Flying the Spad and Training Allies: Inside the 520th VNAF with Mike Steger (Military Tales Episode 36)

Episode 36 of “Military Tales” takes us into a unique corner of the Vietnam War through the eyes of Mike Steger, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel with a fascinating and varied flying career. From early training aircraft and jets to teaching mathematics at the Air Force Academy, Steger’s path led him to volunteer for Vietnam as an advisor, ultimately flying the iconic A-1 Skyraider with the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF).

Steger’s initial flying background included the T-6, F-84s (and brief time in F-86s) in Germany, and later the T-28 and T-33 in training command back in the US. A period away from active flying saw him earn a degree in mathematics and teach calculus at the Air Force Academy in the mid-1960s. Hearing about the war in Vietnam, he felt compelled to volunteer, expecting to fly the T-28 advisor missions, but found the VNAF was transitioning to the A-1s.

After A-1 training in Corpus Christi, Steger arrived in Vietnam and joined what was initially a detachment that quickly became the 520th VNAF Squadron at Tuy Hoa. He describes starting with just six pilots and rapidly building up strength by incorporating 20 new pilots, fresh out of flying school. As an instructor pilot, Steger developed a syllabus requiring about 45 hours of flying to get a new VNAF pilot combat-ready. The training covered adapting to the single-engine A-1E (which had significant torque compared to jets) and the two-place “Fat Face” A-1, practicing combat maneuvers like bombing, strafing, napalm, and rockets. They also included formation flying and instrument training, such as Ground Controlled Approaches (GCA) for instrument landings, which Steger believed was crucial.

Steger highlights the skill of some of the VNAF pilots, noting that two of the original experienced pilots were exceptional, with one accumulating an unbelievable 9,000 hours of combat time over his career. He felt some of these experienced Vietnamese pilots were “absolutely outstanding” and could rival any American pilot in skills like bombing runs. He formed a close friendship with one experienced pilot, Fam Von Pham, and also mentions another, Lock, who has since passed away.

The A-1 Skyraider itself left a lasting impression. Despite its significant torque and limited forward visibility compared to jets, Steger and many other pilots “fell in love with it”. Its capacity for close air support was immense, boasting 15 bomb racks and four 20mm cannons, allowing pilots to carry a diverse ordnance load like bombs, napalm, and rockets, and expend it all on targets like enemy positions or ambushed convoys.

Steger recounts specific missions providing close air support, such as responding to outposts that had been attacked or flying cover for ambushed convoys. One particularly tense mission involved strafing a ditch along a road just 10 yards from friendly APCs and trucks; focusing intensely on the target, he pulled up just in time to narrowly avoid hitting a tree. While his unit primarily focused on CAS, he notes they were not involved in Search and Rescue (SAR) or Prairie Fire missions during his tour.

Among his most memorable and dramatic experiences, Steger recounts a water landing (ditching) of his A-1. After taking off with four 500-pound bombs, the engine began losing power, forcing him to jettison ordnance (though two bombs on the stumps didn’t release) and attempt to reach shore. He ditched the aircraft in the water, going completely underwater while still in the cockpit. The experience was harrowing; his leather gloves were slippery, preventing him from unbuckling his parachute, and the significant weight of his combat gear – including combat boots, ammo belt, gun, and multiple knives, totaling 14 pounds – made swimming impossible. He credits remembering and deploying his Mae West life preserver for popping him back to the surface, grateful for his boss’s earlier insistence on wearing it. He believes he may be the only person to have ever successfully ditched an A-1.

Another brush with mortality occurred years earlier in Germany when he had to eject from an F-84 at approximately 27,000 feet after the engine made a grinding sound and lost power. His wingman alerted him that he was on fire, prompting him to pull the ejection levers. He describes the frightening experience of the seat tumbling uncontrollably and the need to manually separate from the seat and pull his parachute cord, a stark contrast to today’s automatic systems. Despite being high enough to risk oxygen deprivation, he deployed safely, landing in a field where German police assisted him. As a memento, he cut a piece from his orange parachute to use as a scarf. Wearing such scarves became a sort of rite of passage for younger pilots in Vietnam, although Steger stopped after his once flew over his eyes during a landing approach.

Steger also provides humorous insights, like the reaction of a young VNAF crew chief who, during a dive bombing demonstration from the back of the “Fat Face” A-1, was grinning ear-to-ear after the first pull-up but clearly had enough after the third. He also mentions the logistical challenge during the Tet Offensive when VNAF pilots wanted to return home for celebrations, sometimes ferrying multiple pilots in the A-1. He even learned later about a potential “nudist colony” on an island near the Tuy Hoa runway, something he was glad he didn’t know about while flying there.

After his tour in Vietnam, Steger served in the Pentagon in a Studies and Analysis group, working on large inter-theater transportation projects, and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. He flew for 22 years total before regulations prevented further flying.

Reflecting on his time with the 520th VNAF and flying the A-1, Steger emphatically states he would go back and do it all over again. He reiterates his affection for the A-1 and the profound respect he gained for the courage and skill of the VNAF pilots he advised, emphasizing the dedication on both sides to the challenging mission.