Although still new, the school was rapidly making a real and vitally needed impact upon our Navy fighter community with regard to our tactics, training, and combat results I had just finished my first combat cruise, and was about to embark on my second and the air war over North Vietnam had just reignited in earnest with North Vietnam's Easter Offensive and the North bombing halt rescinded by President Nixon after a long pause. As a result, I got orders to NFWS, Top Gun/TOPGUN.* After our flight, he told the CO that I was the best and most aggressive young fighter pilot he had ever flown against. He held great sway as to who would attend Top Gun. My lead was a very talented and widely respected ACM pilot. Then one day, after a brief close air support mission in South Vietnam and thus having extra fuel to spare, my flight lead and I engaged in some ACM (air combat maneuvering) training before our scheduled recovery to the ship. During my first cruise with VF-151, embarked aboard the USS Midway and flying combat missions in Southeast Asia, another extraordinary and talented pilot had been tentatively identified to represent our fighter squadron at Top Gun, Don Symington. In my entire aviation career, there was never a more intense and challenging, yet thoroughly enjoyable period than the five weeks I was fortunate to spend at the elite, Navy Fighter Weapons School (NFWS) - more commonly known as TOPGUN.īut it was almost not to be. “Fighter pilots have to rove in the area allotted to them in any way they like, and when they spot an enemy they attack and shoot them down – anything else is rubbish.” "Only the spirit of attack, born in a brave heart, will bring success to any fighter aircraft, no matter how highly developed it may be." "Today, the Navy calls it Fighter Weapons School. Were the best fighter pilots in the world." Its purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combatĪnd to insure that the handful of men who graduated
Feedjit Live Blog StatsĪn elite school for the top one percent of its pilots. The ACM 'Bible' by former squadron mate, Bob Shaw. Robert Wilcox' seminal, authoritative, and enjoyable account of the extraordinary and hard-charging junior officers who, against the odds and in short order, established the "Real TOPGUN school." These few icons suddenly changed Naval Air for decades.and saved some lives. He was also my ACM mentor while I was a student in the F-4 RAG. The author, Captain Dan Pedersen was the man in charge of establishing the initial TOPGUN cadre and school.
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