I’m quite sure they are too busy to answer right now.”
“Sir, we could ask the control center at Alconbury.”
“Of course, do so. Also, ask if it is standard procedure to hand control of a fight to an airborne fighter.”
KNIGHT 1 SOUTH OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT
“Knight 1, Horne, can you forward pass? The attackers are at the edge of our range.”
“Horne, Knight 1, you are not showing up in link.”
“Out NTDS is down.”
“Roger, Horne. Fire on 176 actual and we will collect.”
The Horne fires two SM-1ER missiles. As the missiles intercept the F-14’s radar beam, they turn to ride the beam to target.
“Knight 1, Jarrett, we will be firing for your rightmost aircraft.”
“Roger, Jarrett. Buster, they are yours.”
The first salvo of missiles makes the turn and streak onto the incoming attackers. The enemy accelerates and takes evasive maneuvers, but at low speed, they are sitting ducks. All three missiles find their targets.
The ‘14s are moving too fast for a second salvo. Puck, “Splash two. Cease fire, Horne.”
Buster, “Splash one. Cease fire, Jarrett.”
And now, several aircraft are pulling up toward them, though still 40 miles away. Spike, “Fuck, fuck.” She realizes she has to take charge. Without Ghost Rider or Horn, they’re flying blind.
Puck, “What, Spike?”
She thinks, “Halsey is going to reprimand me. God, my career light is flashing. The guys come first. Halsey can fuck himself.”
Puck, “Spike, what is it?”
“Sorry, Puck, I need the radio. “Felix 1, Knight 1, put your flights 2 and 3 over Dover. Have them hit the enemy as they leave. Beefeater, let the Brits finish off the prop planes. Make best speed to station Delta and Echo. Felix 1, Knight flight 2 and 3, hit from the north and focus on bombers.”
Puck, “No problem, Spike.” On radio, “Fox 1, Fox 1.”
She fires the two AIM-7’s and sees the flare of launches from several enemy aircraft. “Puck, inbound. Grunt.” She pulls up, dropping chaff and flares, then whips around to the right, pulling up again sharply, and turning into a yoyo, so she can see her opponents.
Puck, “Low and crossing. Thud’s high, left.”
On radio, “Knight 1, Felix 1, wilco.” She pulls some brief negative Gs as an F-104 Starfighter passes only feet away. Then, on radio, “Spike, NOB, we are totally defensive. The Tornados are carrying bombs.” She rolls and pulls right, “Knight 1, Beefeater 1, wilco.”
COMBAT, USS CARL VINSON, IN PORTSMOUTH
Halsey asks, “Why are the screens blank?”
Johnson replies, “Ghost Rider is too far north. He can’t see the fight.”
“So, they are fighting blind?”
“Yes, sir.”
Halsey pauses, then, “Tell them Commander Hunt is in charge.”
Johnson picks up a mike, “All units, Gold Eagle actual, Knight 1 is in command. Acknowledge.”
They all call in.
KNIGHT 1 IN FUR BALL
Spike, “Grunt,” and pulls, breaking right as tracer passes beneath them. She rolls, pulls, and “Guns,” stitching across the engine of an F-104. It bursts into flame.
Puck, “Guns, guns.”
Spike, “Thud, right.”
Puck, “Thud, break right, break right.”
Thud cranks over his bird, pulling hard Gs.
Spike, “Grunt,” as she turns, covering her wingman. Then, “Guns,” and squeezing off a burst.
Puck, “Guns, guns,” and another F-104 explodes in front of them.
Spike, “Grunt,” pulling, as a MiG-29 closes. “Tell Arco and Ghost to orbit over London, Station Bravo.”
Puck, “Traffic.” She noses down as an F-104 screams by, guns blazing. The high negative Gs sends blood rushing to their heads.
She rolls left and pulls up again, “Grunt.” They climb, as again, tracer fire passes beneath them.
Puck, gasping for air, “Arco units, Ghost Rider, orbit Bravo.”
Ghandi, “Knight flight 2, volley Fox 1.”
Speedy, “Spike, break left.”
Gandhi, “Splash two Tornados.”
As she whips her plane around, pulling high Gs, Speedy announces, “Got him, Spike. Thud says vertical thatch weave.”
Breathing heavily, Spike, “Yes,”, and pulls the big fighter vertical in the defensive formation.
On radio, Stinky, “Spike, Flight 3 is in. Volley Fox 1.”
Puck, “Roger, Stinky.”
CHAPTER 20
FIGHTER COMMAND, RAF BENTLEY PRIORY
Turning to Air Marshall Dowding, the phone talker for Alconbury says, “Sir, the F-14 has a long- range camera slaved to their radar to allow for long range identification. Also, Knight 1 is the squadron commander. Lacking other guidance, the squadron commander controls the fight.”
Dowding says, “I see. That’s sensible. It seems a lot to ask of anyone, though. She must be extraordinary.”
KNIGHT 733, AT 3,000 FEET,
IN A VERTICAL THATCH WEAVE WITH KNIGHT 626
In Knight 733, Glow Rod and Buster cross right behind Gunner as they climb in the weave. When they roll horizontal, Glow Rod sees an F-4 trying to roll in on Gunner. He tightens his turn, “Gs on.” Then fires and hits the F-4. They climb back up, adjusting, as Gunner changes the direction of the weave. The Isle of Wight is getting closer. Gunner dives going for a Tornado flying low over the channel. He hits it and it cartwheels in.
Two Spitfires move in, trying to engage the enemy jets. Buster, “Rod, break, break.”
Glow Rod rotates and pulls, tracer fire passing below him. He reverses onto the F-4’s six, puts rounds up its tail pipe and another F-4 falls into the channel. Its crew ejects. They invert and see Gunner hunting Tornados below them, and dive down to assist.
KNIGHT 1
Inverted in the weave, Spike notices the German Tornados racing north on the deck. She goes into a dive, closing on the low flying bombers. Puck, “Tone. Volley Fox 1.”
She pickles off their last four AIM-7s.
On radio, “Knight 1, Beefeater 1. We are crossing gulf, inbound for Echo. We’ll be in your area in 30 mikes, if you need us.”
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br /> Their plane shudders, and they see tracers fly past their canopy. She pulls up violently, breaking lock on the Tornados below. The missiles bore on, their internal radar holding lock. Then she inverts and Puck re-acquires the enemy on radar. Spike, fighting for breath under the G load, “Beefeater 1, escort tankers. Orbit Bravo.”
CAPTAIN HANS KRUGER, GERMAN F-5, ABOVE AND BEHIND KNIGHT 1
Captain Kruger tries to acquire the big F-14 in front of him. Recently transferred from the eastern front, he just knows his F-5 Tiger is the superior plane. Even as the ’14 maneuvers, he has no doubts. Three times he has fired upon it, and after the fourth shot, “I hit it. I hit it.”
Colonel Getz, on radio, “Did you kill it?”
“Not yet, Herr Colonel.”
“Kill it, then celebrate.”
As they speak, the’14 moves out of his reticule. He rolls and turns to get back on its six. As they come into view, they are already inverted and diving towards the bombers below. Again, he inverts, pursuing them. In his single-minded focus, he forgets about the wingman. Tracers go by his cockpit and he feels a huge kick as his aircraft pitches forward out of controlled flight. Nearly blacking out, he manages to reach the ejection handle.
KNIGHT 1, 20 MILES SOUTH OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT
Two of four AIM-7s hit the Tornados. With Thud’s missiles, they’ve managed four Tornados shot down. Some of the enemy bombers are bugging out, but some are still boring in. Spike hears Speedy, “Your clear, Spike. Were you hit?”
Puck, “Yes, but we’re flying fine. We have to get those bombers.”
Speedy, “You should go home, Puck. Go home.”
Puck, “They hit the carrier, we have no home.”
They continue chasing two Tornados flying loose deuce, then dive on them. Puck, “Six high. Break, Thud.” They climb, roll, then pull horizontal as two F-4s overshoot. Puck “Fox 2,” and Spike triggers off and AIM-9 heat seeker.
Speedy makes the same call, and two missiles twist in the air, chasing the enemy planes. They both hit, and two enemy fighters pitch down and crash into the channel.
Puck, “High right.”
Tracer flashes by ahead of them. Spike, “Grunt,” then rolls and cranks on the Gs, her wing tip barely missing the waves. She rolls level, “Grunt,” then pulls into a violent climb to engage a F-104. As she turns, a Spitfire stitches it with all eight 50 caliber machine guns, causing the jet to explode.
FELIX 1, 100 MILES SOUTH OF ALCONBURY,
CLIMBING THROUGH 35,000 FEET
Groovy, “Bubba, tell Spike we’re 5 minutes out.”
Lt. JG John ‘Bubba’ McInish, his RIO, “Knight 1 Felix 1, five mikes out.”
Puck, “Groovy, direct to Dover. Hit them on the way out. They’ll be bingo fuel.”
Bubba acknowledges, and Groovy says, “Bubba, she’s one smart cookie. If we force them into afterburner, half of them will never make it. Tell flight one to come abreast.”
Bubba, “Fuck, boss. It ain’t fair. The Knights are getting all the luck.”
“We’ll get a few, Bubba. My guess, half of Spikes squadron will be gone in a month. They’re damn good, especially Spike, but war has an arithmetic about it. I wish her the best and you should, too.”
BEEFEATER 864, APPROACHING STATION ALCONBURY
Lt. JG Pauline ‘Trollop’ Cash is working to keep her F/A-18 in stable flight. She had to pull the fire extinguisher on her number one engine, and the slat on her left extended, forcing her to slow down. Her wingman, Lt. Don ‘Cookie’ Munister, in Beefeater 519, says, “Hey, Trollop, the holes in your left wing and aft fuselage look pretty bad. How’s it flying?”
“It wants to pull left. I can keep straight with rudder as long as it’s under 350 knots.”
“Okay, Trollop, you land first. I’ll follow you down.”
COMBAT, USS HORNE, 25 MILES SOUTHEAST OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT
The CO, Captain Aaron Grey, watches the screens. IFF indicates two enemy fighters approaching, followed by a friendly. He picks up a phone, “XO, can you confirm the hostiles at 040?”
“Yes, sir, two hostiles and a friendly.”
Grey switches to radio, “US aircraft south of Horne, climb now.” When he sees the F-14’s altitude change, he says, “Fire missiles.” Two SM-1 standard missiles shoot off the bow launching rail of the Horne.
KNIGHT 212, 20 MILES SOUTH OF HORNE
Thud zooms clear of the F-4s, “Where is Spike, Speedy?” As they roll back in, they see a F-4 explode. The wingman pulls up into Thud’s sights. A short burst and the Phantom explodes.
Speedy on radio, “Splash one.” To Thud, “I lost her awhile ago. It’s been loco, compadre.”
“Okay, call her.”
“Puck, Speedy, where are you, amigo?”
“We’re over the Isle of Wight chasing Tornados. The fight is scattered.”
The Horne just got our last one. We’re turning north, coming your way.”
Puck, “All Knights close on Portsmouth if able. We are feet dry southwest of Portsmouth.”
COLONEL GETZ’S MiG-29, 8000 FEET OVER THE ISLE OF WIGHT
Getz see F-14s below. He turns and fires two heat-seeking missiles as soon as he has tone. One missile fails to track. One ’14 fires chaff and flares and climbs violently, and the second missile misses. He takes a snap shot at the passing plane as they meet head to head, misses and switches his focus to another. It’s in a high-speed horizontal turn going after a Tornado. He orients, waits until he has tone for several seconds and fires a missile.
KNIGHT 894, 600 FEET OVER THE ISLE OF WIGHT
As she is turning to reacquire the Tornados, GQ shouts, “Incoming! Pull!”
Gloria rolls level and pulls the stick back, adding afterburner, and firing off chaff and flares. “Gs.” A 9 G pull, and the missile explodes behind them. Now, she’s meeting the MiG. She rudders a bit and fires the 20mm cannon. The MiG flashes by, “Gs, rolling over the top.”
KNIGHT 733, 800 FEET AND APPROACHING THE ISLE OF WIGHT
Glow Rod hears the growl of an AIM-9 Sidewinder that has acquired a target. He pushes the button, firing it off, and it tracks into the right tail pipe of a German Tornado. The engine explodes and the plane pitches forward and sideways, spins onto it’s back and explodes on the shore line. The Tornado’s wingman jettisons his bombs and turns south, running from the F-14s.
Buster, “Rod, MiG on our ass. Do something.”
Glow Rod pulls up, firing chaff flares, then inverts as he starts a yoyo. As he turns, he sees a missile coming straight for them. He does the only thing left to do and turns harder, trying to break lock. The missile detonates between the engines near the intakes. The aircraft bucks in the air and a slew of warning lights start flashing. Glow Rod pushes his stick forward to take of the Gs and rolls his aircraft to bring it to level flight, “We’re on fire.”
Buster, “We’re hit. Knight 733 is hit. On fire…”
The MiG comes around and fires a machine gun burst at the doomed ’14. The rounds penetrate the cockpit, killing Glow Rod and Buster as they eject. The plane crashes in a farmer’s field.
KURT WELTER’S MiG-29
The American was stupid. No plane can do what his beautiful jet can at low speeds. If only his wingman could make the same mistake. They make a series of horizontal scissors maneuvers, but so far, the pilot of the F-14 has made no mistakes, and these maneuvers eat up fuel. He calls on the radio, “Schwarzer, Flug, Schwarze Sechs, I am bingo fuel. I return to base, now.”
Getz, “Damn it. Acknowledge, Black 6. Return to base. All aircraft check fuel state.”
KNIGHT 894, 200 FEET OVER THE ISLE OF WIGHT
The battle is scattered all over the place. Hot Pants is still with her wingman, Swede. “Crap, Byron, they have barrage balloons up. They are firing ack-ack. Call them.”
GQ, “Gold Eagle, Knight 894, could you relay to anti-air artillery that they are firing on friendlies?”
“Knight 894, Gold Eagle, roger.”
GQ, “Bre
ak right. Break right.” As they turn, a F-104, crossing above them, fires a burst that hits the side of their craft. Hot Pants pulls into a tight turn and rolls on the afterburners. As she does, the plane pulls violently toward the ground and their right engine explodes. She rolls back power on the left engine and brings the plane to level flight just above the tree tops.
GQ “Hot Pants and GQ hit. We’ve lost an engine. He’s circling around.”
Gandhi, “Brother Swede is on the way. Guns, guns.” The F-104 lights up the sky when it’s hit by Swede’s cannon fire, and the pilot ejects.
Hot Pants starts a slow climb, bringing the left engine slowly up in rpms. They clear the channel between the island and the mainland at about 600 feet. “Fire indicator on our right engine. I’ve pulled the extinguisher. GQ, we may need to find a place to park.”
“Do we need to leave?”
“Not yet. As long as I can control it, I want to save the bird.”
“Sister Gloria, if anyone can do it, you can.” They make it to 1000 feet, when ack-ack starts up again.
GQ, “Fuck me, not again.” A round of ack-ack hits close enough, their left engine flames out.
Hot Pants, “Flame out. No time. We’re going in.”
On radio they hear Gandhi, “Cease fire, cease fire. Friendly fire west of Portsmouth.”
Hot Pants looks out the cockpit, desperately hoping there’s a road that will take their big, heavy aircraft. Then she sees a road ahead and to the left. She banks slightly, drops her landing gear, and screams onto the road. She’s going 125 knots on a gravel road with shrubs whipping against the underside of her wings. She eases the brake, holding the nose up. If the nose wheel goes down too soon, it’s all over. It’ll dig in and flip the bird. All her skill and training are being tested in this moment. “Please, God. Please, God.”
The ’14 is designed for rough landings, but not this. They slow to 75 knots as a tractor comes toward them in a field. The farmer stops and ducks, as a wing passes over his head. Her speed finally drops enough and she gently lets the nose down. The wheel grabs, but doesn’t dig in. She manages to bring it to a stop just as the road starts to bend.