Forum: Air Power

Some poor ground troop probably was sent to the psycho ward because he swore he saw a toilet dropped during a bomb run.



For those too young to remember, during Viet Nam conflict, carriers were SO woefully short of ordnance that missions were often launched with only a half load just to keep the sortie rate up so that the REMF's in DC would not send out blistering messages about failure to support the war effort, etc. Given that the loss rate approached, and sometime exceeded, one aircraft a day, all will understand that there was a degree of reticence to launch with less than a full load -- if I must dance with the elephant, at least let's make it worthwhile. Nevertheless, the indomitable spirit of the carrier aviators and their squadron-mates prevailed in some rather perverse ways (see below).

I have every hope that today's successors to the mantle left at the Cubi "O" Club bar persevere, as well. Kick the tires, light the fires, bolt for the blue and brief on guard -- last one up is lead.


Yes, this really happened

Once again, history is stranger then fiction, and a lot funnier:

USS Midway VA-25's Toilet Bomb.

In October 1965, CDR Clarence J. Stoddard, Executive Officer of VA-25 "Fist of the Fleet", flying an A-1H Skyraider, NE/572 "Paper Tiger II" from Carrier Air Wing Two aboard USS Midway carried a special bomb to the North Vietnamese in commemoration of the 6-millionth pound of ordnance dropped. This bomb was unique because of the type... it was a toilet!

The following is an account of this event, courtesy of Clint Johnson, Captain, USNR Ret. Captain Johnson was one of the two VA-25 A-1 Skyraider pilots credited with shooting down a MiG-17 on June 20, 1965.

"I was a pilot in VA-25 on the 1965 Vietnam cruise.

572 was flown by CDR C. W. "Bill" Stoddard. His wingman in 577 (which was my assigned airplane) was LCDR Robin Bacon, who had a wing station mounted movie camera (the only one remaining in the fleet from WWII).

The flight was a Dixie Station strike (South Vietnam) going to the Delta. When they arrived in the target area and CDR Stoddard was reading the ordnance list to the FAC, he ended with "and one code name Sani-flush".

The FAC couldn't believe it and joined up to see it. It was dropped in a dive with LCDR Bacon flying tight wing position to film the drop. When it came off, it turned hole to the wind and almost struck his airplane.

It made a great ready room movie. The FAC said that it whistled all the way down.

The toilet was a damaged toilet, which was going to be thrown overboard.

One of our plane captains rescued it, and the ordnance crew made a rack, tailfins and nose fuse for it. Our checkers maintained a position to block the view of the air boss and the Captain while the aircraft was taxiing forward.

Just as it was being shot off, we got a 1MC message from the bridge, "What the hell was on 572's right wing?" There were a lot of jokes with air intelligence about germ warfare. I wish that we had saved the movie film."

Well, at least it wasn't 'loaded'.

One time I saw a pic of a bomb that was jokingly loaded onto the wing of an F-106 at Osan. That was pretty funny too, but this one tops the Six.

I hope the Spad driver actually punched it off on something he could hit with it!

wanna drop my toilet on china?

Generalissimo Kai-shek? Chiang, is that you?

Dude, you really oughta put down the "nuke china" centerfold that you've been spankin' it to the past couple of days.

I've been waiting a LONG time to use this one.

If you miss your target, there's gonna be a lot of people in deep $hit.

The DOD has been flushing a lot of money down the toilet on this project.

Ok, ok! I'll stop before my credibility goes in the $hitter.

Ok, no, now that was it. I'm serious...or am I really just $hitting you?