Colonel Tom Wotring USAF

Colonel John T. (Tom) Wotring
A 1953 graduate of West Virginia University, Colonel Wotring was commissioned in the Air Force and received his pilot wings through the Aviation Cadet Program. He commanded the 87th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, and the 21st Composite Wing, which at the time was the Air Force’s largest Wing. Twice, units subordinate to him received the Hughes Trophy, awarded annually to the Air Force’s outstanding fighter interceptor squadron. He accumulated a total of 5,000 flying hours in fighters, and 8,000 hours overall. During his military career he flew the F-86D (1,000 flying hours), F-102, RF-4C, F-4E, and other aircraft. His great love was the F-106 Delta Dart, in which he accrued 3,750 flying hours (second most among all F-106 pilots.) He earned the nickname “Mr. F-106.” He was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses and eight Air Medals for RF-4C combat flights in Southeast Asia. He also received two awards of the Legion of Merit. In the early 1970’s he was instrumental in developing the Dissimilar Air Combat Tactics program in which F-106’s flew mock combat against Navy F-4 and F-14 fighters. As the F-106 Flight Commander at the Air Defense Command’s Interceptor Weapons School in 1968, he played a pivotal role in preparing to deploy the F-106 to Southeast Asia, along with the EC-121 early warning and control aircraft, to fly against North Vietnamese MIG-21’s (“Air Defense Command Project 68-12.”) In conjunction with this project, he was selected to fly the F-106 in mock combat against a captured MIG-21, and provided an orientation flight in the F-106 to then Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Bruce K. Holloway. (Project 68-12 was suspended as a result of President Johnson’s bombing halt on 1 April 1968.) During one mission in Laos, Tom was flying an unarmed RF-4C down a road at 30 feet and 550 knots, and met a North Vietnamese tanker truck head on. He pulled up, but the truck swerved off the road and went over a cliff, giving Tom the distinction of destroying the enemy vehicle without firing a shot. Following his retirement from the Air Force in 1982 Tom was a controller/pilot in the QF-102, QF-100, and QF-106 drone programs. He flight tested every one of the 184 QF-106's produced. He also flew the Mitsubishi MU-2J. He was a member of the Order of Daedalians. Tom loved to play basketball and golf, and closely followed West Virginia University's football and basketball teams. As the Commander of the Air Force's largest Wing, he was once scheduled for a ten minute courtesy call with NBA star Rick Barry, who was visiting the base. That meeting turned into a three hour base tour as the two avidly discussed basketball and airplanes. Throughout his career, Colonel Wotring was a superb leader, pilot, and aerial combat tactician.