Phantom Showtime
by Robert Taylor

Robert Taylor's Tribute to the US Navy’s Only Air Aces of the Vietnam War

"Irish and I came into the break smoking at 500 knots, below the level of the flight deck. I could see thousands of men watching from the catwalks. I made a six-G break turn with 90 degree angle of bank. We landed after one of my best passes of the cruise." Commander Randy 'Duke' Cunningham. Back on deck, first to shake the hands of Lt. Randy Cunningham and his Radar Intercept Officer, Lt (jg) Willie 'Irish' Driscoll, was ordnancement Willie White: "Mr. Cunningham, we got our MiG today, didn't we!" It was January 19, 1972 aboard the USS Constellation in the Gulf of Tonkin. As Cunningham shut down the engines of his 'Fighting Falcons' F-4J Phantom, Task Force 77 Commander Admiral Cooper congratulated Cunningham and Driscoll on achieving their first of five air victories They went on to become the US Navy's only Aces of the Vietnam war. Cunningham's three-ship F-4J section was tasked to intercept any MiGs that threatened a reconnaissance mission to the North Vietnamese airfield at Quang Lang, suspected of basing MiG-21s. Coming under severe fire from AAA and SAMs, Cunningham dodged two missiles, plunging downward from15,000 ft in the process. Spotting two Bai Thiong-based MiG-21s below, he tracked them just above the jungle tops, closing to within range of his heat-seeking Sidewinder. The MiG pilot broke hard, throwing off the missile, and Cunningham immediately gave his attention to the second enemy fighter. Firing a second Sidewinder, the missile scored a direct hit, blasting off the entire tail section of the MiG sending it crashing straight into the ground in a ball of fire. Robert Taylor's spectacular painting shows Cunningham's F-4J Phantom, feet above the murky waters of the Gulf of Tonkin, passing the USS Constellation at 500 knots. The mighty carrier was running out of water in the small Gulf as Cunningham called up the Air Boss requesting the traditional victory roll. "Negative, land immediately." was the terse reply. The mood aboard however was one of celebration for the crew of VF-96's Phantom call-sign "Showtime 112".

Each print of Phantom Showtime is authenticated by legendary US Navy Aces

Commander RANDY 'DUKE' CUNNINGHAM USN
Commander WILLIE 'IRISH' DRISCOLL USN