USS Midway

 

VA-25's Toilet Bomb

~ OR ~

"What the Hell was on 572s right wing?"

 

© 22 FEB 2004 Troy Prince | MidwaySailor.com

 

USS Midway

 

 

 

On November 04, 1965, CDR Clarence W. Stoddard, Jr.,  Executive Officer of VA-25 "Fist of the Fleet", flying A-1H Skyraider Bu. No. 135297, NE/572, 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!

Also unique to this mission is the fact this aircraft was named "Paper Tiger II" (a temporary name used for just this one flight).

 

 

Please click a thumbnail to view the larger image.
Images will open in a new window.

 

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

NE 572 before it became the

"Toilet Bomber" ~ Courtesy

of Bob Sullivan

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Incorrect bomb load, but

shows the toilet & aircraft

markings.

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Close Up ~ Incorrect bomb

load, but shows the toilet.

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

CDR Harry E. Ettinger, VA-25 C.O.

& AOE1 Robert E. Nine

USN photo by PH1 Ralph E. Wasmer

from my collection

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Close Up

CDR Harry E. Ettinger, VA-25 C.O.

& AOE1 Robert E. Nine

USN photo by PH1 Ralph E. Wasmer

from my collection

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

U.S. Navy photo courtesy

of Ed Barthelmes

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

U.S. Navy photo courtesy

of Ed Barthelmes

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

U.S. Navy photo courtesy

of Ed Barthelmes

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Photo courtesy

of Ken Womack

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Photo courtesy

of Ken Womack

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Patch from my collection

 

 

If anyone has more information, photos, or videos about this "special bomb," please..... CONTACT ME

 

 

 

 

 

VA-25's Toilet Bomb Video #01

 

(Video courtesy of Gary Schreffler from GRS Videos.)

UPDATED!

 

 

 

(Please give the video link time to load)

 

 

 

 

VA-25's Toilet Bomb Video #02

 

 (Video by Russell Falb, via Ken Young, the son of James E. Young, who was the Plane Captain of NE 572.)

UPDATED!

 

 

 

(Please give the video link time to load)

 

 

 

 

 

VA-25's Toilet Bomb Video #03

 

(Footage of the toilet being dropped ~ Original source unknown, courtesy of Michael Fuller.)

NEW!

  

 

(Please give the video link time to load)

 

 

 

 


 

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. CDR Stoddard was later killed while flying 572 in Oct 1966. He was hit by three SAMs over Vinh.----

 


 

The following is information about how CDR Stoddard was shot down in 1966 and is taken from a memorial in Atlanta, Georgia. This information is courtesy of Lt Christopher Stoddard, USMC, the grandson of CDR Stoddard.

 

---On 14 September 1966, while Commanding Officer of Attack Squadron 25 (VA25) embarked in the USS Coral Sea (CVA 43), CDR Stoddard was leading a two-plane bombing mission over North Vietnam searching for enemy truck convoys. Near the village of Nghi Thiet, his radar detection system warned him of enemy missile activity. Taking evasive action, he withdrew over the Gulf of Tonkin before his aircraft, a single engine, propeller driven, A-1 Skyraider, was struck by enemy surface-to-air missiles. CDR Stoddard was initially listed as Missing In Action. His status was changed in 1973 to Killed In Action.

 


 

 

 

Note for Modelers:

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

 

All photos previously published about this event show only three bombs and the toilet on the aircraft's

right (starboard) wing due to the angles from which the photos were taken.

 

In this screenshot from the first video, there are actually four bombs and the toilet. Although photos or

videos haven't surfaced showing the left (port) wing, it would be safe to say that the bomb load was

identical, minus the toilet, of course. 

 

 

April 10, 2013 Update: The bombs carried on this mission are finally identified!

 

Tommy H. Thomason, author and owner / operator of the Tailhook Topics blog has worked with Jim

Rotramel and identified the weapons carried on this mission.

 

The following is an excerpt from Tailhook Topics: Things Under Wings: VA-25 A-1 Skyraider Toilet Bomber

and used with permission:


I was recently asked to identify one of the bombs carried on the mission that cannot be seen in the picture

taken from the side. I naturally turned to my go-to guy for things under wings, Jim Rotramel. He recognized

it at a glance, of course, as a 250-lb AN-M57A1. He also reported that the generally accepted identification

of the other stores is incorrect. The two big bombs on the outboard pylons are not M117s but the similar

looking, smaller, and somewhat lighter 500-lb AN-M64A1 with a conical tail. The store on the main wing pylon

is generally identified as a cluster bomb dispenser, specifically an SUU-30 of some sort; Jim was sure that it

wasn't but couldn't identify what it really was.

I looked more closely at the pictures available and did some analysis using Illustrator and the excellent

drawings of the stores that Jim provided and finally came to the conclusion that it was actually another

AN-M64A1 with the shape of the afterbody obscured by the red edge on the lower side of the inboard

main landing gear door. No wonder Jim couldn't match it up with any CBU that he was aware of.

 

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

 

 

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Ed Barthelmes

 

 

Based on drawings provided by Jim Rotramel:

 

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

 

Note that the bombs in the illustration above have the fins in the + orientation;

the tail cones of the bombs on the airplane have been rotated to the x position.

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

"We dropped everything on them but a kitchen sink."

 

AD-4 Skyraider of attack squadron VA-195 Dambusters with special

ordnance aboard the aircraft carrier USS Princeton, CVA-37 in August 1952.

 

(Although this did not take place aboard USS Midway, I have included it here just to show it was done too.)

VA-195 Sink Bomb

VA-195 Sink Bomb

VA-195 Sink Bomb

 

VA-195 Dambusters was assigned to Carrier Air Group 19 (CVG-19) for a deployment to the Korean War from

21 March to 03 November 1952. The "special weapon" was a 454 kg (1000 lb) bomb with a kitchen sink attached.

The idea came up, when the squadron's executive officer LCDR M.K. Dennis remarked during a meeting

with the press: "We dropped everything on them (the North Koreans) but a kitchen sink." Royal J. Deland, ADC,

and J. Burnett, ADC, then produced a bomb with a kitchen sink attached. The commanding Admiral was not

pleased by this and would not allow to drop the bomb for a week. However, press coverage in the United

States obviously led to the dropping of this bomb in August 1952 on Pyongyang by Lt.(jg) Carl B. Austin.

 

 

 

 


 

 

Available Models & Accessories

 

 

1:72 Hasegawa

A-1H Skyraider with Special Bomb

Kit #BP104

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Box Top

(bombs are inaccurate)

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Box Top

(bombs are inaccurate)

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Box Side

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Close Up ~ Incorrect bomb

load, but shows the toilet.

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Instructions

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Instructions

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Instructions

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Toilet Parts

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Decals

This item is discontinued by the manufacturer,

but shows up on eBay occasionally.

 

 

 

1:48 Hasegawa / Monogram

Douglas A-1H Skyraider (Special Bomb)

Kit #HM7

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Box Top

(bombs are inaccurate)

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Box End

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Instructions

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Instructions

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Instructions

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Instructions

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Toilet Parts

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Decals

This item is discontinued by the manufacturer,

but shows up on eBay occasionally.

 

While this model is good enough to use, even with

its raised panel lines, Tamiya's A-1H Skyraider

would be much more accurate and detailed.

 

 

 

1:72 & 1:48 Brengun

Toilet bomb for Skyraider

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Package

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Instructions

(Interesting how the photos

in the instructions came

from MidwaySailor.com)

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Instructions

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

All Parts

(the red bomb fin

is not included)

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

PE and Resin Toilet

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Resin Toilet

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Resin Toilet

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Resin Toilet, PE

and Decals

Brengun Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Resin Toilet and PE

Assembled

Brengun Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Decals

 

 

This item can be ordered from the following:

 

Brengun 1:72

 Toilet bomb for Skyraider (1:72 scale)
Conversion set with PE, decals & resin parts
Catalog number: BRL72046
Price: €10.62 (incl. VAT)

Hannants 1:72

 Toilet bomb for Skyraider (1:72 scale)
Conversion set with PE, decals & resin parts
Code Number: BRL72046
Price: £9.10

Brengun 1:48

Toilet bomb for Skyraider (1:48 scale)
Conversion set with PE, decals & resin parts
Catalog number: BRL48040
Price: €10.62 (incl. VAT)
 

Hannants 1:48

 Toilet bomb for Skyraider (1:48 scale)
Conversion set with PE, decals & resin parts
Code Number: BRL48040
Price: £9.10

Brengun 1:32

Toilet bomb for Skyraider (1:48 scale)
Conversion set with PE, decals & resin parts
Catalog number: BRL32012
Price:
€10.62 (incl. VAT) 

Hannants 1:32

 Toilet bomb for Skyraider (1:48 scale)
Conversion set with PE, decals & resin parts
Code Number: BRL32012
Price: £9.10

 

 

 

1:72 & 1:48 Attack Squadron

USN Douglas 300 Gal Fuel Tanks (set of 3)

(This set contains the correct uncapped / tailless centerline fuel tank.)

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Package

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Instructions

 

This item can be ordered from the following:

 

Arma Hobby 1:72

USN Douglas 300 Gal Fuel Tanks for 1:72 scale aircraft models

Set of three resin fuel tanks for U.S. Navy & U.S. Marine Corps aircraft 1:72 scale. Each fuel tank can be

assembled with different tail arrangement: with stabilizers, with round end plug or without end plug.
Code: ASQ72014
Price: €10.00

Arma Hobby 1:48

USN Douglas 300 Gal Fuel Tanks for 1:48 scale aircraft models
 

Set of three resin fuel tanks for U.S. Navy & U.S. Marine Corps aircraft 1:72 scale. Each fuel tank can be

assembled with different tail arrangement: with stabilizers, with round end plug or without end plug.
Code: ASQ48002
Price: €15.00

 

 

 

1:72 Diecast Model

Hobby Master 1:72 Air Power Series
HA2907
A-1H Skyraider VA-25, USS Midway Oct 1965 "Paper Tiger II"

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Hobby Master Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Hobby Master Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Hobby Master Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Hobby Master Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Hobby Master Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Hobby Master Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Hobby Master Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Hobby Master Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

Hobby Master Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

The Flying Mule Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

The Flying Mule Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

The Flying Mule Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

The Flying Mule Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

The Flying Mule Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

The Flying Mule Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

The Flying Mule Photo

VA-25 Toilet Bomb

The Flying Mule Photo

Once again,

the bombs are

inaccurate.

 

This item is discontinued by the manufacturer, but can be found on eBay and other shops online.

 

 

 

 

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