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Center: Maj. Kirk celebrating Col. Olds’ last flight in September 1967.
The Holy Grail of the Vietnam War Air Force collection: an IDed HGU-2A/P that belonged to a double MiG killer! The helmet is as found, a bit damaged but an historical items should stay as it is.
Although I received it last summer, I have been waiting until today to post it since TODAY is the 50th anniversary of the 2nd kill. The man, a close friend to Col. Robin Olds, had sent a premonitory telegram when Olds bagged his first MiG: “OK, you’ve got yours, now save one for me!”
Here is the story:
On 24 October 1967, then Maj. William L. Kirk, an A/C of the legendary 433rd TFS took off from Ubon RTAFB, with 1Lt. Theodore R. Bongartz, in the back seat. The crew was part of a coordinated Air Force and Navy strikes force against Phuc Yen MiG airfield. Kirk and Bongartz were flying combat air patrol (MIG-CAP) for strike fighter pilots. The airfield was located 18 miles northwest of Haiphong at coordinates 21-13-15N and 105-48-32E in RP-6A, North Vietnam.
F-105s from the 388th TFW from Korat and the 355th TFW from Takhli struck Phuc Yen for the first time. The F-4 crews from the 8th TFW were the second wave of USAF fighters to hit the airfield. A total of 64 sorties were launched against the airfield.
“It was absolutely great!” said a smiling, elated Maj. Kirk, as he described his MiG-21 kill. Flying MIG-CAP for strike fighter pilots, Kirk caught an enemy aircraft as it attacked a bomb-laden F-105. “They came at us from behind and I turned my flight around and had a good old knock-down, drag-out rat-race with him for almost 10 minutes. I ran him down and got him with the gun,” said the veteran of more than 30 missions into the heavily-defended Hanoi area.
Kirk's weapon was the 20-mm cannon, a pod-mounted Gatling gun, which hangs under the belly of the F-4. “This kill wasn't quite the same as my first one last May 13,” said Kirk. “That one was a MiG-17 and there was only one pass. I got him with my air-to-air missile. This time it was a good, old-fashioned dog-fight and we fought him for a long time.”
1Lt Theodore R. Bongartz added: “It was my 91st mission, I've been waiting since my first flight to get a MiG and it was quite a thrill. After we shot him down, we made a pass around him and saw the MiG pilot under the canopy of his parachute. We waggled our wings at him and came on home.”
All bombs were reported on target and the mission highly successful as they rendered the sprawling MiG interceptor base unserviceable. Post-strike photos showed that 5 MiG-21s and 5 MiG-17s parked in Area H were either damaged or destroyed, and that two MiG-17s in Area G were destroyed.
Shadows of the star and airframe of the first kill of 13 May 1967 can be seen under the paint. Under the command of Col. Olds each pilot claiming a MiG had his helmet modified with the addition of the red star and the feature of the aircraft shot.
General Kirk was born in 1932, in Rayville, La. He graduated from Rayville High School in 1950 and attended Northeast Louisiana State College. The general completed Squadron Officer School in 1962 and the Air War College in 1971.
He enlisted in the Air Force in 1951 and became an aviation cadet in February 1953. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and awarded his pilot's wings in April 1954.
After completing pilot training at Kinston Air Base, N.C., as well as Bryan and Perrin Air Force bases, Texas, General Kirk attended tactical reconnaissance phase training at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. In October 1954 the general was assigned as a pilot with the 17th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Shaw. From March 1955 to June 1957 he served as a pilot with the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Komaki and Yokota air bases in Japan. He became a flight commander with the 6021st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Johnson Air Base, Japan, in June 1957.
General Kirk returned to the United States in November 1957 and again was assigned to the 17th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. From September 1960 to June 1964 he served, first, as pilot, then as assistant flight commander, and finally as flight commander with the 92nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Royal Air Force Station Bentwaters, England. The general then transferred to the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., where he served successively as air operations officer, command post controller, instructor pilot, and chief of standardization and evaluation for Tactical Air Command's first F-4 replacement training unit. He is the one who checked out Col. Robin Olds in the F-4 Phantom before Olds was sent to Ubon.
In June 1966 he completed the F-4 fighter weapons instructor course at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and was assigned to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing Wolf Pack at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, in March 1967. He destroyed two North Vietnamese MiGs during his 130 F-4 Phantom II missions with the Wolf Pack. Upon his return to the United States in January 1968, he was assigned as a squadron operations officer at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. He assumed command of the 4538th Fighter Weapons Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base in January 1969.
After completing the Air War College in June 1971, General Kirk was assigned as chief of the Tactics Branch and, later, as deputy chief of the Tactical Division, Directorate of Operations, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. Although assigned at the Pentagon, he spent much of this tour of duty in Thailand. In July 1973 he became deputy commander for operations, 4th Tactical Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. From January 1974 to January 1976 General Kirk was assigned to Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., first as vice commander, and later as commander, of the 49th Tactical Fighter Wing.
He then served as deputy chief of staff for operations, Headquarters 9th Air Force, at Shaw Air Force Base. From November 1977 to June 1979 he was assigned as assistant deputy chief of staff, operations and readiness, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.
He then became the command's inspector general. In July 1980 General Kirk returned to Air Force headquarters as director of electronic combat, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations. He was assigned as deputy chief of staff for operations at Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein Air Base, in July 1982. He became commander of 9th Air Force in July 1985. He retired in 1989.
General Kirk was a command pilot with more than 6,000 flying hours in jet fighter aircraft. His military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with four oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with 11 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with three oak leaf clusters, Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, Combat Readiness Medal, Air Force Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with two service stars, Air Force Overseas Ribbon-Short, Air Force Overseas Ribbon-Long with three oak leaf clusters, Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon with six oak leaf clusters, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, Air Force Training Ribbon and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
He was promoted to general 1 May 1987, with same date of rank.
He passed away on April 26, this year.
Sources :
http://34tfsthuds.us/resources/Pictures/L---M/Mays_Kenneth_W.pdf
Aces & Aerial Victories Office of the Air Force History HQ, 1976.
http://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/106534/general-william-l-kirk/
Fighter Pilot – The memoirs of legendary Ace Robin Olds, 2010.