Death Angel Crusader aircraft carried two 2,000 pound bombs-one on each of the two wing stations. The squadron ordnance personnel loved the big bombs because they were so easy to handle and load on the F-8s. A simple, relatively cheap, forklift handled the bombs quickly and safely.

One worry with the chemical fuse was the possibility that the jolt of the powerful thrust increase of the J-57 afterburner ignition would activate the chemical fuse and could detonate the bomb before the bomb impacted the ground. This was not just a theory. I was orbiting with a flight of two F-8’s overhead the Brasserie just north of Cambodian border waiting to drop our load of four D6C’s on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Norm Marshall was leading the section on target and called off on his bomb run. I watched his bomb flight for contact with the road but noticed the bomb detonate in a fireball about 2000 ft above the target. Since the bomb was dropped from about 6000 ft., there was safe separation between the F-8 and the explosion. Premature detonation became a cause for concern by all pilots scheduled to drop the Chemical Bombs. However, no Death Angel pilots ever said they wanted to skip the Delta Six Charlies.

A particularly dangerous situation occurred when the Death Angel operations office received notification that Sabu Sabia was inbound in a crusader with a hung D6C. We knew that the fuse could have been activated and we were time limited for safely disposing of the huge bomb. An F-8 was parked at the end of the duty runway ready for the dangerous bomb to be loaded on the right wing station. Finding a pilot willing to risk his life to fly the standby Crusader out to the South China Sea and jettison the 2000 lb bomb was another issue. Assigning a pilot to fly the potentially deadly mission was a tough call.

Norm Marshall, the Animal, had a reputation for stepping up for risky assignments. Without hesitation Norm volunteered for the hairy flight. He strapped in, started the engine, and performed all takeoff checks. Minutes later Sabu landed the F-8 with the hung bomb and taxied up beside Norm’s plane. The duty bound ordnance crew quickly downloaded the D6C and attached it to the right wing of Norm’s crusader. Within seconds Norm was rolling down the Da Nang south runway on takeoff. He climbed out at maximum rate and headed for the Tonkin Gulf. We all breathed a sigh of relief as he crossed the beach southeast of Da Nang but kept our fingers crossed for the safety of Norm. A few minutes later, Norm called that the bomb was jettisoned safely and had detonated upon impacting the water. Norm was met upon his return by most of the squadron and treated like the hero he was.  OoooRaahhh!

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Mofak

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