{"id":4717,"date":"2020-03-10T22:04:15","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T03:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/?p=4717"},"modified":"2020-03-10T22:04:22","modified_gmt":"2020-03-11T03:04:22","slug":"bob-pardo-and-the-pardo-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/bob-pardo-and-the-pardo-push\/","title":{"rendered":"Bob Pardo and the Pardo Push"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fifty three years ago today, Bob Pardo earned his place\namong the pantheon of aviation legends.  I\nlove heroism, courage and ingenuity — all wrapped into one.  Bob Pardo exhibited all three that day.  This is his story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Pardo (L) Wayne (R)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom<\/a> was the backbone of the Air Force inventory in Vietnam.\u00a0 Pardo and his backseater, Steve Wayne, took off from Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand on March 10, 1967.\u00a0 Their assignment was to bomb the steel mill just north of Hanoi Vietnam.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
F-4s out of Ubon<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It was a clear, sunny day.\u00a0 While executing the bombing run they took on heavy anti-aircraft fire.\u00a0 Pardo\u2019s wingman, Earl Aman took even heavier damage.\u00a0 After completing their bombing run they turned towards Laos where they were scheduled to hit the refueling tanker, The Mighty KC-135, in order to have enough fuel to return to Ubon.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aman correctly determined that his fuel tank had been hit and he was leaking fuel.  It was impossible to get back to the KC-135.  Pardo learned of the situation and lived true to the mantra, \u201cNever abandon your wingman\u201d.  Pardo did not want Aman and his backseater to bail out over North Vietnam, where capture and years of torture at the \u201cHanoi Hilton\u201d POW camp almost certainly awaited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Pardo decided to try and push Aman\u2019s plane back to\nLaos.  He initially tried flying right\nbehind Aman and pushing on the drag chute compartment, but this procedure\nfailed.  The F-4 had been fitted with a tail\nhook for naval duty.  Pardo directed Aman\nto lower his tail hook.  Pardo then flew\nhis F-4 so that his windscreen was touching the tail hook.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aman shut down his engines and Pardo commenced \u201ca push\u201d that\nlasted over 80 miles.  Pardo had to\nreposition several times as the tail hook slipped off of the windscreen.  To add insult to injury, Pardo got an engine\nfire and had to shut down one of this two engines while still pushing Aman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Rescue Helicopter<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mercifully, they reached Laotian airspace and bailed out of\ntheir aircraft.  All four crewmembers evaded\nenemy capture and were thereafter picked up by friendly search and rescue.  For his gallantry, Bob Pardo (and his\nbackseater Steve Wayne) were awarded the Silver Star.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you would really like a treat, watch these interviews with Pardo.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The F-4<\/a> Interview ~ 25 years later<\/a> Interview ~ 50 years later<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sliver Star<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fifty three years ago today, Bob Pardo earned his place among the pantheon of aviation legends.  I love heroism, courage and ingenuity — all wrapped into one.  Bob Pardo exhibited all three that day.  This is his story. The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom was the backbone of the Air Force inventory in Vietnam.\u00a0 Pardo and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":338,"featured_media":4714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[39],"tags":[1132,404,142,1133,1136,1134,1135,405],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBob Pardo and the Pardo Push - Doctor Aviation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Fifty three years ago today, Bob Pardo earned his place among aviation legends. 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