Zdjęcie i fakty: David F.Brown czyli TomcatGuru, autor Tomcat Alley :)
On this date, 21 January 1991, during OPERATION DESERT STORM, F-14A+, 161430, Callsign Clubleaf 212, was shot down by a derivative SA-2 Surface to Air Missile. The SA-2 was modified to enable ground-guided optical tracking. The SAM exploded near the tail of the Tomcat which went into an uncontrollable spin. The Pilot, Lt Devon Jones and RIO, Lt Lawrence 'Rat' Slade ejected over enemy territory. Lt. Slade was taken prisoner. Lt Jones eluded capture for over nine hours. USAF Capt Paul T. Johnson, an A-10 Warthog pilot assigned to the 353d TFS/354th TFW, led a nine hour rescue mission to recover Jones. Lt. Jones was located on the 22nd and was rescued by a pair of MH-53J Pave Lows from the 20th SOS. On 30 May 1991, Capt Johnson was awarded the Air Force Cross for Bravery. His citation reads: "The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, takes pleasure in presenting the Air Force Cross to Captain Paul T. Johnson, United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force while serving as an A-10 Pilot with the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing, during Operation DESERT STORM on 21 January 1991. On that date, Captain Johnson was the flight lead on Sandy 57, a two-ship of A-10s tasked for search and rescue alert at a forward operating location. While en route, he received tasking to look for an F-14 crew that had been shot down the night before. During the next six hours he would lead his flight through three aerial refuelings, one attack on a possible SCUD missile site, and three hours of intensive searching deeper inside enemy territory than any A-10 had ever been. He risked his life as he had to fly at a mere 500 feet in order to pinpoint the survivor's location. When an enemy truck appeared to be heading toward his survivor, Captain Johnson directed his flight to destroy it, thus securing the rescue. It was his superior airmanship and his masterful techniques at orchestration that made this rescue happen - the first in the history of the A-10 weapons system. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, Captain Johnson reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force." Paul T. Johnson is a Major General in the USAF.
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