| And yet, even then in answer, the orders came to launch. Yorktown sent a powerful umbrella fighting force into the skies, and the Soviets flew from the sea. Shortly thereafter, Enterprise joined Yorktown and the task force awaited further orders. | |
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As history reports, in the face of deadly power, the North Koreans retained the Pueblo and released its crew. It may be said now that the Soviet and US Strategic Forces stood down and the incident ended. How close did we come to the brink of World War Three? Perhaps we will never know.
Comment from Photographers Mate Petty Officer 3rd Class Phil Puckett
The stern of the ship would unexpectedly come up to meet the pilots as they landed on the heaving deck."
Memo from Capt. Dale Potts USNR (ret.) Lt jg during
Pueblo operation CAPT Bennett instituted many morale raising procedures while
underway including keeping the mess decks open 24 hours a day and extending
barbershop hours to accommodate crewmembers. During the 48 bitterly cold days in
the Sea of Japan following the Pueblo seizure, each weather-deck watch-stander
was required to report to Sickbay when relieved from his watch to receive his
one-ounce ration of Brandy. This not only boosted morale but was preventative
medicine as there was no flu or serious colds reported after those 48 days of
facing those dangerous conditions. email from crew of USS Pueblo to YorktownSailor.com in October 2000 http://www.usspueblo.org/
CDR Bucher dies at age 76 click here for the story
Where are they now? January 2002 story by Stars and Stripes magazine click here
From Captain Byington (ret), former Aircraft Handling Officer
After reading this account I compared my 33 year old recollections with those of two other senior officers also aboard at that time (one from Operations Department and one from the embarked Flag staff of Commander ASW Group One). In aid in reconstruction I obtained and analyzed copies of the official deck logs covering that period. Finally, I had the opportunity to discuss issues with Captain Bennett via telephone in a warm and nostalgic conversation. My conclusion is that the article, while based on historical events, contains significant errors that unfortunately leave the reader with very inaccurate impression of actual activates. My purpose is not to dispute with former shipmates, but to simply correct historical inaccuracies. My numbered comments below are in the sequential order with the original article and relate only to the most significant discrepancies. 1. Regarding time/distance factors. USS Pueblo was seized 23 January 1968, the Yorktown reached the Sea of Japan 31 January. The transit following our ordered diversion (on January 25th) was 109 hours/1950 miles, not 1000 miles in two days. Average transit speed was under 18 knots.
Picture by Phil Spivak PH3 3. Bear bomber overflights. The Bear activity was by the surveillance variant, rather than bombers with offensive capability. None of us recall any spectacular mass overflight by 17 airplanes. Bear surveillance overflights were routinely conducted by one or two aircraft, operating independently at medium altitude and never in a massive formation at 100 feet. The logs make no reference to Soviet aircraft activity or a General Quarters response. 4. The photograph of the Bear escorted by an A4 "Skyhawk" was from another place and time, since we had no jets embarked. Our defensive "powerful umbrella fighting force", had it happened, would have been composed of antisubmarine "Sea King" helicopters and piston powered "Trackers." These had no air to air offensive or defense capacity and a fraction of the Bear's speed. 5. "How close did we come to the bring of World War Three? Perhaps we will never know." No disagreement here, except to observe it probably was nowhere so near as the article's melodramatic version of events. M.R. Byington
Says Photographers Mate 3rd Class Kraig Knutson, launch
photographer: "I was the flight deck of the USS
What was it like to fly an American war plane up to meet the Russian bombers? Air Force Major Anders remembers what it was like for him as he chased a USSR Bomber before it reached Iceland. (Anders was one of the Apollo 8 astronauts picked up the USS Yorktown in December 1968) "He had to make it clear to the other plane who he was and what his weaponry represented. He also had to make it clear that he would only attack if threatened. He knew that they had their guns trained on him as well. Very carefully he eased up alongside the USSR bomber, mere yards apart. Slowly he worked his way forward so that he was parallel with the Soviet plane's cockpit. He stared at the pilot and co-pilot who stared back in return. Knowing that the Soviet bomber was free of NATO airspace, ground control directed him to break off and he headed back to Iceland. Before he did, Andres grinned at the Soviet crewman and gave them 'the finger' in farewell. The Soviet's smiled back and held up a sign in English which read, "We screwed your sister.' Another day in the Cold War had ended." Genesis by Robert Zimmerman p. 43
Read more about the Pueblo seizure, or,
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Yorktown
crew awarded Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and the Korean Defense Medal
"It was
so cold in the Sea of Japan we plugged in and stood on the tile cutter/heater as
we photographed every landing to keep our feet from freezing. The boys
working on the flight deck didn't have any such comfort. The sea was so
rough lots of times we would see 'green water' splash up over the bow. 
2. "No aircraft could be launched in this weather."
The log records significant flight operations EVERY day during transit. On
January 31, the morning following the Straits of Tsushima, transit, eight
aircraft were launched in the hour and 20 minutes before sunrise. 
Yorktown. I saw the Russian bombers flying at and over the Yorktown and
they were closely tailed by US Navy fighter planes from the USS Enterprise,
which was just over the horizon."