Keith Ferris Originals

Night Intruders

24” x 32” Painted in 1980 EF-10B, B-57, C-130

On April 1, 1965, two 8th Bombardment Squadron B-57s are led into the area of Tchepone by a “Blind Bat” C-130 flare ship for the first night mission into Laos.  A Marine EF-10B Douglas Skynight from VMCJ-1 brings up the rear to jam radar-controlled antiaircraft and to detect missile sites preparing to launch.  Bombing and strafing by the light of parachute flares, the Canberras destroyed one ferry boat with four trucks, damaged one bridge and its approaches, and destroyed approximately twenty buildings by secondary explosions.  They continued northbound to the Mu Gia Pass on the North Vietnam/Laos border.

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This unusual conglomeration of aircraft types was formed in March 1965 at Bien Hoa with the B-57 as a nucleus for night missions, the purpose for which it had been selected fourteen years before.  The Skynight, originally the F3D, a two-seat night fighter that destroyed more enemy aircraft over Korea than any other Navy or Marine type, was even older than the B-57.  As the EF-10, it was the first tactical jet aircraft employed in the electronic warfare role, playing an important role in the Cuban missile crisis as well as in Southeast Asia.  The primary mission of the group was to destroy truck convoys as they drove down the Ho Chi Minh Trail that fed the enemy to the south.  The Canberra’s long Loiter time, superb visibility, and large bomb load made it ideal for the job.

Published: Keith Ferris Military Aviation Calendar published by Air Force Association in 1981.

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