Captain Kenneth Davis and Capt. Harry Morrow of the Georgia Air
National Guard’s 158th Fighter Squadron sprint to their F86L Super
Sabers during a high alert exercise at Travis Field in January 1960.
(Photo courtesy of Georgia Guard archives)
Real Hero Report |
Sixty Years Ago: The
Georgia Air National
Guard Enters a New
Decade on High Alert
T
Savannah-based 158th Fighter Squadron was put on alert
moment’s notice. The 158th was one of 21 Air National Guard
Squadrons across the nation to participate in a readiness exercise
designed to test the ability of National Guard pilots and aircraft
to take to the air in response to the detection of incoming enemy
aircraft. Additionally, the alert tested the ability of Air National
Guard units to conduct sustained operations against a possible
enemy attack.1
With the sound of a siren, two Georgia Air National Guard
pilots, Capt. Kenneth Davis and Capt. Harry Morrow sprinted
and boarded two rocket-armed F-86L Saber Jets that had been
prepped and started by dedicated crew chiefs. Within seconds
of reaching the Saber Jets, the pilots taxied the aircraft to the
runway then rocketed at full afterburner over the Atlantic Ocean.
The response was so rapid that the pilots did not receive their
approach vectors until after take-off. The 702nd Aircraft Control
and Warning Squadron, based at the nearby Hunter Air Force
radio. The pilots then used their Saber Jets’ internal radar to close
intercept resulting in simulated launch of pod-mounted 2.75-inch
rockets. At the completion of the intercept, the pilots returned to
to 14-hour shifts as did the aircraft ground crews. On January 16,
the Marietta-based 128th Fighter Squadron had joined the 158th
on alert status. Pilots and ground crews of the 128th conducted
24-hour operations scrambling aircraft to meet potential threats
emanating from South Georgia.2 More than 1,000 Georgia Air
National Guard personnel participated in the exercise, including
members of the 116th Tactical Hospital which was charged with
evaluating and evacuating simulated casualties.
At the conclusion of the alert exercise, Col. G. D. Campbell
Jr., United States Air Force Inspector, praised the Georgia Air
National Guard noting particularly the in-commission state
of aircraft and the rapid rate of turnaround for aircraft upon
returning from missions.3 These two factors demonstrated that
the Georgia Air National Guard was indeed capable of rapidly
responding to threats in an increasingly uncertain world.
1 Georgia National Guard Magazine Jan, Feb 1960, 2.
2 Ibid, 6.
3 Ibid, 7.
Georgia Air National Guard TSgt. Swain and MSgt. Way load rockets
into an F-86L Super Saber’s rocket pod during alert operations at Travis
Field in January 1960. (Photo courtesy of Georgia Guard archives)