Commentary - OPERATION BOLO: The Wolf Pack gets its name

  • Published
  • By Howard E. Halvorsen
  • 7th Air Force Historian
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Operation Bolo was born within the context of Operation Rolling Thunder, which went on from March 2, 1965 to Nov. 1, 1968.

Operation Rolling Thunder was the most intense air and ground battle waged during the Cold War period and was fought during the Vietnam War. During the last months of 1966 the MiG-21s of the Vietnam People's air force became very active and were successfully intercepting the F-105 Thunderchiefs', or "Thuds", formations of the U.S. Air Force which were flying missions for Rolling Thunder. The number of F-105 supersonic fighter-bomber planes lost to the MiGs worried the U.S., so the Air Force decided to make an important effort to neutralize the MiG threat: the effort known as Operation Bolo.

The idea and planning of this operation was the masterpiece of a living legend among the U.S. F-4 Phantom pilots in Southeast Asia: Col. Robin Olds.

He was a P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang Ace during World War II, credited with 12 kills against the German Luftwaffe in 1944 and 1945, and now - at 44 years old - he was the commanding officer of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing.

He was an old-fashioned fighter pilot: impulsive, rough, hard-drinking, but a natural leader and an intuitive tactician. It was said the sign over his door read, "Peace Is Not Our Profession", in mocking reference to Strategic Air Command's motto. His vice commander was Col. Daniel James, who went on to become not only the Air Force's first African American four-star general, but in any American military service. In those less-inhibited times, the men of the 8th TFW openly referred to this great duo as "Blackman and Robin."

Olds realized the F-105 and F-4 formations used the same approaches time after time, and that the signals intelligence analysts in Hanoi had become experts in identifying the more vulnerable F-105s from the F-4s by their radio frequencies and call signs. Olds decided to fly a large F-4 formation using the same routes, altitude, and call signs as the F-105s. By doing this, he hoped the MiG-21s would be guided toward them expecting to find slower Thunderchiefs, and when they realized the truth it would be too late. To further convince the enemy, the wing modified its aircraft to carry electronic countermeasures pods previously used only on the F-105s.

The operational plan was presented to Gen. William Momyer, 7th Air Force commander, on Dec. 22, 1966. Momyer approved the plan, which was assigned the code name "Bolo" after the cane-cutting machete that doubled as a Filipino martial arts weapon. Sharp and deadly, the Filipino bolo does not appear to be a weapon until the opponent is drawn in too close to evade. This was the intent of the plan - to draw the MiGs into the Phantoms' kill zone and strike while the VPAF were still expecting to find the less-dangerous F-105s.

The D-Day of Bolo was Jan. 2, 1967. Olds presented the plan to his pilots as being one where they would be wolves in sheep's clothing. His last words to them were, "alright you Wolf Pack, let's go get'em."

The attack was an unprecedented success and was the most successful aerial battle of the war. Flying with call signs derived from American cars of the period; Ford, Rambler, and (inevitably for the CO's flight) Olds, the 8th TFW caught them completely by surprise. Assistance was given by the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, who was covering possible MiG withdrawal routes.

Between seven and nine enemy MiG-21s were shot down that day, depending on who did the counting. The VPAF was grounded for several months for fear of losing all their planes while teaching their pilots updated tactics. Bob Hope, while on tour, referred to the 8th TFW as the "greatest distributor of MiG parts in the world."

The 8th TFW has been known as the Wolf Pack ever since.