Pardo's Push

A place for ACers to come and hang out after a hard day of escape-and-evade or survival training.

Moderator: Vincent

Post Reply
User avatar
Spanky
Counselor
Counselor
Posts: 577
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2003 12:26 pm
Location: Check Six!!
Contact:

Pardo's Push

Post by Spanky »

This is a true story and just goes to show what a pilot will do to make it work.....

It was March 10, 1967, in enemy skies over Hanoi. The last of 44 F-4 aircraft were just coming off a bombing raid into North Vietnam when Capt. Bob Pardo and his wingman Capt. Earl Aman were both hit by enemy fire. Aman's aircraft was the worse off. Hit by two damaging blows to the fuel tank, he suddenly was down to 2,000 pounds of fuel instead of the 7,000 pounds he needed to safely return to the refueling tanker.

Pardo knew he had to do something quickly if Aman was going to make it out. First, he tried to use Aman's drag chute to help the wounded Phantom. With the drag chute extended, Pardo tried to maneuver behind Aman's aircraft so he could use the drag chute compartment to push the aircraft toward the tanker. No good. Turbulence was too great.

Pardo decided to try to use the tailhook on Aman's aircraft. He moved in under Aman's aircraft and got the tailhook against the windscreen of his F-4 Phantom. Success. By this time, Aman's aircraft was so low on fuel that Pardo told him to shut down the engines. Pardo's push was working, but the two aircraft had to stay directly in line with one another. Pardo would push for 15 to 20 seconds, lose the necessary balance and slide off to the side. Then he'd have to reposition and push again. By now the pressure of Aman's F-4 aircraft was cracking the windscreen of Pardo's fighter. As the spider web of cracks grew, Pardo became increasingly concerned. He moved the hook down the windscreen into a small metal area below. The hook stayed put, and the push continued. To keep his own damaged Phantom flying, Pardo shut down one engine for the last 10 minutes of the flight.

After pushing Aman's aircraft almost 88 miles, the two damaged Phantoms reached friendly air space. At 6,000 feet, with practically no fuel left, the two pilots and their weapons systems officers parachuted to safety.

"That was one hell of an airplane," retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Bob Pardo recalled later. "For one aircraft to get two airplanes that far out of Vietnam speaks very well of the people who put it together."
"We only have a short time to live, so it is essential to do things that are worthwhile and to do them now."Lord Baden-Powell

U.S Space Camp - 1982-1988
Aviation Challenge Staff /Program Manager - 1996-2004
Knight 3, Commander 77th TFS 1999-2004
Sandrat
Counselor
Counselor
Posts: 588
Joined: Thu Oct 23, 2003 5:58 pm
Location: Defending the frontier, pilgrim

Post by Sandrat »

Wow - even I didn't know the whole story. I just thought it was a cheesy reference to a JAG episode.

Spanky = Harmon Rabb :D
"You made a fool out of young lieutenants. That's not against Army regulations."

CPT Nathan C. Brittles
US Cavalry
User avatar
spacy chick
Camper
Camper
Posts: 169
Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 9:51 pm
Location: Huntsville Al

Post by spacy chick »

I don't care how much my dad (in the army) tore up that show, i loved JAG...especially Rabb :D
~Siobhan
Space Camp 2000 - Cygnus- wk 38
Space Academy 2001 - IO- wk 36
Space Academy 2002 - Galileo- wk 38
Adv. Space Academy 2003 - Von Braun- 36
Adv. Space Academy 2004 - Von Braun- 37
User avatar
Rogue Leader
Junior Camper
Junior Camper
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon May 15, 2006 3:52 pm

that story

Post by Rogue Leader »

WOW-thats all I can say- WOW
Rogues, Take'em Out
F-22s Rule!
b52murph
Camper
Camper
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2007 2:36 am
Location: Kirtland AFB, NM

Post by b52murph »

Here's a (somewhat funny) story concerning Lt Col Pardo.

In the late '90s, he was invited to our Air Force Association annual banquet @ Minot. Being the good lieutenant I used to be, I always took my wife along for military functions. Now, by this time, she was already getting tired of formal AF functions with guest speakers, protocol, and the like, but like a trooper, she came anyway.

Well...right before the banquet started, she stepped out the side door for a smoke--and I went with her. There were only a few people outside, but she (always being an outgoing lady) struck up a converstaion. Some of the comments were: "Why are the guest speakers at these things always SO boring?" and "I sure hope the guest speaker isn't late and doesn't make us wait."

Right before we walked inside, we asked who a few of the other people were...and the inevitable jaw drop when one of the people responded "I'm Bob Pardo....your guest speaker for this evening."

I don't think she's ever been quite that embarassed again. :-)
Jordan "b52murph" Murphy
Camp I, April 1986; Camp, April 1987
Academy I, April 1988; Academy I, April 1989
Academy II, Feb 1990; Aviation Challenge, Jun 1990
Post Reply