Rules of Engagement (1991) Read Online Free PDF Page A

habit, went to full power in case the hook missed all four arresting-gear cables.
    "Off the power!" Palmer shouted as he turned to follow the howling fighter. He could see that the F-4 had trapped.
    A nanosecond later, the aft flight deck erupted in a blazing inferno. The Phantom's superheated exhausts and screeching tail hook, showering sparks along the steel deck, had torched off the jet fuel pouring out of the damaged aircraft. The F-4 charged up the flight deck, stopping close to the forward edge of the angle deck.
    "Fire on the flight deck!" the Air Boss yelled over the 5-MC loudspeaker. "Lay down foam!"
    Bailey yanked the throttles to idle cutoff and flipped off the electrical switches as the Phantom was pulled backward by the arresting-gear wire. The pilot stomped on the brakes after the steel cable had fallen from the tail hook.
    Bailey glimpsed the pandemonium on the flight deck as he hit the canopy-open switch. "Get out! Let's go, Ernie!"
    Austin, three miles behind the carrier, stared in shocked disbelief. "Holy shit! The flight deck is on fire. The skipper must have crashed."
    Lunsford remained silent, leaning to his left side to see the carrier through the pilot's windshield.
    Bailey and his RIO, about to jump over the side of the burning Phantom, were hit by a powerful stream of fire-retardant foam. The impact knocked them back into their ejection seats as the two hot-suit rescue personnel slapped metal ladders against the cockpits.
    The thick white foam covered the Phantom, but the conflagration quickly spread underneath the belly of the blazing F-4.
    Bailey and Sheridan stumbled down the side of the burning Phantom, then slipped and fell in the gooey foam. The rescue team, aided by two corpsmen, helped both officers to their feet and whisked them away to the safety of the island.
    Sheridan heard a muffled explosion a second before the Air Boss shouted over the flight-deck loudspeaker.
    "Bring Tilly over!" the commander ordered, concerned about the missiles still attached to the Phantom. "Shove the aircraft overboard!"
    The huge yellow pushmobile lurched forward and lumbered across the flight deck. Tilly, a monstrous combination of crane and bulldozer, plowed into the fiercely burning fighter. The impact collapsed the F-4's landing gear as the aircraft slid sideways, then hung precariously over the catwalk before plunging inverted into the water.
    "Foul deck! Foul deck!" the LSO radioed to Austin. "Take it around, Two Oh Seven."
    "Wilco," Brad responded as he passed over the stern of the ship. "Did they get out?"
    "That's affirm, Joker," Palmer said as he surveyed the damage to the landing area. The fire had been extinguished and the men were rapidly clearing the deck. "I'll be able to take you on the next pass."
    "Copy," Brad replied, then keyed his intercom. "Jesus, that was close."
    Russ Lunsford inhaled a deep breath of pure oxygen an d u nsnapped one side of his mask. "Yeah. Flying with you guys sure as hell is not boring."
    Turning downwind, Brad rechecked his landing gear--down and locked, flaps extended, and arresting hook down. He continued the approach, turned crosswind, called the ball, crossed the fantail on speed, and engaged the number three arresting-gear cable.
    The F-4 screeched to an abrupt halt, then rolled back five feet. When the wire dropped free, Brad added power and taxied to the starboard-bow catapult. He waited for the aircraft handlers to secure the Phantom to the rolling flight deck, then shut down the engines.
    Austin and Lunsford opened their canopies and breathed in the salty breeze. The fresh air smelled good. They sat in quiet exhaustion as curious deck crewmen pointed to the numerous bullet holes in the F-4 Phantom.
    Slowly removing his crash helmet, Brad watched his plane captain run across the deck toward them.

    Chapter 3.
    The ready room was noisy and crowded. When Brad and Russ walked through the hatch, immediate . S ilence descended. All eyes shifted to the sweat-soaked