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VA-25's Toilet Bomb
~ OR ~
"What the Hell was on 572s right wing?"
© 22 FEB 2004 Troy Prince | MidwaySailor.com |
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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.
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NE 572 before it became the
"Toilet Bomber" ~ Courtesy
of Bob Sullivan |
Incorrect bomb load, but
shows the toilet & aircraft
markings. |
Close Up ~ Incorrect bomb
load, but shows the toilet. |
CDR Harry E. Ettinger, VA-25 C.O.
& AOE1 Robert E. Nine
USN photo by PH1 Ralph E. Wasmer
from my collection |
Close Up
CDR Harry E. Ettinger, VA-25 C.O.
& AOE1 Robert E. Nine
USN photo by PH1 Ralph E. Wasmer
from my collection |
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U.S. Navy photo courtesy
of Ed Barthelmes |
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U.S. Navy photo courtesy
of Ed Barthelmes |
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U.S. Navy photo courtesy
of Ed Barthelmes |
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Photo courtesy
of Ken Womack
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Photo courtesy
of Ken Womack
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Patch from my collection
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If anyone has more
information, photos, or
videos about
this "special bomb,"
please.....
CONTACT ME |
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VA-25's Toilet Bomb
(Video courtesy of Gary Schreffler from
GRS Videos.)
File Size: 5.0 MB
Duration: 00:19 |
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VA-25's Toilet Bomb
(Video by Russell Falb, via Ken Young, the son of James E.
Young, who was the Plane Captain of NE 572.)
File Size: 4.5 MB
Duration: 01:08 |
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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.
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Note for Modelers: |
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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. |
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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.
U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Ed Barthelmes
Based on drawings provided by Jim Rotramel:
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. |
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"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.) |
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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
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1:72 Hasegawa
A-1H Skyraider with Special Bomb
Kit #BP104 |
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Box Top
(bombs are inaccurate) |
Box Top
(bombs are inaccurate) |
Box Side |
Close Up ~ Incorrect bomb
load, but shows the toilet. |
Instructions |
Instructions |
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Instructions |
Toilet Parts |
Decals |
This item is discontinued by the manufacturer,
but shows up on eBay occasionally. |
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1:48 Hasegawa / Monogram
Douglas A-1H Skyraider (Special Bomb)
Kit #HM7 |
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Box Top
(bombs are inaccurate) |
Box End |
Instructions |
Instructions |
Instructions |
Instructions |
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Toilet Parts |
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. |
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1:72 & 1:48 Brengun
Toilet bomb for Skyraider |
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Package |
Instructions
(Interesting how the photos
in the instructions came
from
MidwaySailor.com) |
Instructions |
All Parts
(the red bomb fin
is not included) |
PE and Resin Toilet |
Resin Toilet |
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Resin Toilet |
Resin Toilet, PE
and Decals
Brengun Photo |
Resin Toilet and PE
Assembled
Brengun Photo |
Decals |
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This item can be ordered from the following: |
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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 |
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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 |
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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.) |
|
Package |
Instructions |
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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 |
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USS Midway 1960's Photo Gallery Index
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