Squadron 111 in the venerable F-8 Crusader. For Sundowners CO CDR Charles Dimon III

August 2, 2004 (Press Release) -- hen USS Shangri-La (CVS-38) left its pier at Naval Station

Mayport, Fla., on the morning of 5 March 1970, a remarkable

WestPac deployment had begun. Not only was it the final

cruise for the veteran carrier, but it was also the last for Fighter

Squadron 111 in the venerable F-8 Crusader. For Sundowners CO CDR

Charles Dimon III, it was to be his fifth Vietnam combat deployment,

whereas others were on their first.

For VF-111, it was to be the seventh visit to the stormy waters off

Vietnam. The squadron had deployed in Midway (CVA-41) with

CVW-2 in 1965, Oriskany (CVA-34) with CVW-16 in 1966 and again

in 1967–’68 and Ticonderoga (CVA-14) with CVW-16 in 1969. A special

VF-111 Detachment 11 made two deployments in Intrepid

(CVA-11) as part of CVW-10.

On this seventh deployment, the Sundowners were part of Carrier Air

Wing Eight, an East Coast air wing made up of VF-111 and VF-162

(F-8H), VA-172 and VA-12 (A-4C), and VA-152 (A-4E). Detachments

included VAW-121 (E-1B), VFP-63 (RF-8G), VAH-10 (KA-3B) and

HC-2 (UH-2C).

To Vietnam the Long Way Around

VF-111 was aboard with only four aircraft, seven pilots and 97

enlisted men when Shangri-La sailed. The remainder of the unit, eight

aircraft, 10 officers and 82 enlisted men, remained behind at NAS

Miramar for 22 days before flying to NAS Cubi Point under the leadership

of the XO, CDR Bill Rennie. CDR “Stinger” Dimon was among

those that sailed in Shangri-La with all pilots scheduled to leave the

squadron during the cruise. CVW-8 flew many training sorties on their

way to Southeast Asia, but not all were without incident.

On 9 March, a VF-162 Crusader crashed into the sea northeast of

French Guiana and its pilot, LTJG F.C. Green III, was lost. Five days

later, life took a more pleasant turn in the form of a port call at Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil. CDR Dimon remembers it as fun.

“The night we departed, I came back to the ship on the socalled

‘last boat.’ When I came aboard, I suggested they run

another boat, as there were still quite a few people on the beach,

and the ship’s XO was asleep in his cabin. The logistics to get

Page 36 THE HOOK, Spring 1998

them from Rio to Cubi Point, our next stop, would have been a

nightmare. Although the XO did not like my suggestion very

much when he found out, and really chewed on me the next day, I

felt I was right, since no one was left behind.”

After rounding Cape Horn, Shang set course for the Philippines and

anchored at Subic Bay on 5 April 1970, the point where both elements

of the Sundowners would join. Chuck Dimon remembers:

“Before leaving Miramar, the squadron managed to ‘procure’ a

pickup truck and a Falcon sedan for official and unofficial

Courtesy RADM James B. “Red” Best, USN(Ret)

Above: A section of Sundowner F-8Hs shows the renowned color scheme worn

during their service with USS Shangri La (CVA-38) on the carrier’s final

deployment, Mar–Dec ’70. Below: Pilots transPac’ing their F-8s from NAS

Miramar to NAS Cubi Point, R.P., included (from left, standing): CDR William

B. Rennie (XO); LCDRs James B. Best and Neil Donovan; (kneeling) LTs Hugh J.

Risseeuw, George R. Melnyk and Robert H. Kiral.

Courtesy CDR Chuck Dimon, USN(Ret)

A VF-111 War Cruise

Shang and the

Sundowners

by Martin Zijlstra

W