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Posted on 01/07/2004 12:00:20 AM PST by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.
Where the Freeper Foxhole introduces a different veteran each Wednesday. The "ordinary" Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine who participated in the events in our Country's history. We hope to present events as seen through their eyes. To give you a glimpse into the life of those who sacrificed for all of us - Our Veterans.
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A1C John Levitow had only seconds to save the lives of eight crewmen aboard the battle-damaged gunship.  Airman First Class John L. Levitow On operational missions, Loadmaster Levitow was responsible, among other duties, for setting the ejection and ignition controls of the Mark-24 magnesium flares carried by USAF gunships in Southeast Asia. The flares provided illumination for troops on the ground, for the gunship's pilot to aim his three side-firing 7.62-mm Miniguns, and for fighters that might be called in to help suppress enemy fire. Once the controls were set, the Mark-24, packed in a three-foot long metal tube weighing about 27 pounds, was passed to a gunner who triggered the arming mechanism and who tossed the tube out the plane's cargo door. Ten seconds after release, an explosive charge opened the flare's parachute, and in another 10 seconds the magnesium ignited, generating a light of 2,000,000 candlepower. At 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the flare could burn through metal. The Mark-24 was not to be treated casually. Improperly handled, it could be painfully lethal.  The AC-47, Spooky 71, that John L. Levitow saved from disaster On that February night, Spooky 71 had been in the air for four and a half hours when Maj. Kenneth Carpenter, the aircraft commander, was directed to an area south of the Army base where enemy mortars were laying down a heavy barrage. As the plane arrived at its target area, Levitow handed a flare to Amn. Ellis Owen, whose finger was through the safety pin ring preparatory to tossing the flare through the door at Carpenter's command. Suddenly Spooky 71 was rocked by a tremendous blast. An 82-mm mortar shell had exploded inside the gunship's right wing, showering the cargo compartment with shrapnel. All five crew members in the rear of the plane were hurled to the floor, bleeding from shrapnel wounds. Spooky 71 fell into a steep, descending turn to the right, momentarily out of control. The flare, torn from Owen's hands by the blast, rolled around the aircraft floor fully armed amidst several thousand rounds of live ammunition for the Miniguns.  Through a haze of pain and shock, Levitow, with 40 shrapnel wounds in his legs, side, and back, saw one of the crew lying perilously close to the open cargo door. As he dragged the wounded man to safety, Levitow spied the armed, smoking flare rolling erratically around the cargo compartment. How long had it been since the safety pin was pulled inadvertently--five seconds? Fifteen seconds? Levitow had no way of knowing. He did know that the timing mechanism could have been damaged, which might result in premature ignition. In a matter of seconds the flare would ignite, its intense heat turning the stricken gunship into an inferno. Navigator William Platt later said the plane was "lit up like daylight."  Sgt. Edward Fuzie, wounded in the blast, watched three men be knocked over by the impact, one covered with blood. Levitow, who mistakenly believed that the AC-47's machine gun had exploded was hit by shrapnel that "felt like a two-by-four." He knew something traumatic had severely damaged the plane but was unsure what.  Carpenter learned over the intercom that everyone in the back of Spooky 71 was wounded and that there was a new mortal danger — a loose, burning Mark 24 magnesium flare had been knocked free in the fuselage and was rolling amid ammunition cans, which contained 19,000 rounds of live ammo. In less than 20 seconds the AC-47 would become a blazing torch. Levitow had no way to know how many seconds remained on the flare's fuse. Weak from the loss of blood and numb from 40 wounds on his right side, Levitow realized that he was closest to the flare. With others seriously wounded, there was no way the crew could bail out.  Weakened from loss of blood and partially paralyzed by his wounds, Levitow tried vainly to pick up the flare as it skidded around the floor. Seconds ticked by. Finally, in desperation, he threw himself on the flare, dragged it to the open door, a trail of blood marking his path, and pushed it out just as it ignited in a white-hot blaze. Levitow then lapsed into unconsciousness. As recounted in the Air Force's official history, Carpenter remembered, "The aircraft [was] in a 30-degree bank and how Levitow ever managed to get to the flare and throw it out, I'll never know."  Carpenter managed to regain control of the gunship, its wings and fuselage riddled by 3,500 shrapnel holes, one of them three feet in diameter. Ambulances and a medical evacuation helicopter were waiting on the flight line at Bien Hoa, Spooky 71's home base, when the battered plane landed with its five injured crewmen--two of them, including John Levitow, seriously wounded. Levitow was flown to a hospital in Japan. After he recovered, he flew 20 more combat missions before returning to the States to complete his enlistment as a C-141 loadmaster at Norton AFB, Calif. On Armed Forces Day, May 14, 1970, President Nixon presented the Medal of Honor to Levitow in a ceremony at the White House. The young airman's heroism in the night sky over Vietnam had added another chapter to the saga of valor that is a vital element of the Air Force heritage.  Airman First Class John L. Levitow's Medal of Honor Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Levitiow (then A1C), U.S. Air Force, distinguished himself by exceptional heroism while assigned as a loadmaster aboard an AC-47 aircraft flying a night mission in support of Long Binh Army Post. Sgt. Levitow's aircraft was struck by a hostile mortar round. The resulting explosion ripped a hole 2 feet in diameter through the wing and fragments made over 3,500 holes in the fuselage. All occupants of the cargo compartment were wounded and helplessly slammed against the floor and fuselage. The explosion tore an activated flare from the grasp of a crewmember who had been launching flares to provide illumination for Army ground troops engaged in combat. Sgt. Levitow, though stunned by the concussion of the blast and suffering from over 40 fragment wounds in the back and legs, staggered to his feet and turned to assist the man nearest to him who had been knocked down and was bleeding heavily. As he was moving his wounded comrade forward and away from the opened cargo compartment door, he saw the smoking flare ahead of him in the aisle. Realizing the danger involved and completely disregarding his own wounds, Sgt. Levitow started toward the burning flare. The aircraft was partially out of control and the flare was rolling wildly from side to side. Sgt. Levitow struggled forward despite the loss of blood from his many wounds and the partial loss of feeling in his right leg. Unable to grasp the rolling flare with his hands, he threw himself bodily upon the burning flare. Hugging the deadly device to his body, he dragged himself back to the rear of the aircraft and hurled the flare through the open cargo door. At that instant the flare separated and ignited in the air, but clear of the aircraft. Sgt. Levitow, by his selfless and heroic actions, saved the aircraft and its entire crew from certain death and destruction. Sgt. Levitow's gallantry, his profound concern for his fellowmen, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the US Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
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Time delay photo of a night time fire mission of a Puff (The Magic Dragon) around Saigon.
The red lines are tracer rounds and there are 5 bullets between each tracer round.
Another view of a mini-gun firing from the door way of a "Spooky" AC-47.
This is a time exposure of the plane making two circles and firing its mini guns and dropping flares.
I took this pic from the MACV team 21 compound.
Aero Heritage Museum of Burleson TX has restored the world's most famous AC-47/DC-3
from the famed Spooky Squadron that veterans affectionately call "Puff" the Magic Dragon.
Neighbors' stereo too loud? Daughter's boyfriend need an attitude adjustment?
Perhaps your supervisor at the Post Office has lost that lovin' feelin'--
Relief is spelled M-I-N-I-G-U-N!
Call now! Operators are standing by!
1-800-MINIGUN--
Leave Viagra to the losers.
Side view of minigun--high resolution
Rear view of minigun--high resolution
GAU-2B/A - Air Force || GAU-17/A - Navy || M134 - Army
MK-24 PARACHUTE FLARES
1. General:
a. The MK-24 parachute flare is being used extensively on a wide variety of missions in Southeast Asia . A-26's, C-47's, C-123's, and C-130's, as well as various fighter aircraft, are employed as dispensing aircraft and the missions range from "on call" defenses of besieged hamlets/forts, to armed route reconnaissance for vehicular traffic, to normal pre-planned strikes against static targets. Initially, flare reliability was very poor and there were a large number of duds. This was attributed primarily to the use of old flares, as well as the fact that, through necessity, personnel unfamiliar with safe munitions handling procedures were enlisted to prepare and dispense the flares ("flare-kickers") from cargo type aircraft. As personnel have become better trained and newer flares have come into use, this high dud rate has steadily decreased; however, there is still much room for improvement. The purpose of this bulletin is to provide users with a general summary of MK-24 flare handling, loading and dispensing procedures (applicable to all cargo aircraft) that may be used as a lesson guide for training purposes, as well as appropriate checklists (Atch 1). (A follow-on bulletin will be published in the near future covering more specific in-flight normal and emergency flare procedures for each type cargo aircraft.) This bulletin is oriented primarily toward the MK-24, Mod 3, flare since it is the model predominantly in use.
b. Specific storage, handling and inspection procedures for aircraft parachute flares are contained in T. 0. 11A10-1-177 and 11A10-19-7. These tech orders are currently being consolidated and revised by OOAMA. More specific data relevant to environmental effects of temperature, humidity, and shock have been requested to be included in the revised tech order.
c. All personnel engaged directly or indirectly in operations with MK-24 flares should be thoroughly trained in explosive safety and capable of recognizing hazards associated therewith. The safety requirements of AFM 127-100 must be complied with.
2. Description:
a. The MK-24 series aircraft parachute flares are incendiary illumination stores designed to be carried and dropped from any aircraft. The flare consists of a cylindrical aluminum case containing an ejection fuze assembly, an ignition fuze assembly, an illuminant charge (candle), and a parachute assembly. The ejection and ignition fuze assemblies contain time-delay mechanisms which may be adjusted for delay times of 5 to 30 seconds. (The five (5) second delay setting on the ignition fuze of MK-24 flares has been eliminated and should never be used. Production acceptance testing has indicated a high frequency of failures or duds when using this setting. The failures at this setting were the result of the firing pin not consistently impacting into the safety time fuze, causing failure to ignite. Reference OOAMA Message OOYIC 20656 Jul 66.) Dials for setting the time delay mechanisms are on the face of the flare (Atch 2)., A thumb screw on the face of the flare prevents inadvertent movement of the time-delay mechanisms. In addition to the thumb screw, the MK-24 Mod 3 flare has a safety pin inserted through the ignition set dial assembly to prevent lanyard movement if lanyard is accidentally pulled.
b. MK-24 characteristics:
Mod 1 Mod 2 Mod 3
Weight (lbs) 24 24 27
Burning time (sec) 150 150
180 Release Speed (Knots) Max) *450 *450 *450
Release altitude (Feet) See Table 1.
Diameter (inches) 4.874 4.874 4.874
Length (inches) 36.003 35.994 35.994
Candle power (avg) 2,000,000 2,000,000 2,000,000
Ignition delay (Min-Max) (Sec) 10 - 30 10 - 30 10 - 30
Ejection (Min-Max) (Sec) 5 - 30 5 - 30 5 - 30
*Maximum tested values. Launching speeds greater than 450 knots may be possible if ejection cartridge launching is not used.
c. The sequence of setting the ejection and ignition delay settings differ on the MK-24 Mod l, Mod 2, and the MK-24 Mod 3 flares. On the Mod 1 and Mod 2, the ignition set dial is set first and then the ejection set dial. When setting the flares back to "SAFE", the ignition set dial is set first on the MK-24 Mod 1 and 2 flares.
d. When released the flare falls, causing a twelve-pound pull on the lanyard, which activates the ejection fuze assembly. The lanyard separates from the flare when pulled with a 50-pound force. The flare, less lanyard, then free falls for the length of time set on the ejection fuze setting. The rate of fall is approximately 300 feet during the first five seconds, 700 feet during the next five seconds, and 1,000 feet for each five seconds thereafter. After elapse of the time set on the ejection fuze, the ejection time delay fuze ignites an ejection disc. The ejection disc initiates the ignition fuze and expels the ignition fuze, candle assembly and the parachute assembly from the outer container. Upon clearing the outer tube the split container falls away, allowing the parachute to open and suspend the ignition fuze and candle assembly. The suspended ignition fuze and candle assembly then descend at a rate of 15 feet per second. After the preset time of the ignition fuze, the ignition time delay fuze activates a transfer disc which initiates an ignition disc that ignites the candle, causing the separation of the ignition fuze assembly from the candle assembly, The suspended candle assembly falls approximately 7.5 feet per second and produces a minimum average of 1,650,000 candle power. Average burning times are 150 seconds for Mods 1, 2, and 2A, and 180 seconds for Mod 3 flares
e. Safe launching height and distances are dependent upon the burning time, fuze settings, rate of descent, and drift of the flare. Such factors must be considered in determining minimum height and distances of release, Determination of release height and fuze settings can be made by use of the, following Table:
TABLE 1
MINIMUM LAUNCHING HEIGHT ABOVE GROUND LEVEL TO PROVIDE FLARE BURN OUT
EJECTION FUZE SETTINGS 5 10 15 20 25 330
LAUNCH ALTITUDE (Mods 1,2,2A) 1800' 2500' 3500' 4500' 5500' 6500'
LAUNCH ALTITUDE (Mod 3) 2050' 2750' 3750' 4750' 5750’ 6750’
NOTE: For each 5-second delay on ignition fuze setting, add 75 feet to above values.
3. Storage: The manner in which flares are stored, both on the ground and in the air, has a direct bearing on their reliability. The following requirements should be observed:
a. Keep weather cap in place during storage, handling and shipment. It, must not be removed until immediately before setting fuzes. This assures against accidental moving of the delay dials from the "safe" position or fouling the lanyard, which if pulled could cause the flare to become non-functional.
b. Keep ejection set dial on "SAFE" at all times during shipping, storage and handling
c. Protect flares from moisture. (Pyrotechnic material that has become wet is hazardous to store.)
d. Protect flares from heat. Store at less then 1000 F. Keep magazine or flare aircraft well ventilated. (Flares stored at temperatures exceeding, 100 degrees may be unreliable.)
e. Flares should be stored in magazine or aircraft flare box, by lot number (malfunctioning flares from dispenser could thus be related to a specific lot.)
Up close and personal--high resolution
From AC-130 Spectre Gunship Photo Gallery
"Sgt. Rodatz, those insurgents are burning our flag."
"Sgt. Celis, I roger that--pass the 105 ammo."
A single application of Schmuck-B-Gone. . . .
Neighbors' stereo too loud? Daughter's boyfriend need an attitude adjustment?
Perhaps your supervisor at the Post Office has lost that lovin' feelin'--
Relief is spelled M-I-N-I-G-U-N!
Call now! Operators are standing by!
1-800-MINIGUN--
Leave Viagra to the losers.
LOL! Work on in-laws too?
Love the last series of schmuck-be-gone photos.
Thanks for all the info on the Minigun and the flares.
Our cats? Are you kidding. We got a field mouse in the house this fall. After a couple of weeks I gave up on the cats and trapped him myself. They seem to have missed out on the hunter gene!
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