During the air war over Vietnam, a U.S. Navy A-6 Intruder bomber pilot schemes with a hardened veteran to make an unauthorized air strike on Hanoi.
After his bombardier is killed, Jake "Cool Hand" Grafton (Brad Johnson)', a carrier-based Intruder pilot, questions the purpose of Navy bombing missions. He finds an ally for his cynicism in Virgil Cole, a bombardier on his third tour of duty, and together they ponder the notion of one unsanctioned mission "downtown", to "Sam City" in North Vietnam.—Marg Baskin <[email protected]>
On September 10, 1972, an American A-6 "Intruder" aircraft, piloted by Lieutenant Jake "Cool Hand" Grafton (Brad Johnson), bombs a non-strategic target in Vietnam. While flying at low altitude to avoid enemy radar, bombardier Lieutenant Morgan "Morg" McPherson (Christopher Rich) is struck by gunfire from an armed peasant. Hoping to save his comrade, Jake returns the plane to the aircraft carrier, Independence, but Morgan is already dead. The next day, Jake writes a letter to Morgan's wife, admitting that her husband's death was needless. Meanwhile, new recruit Lieutenant Junior Grade Jack "Razor" Barlow (Jared Chandler), and Lieutenant Commander Virgil Cole (Willem Dafoe), a veteran on his third tour of duty, join the crew. During a private meeting with Razor, Commander Frank Camparelli (Danny Glover) warns that, despite his African-American appearance, he is "third-generation mafia," and not a man to be trifled with. Aware of Virgil Cole's notoriety among Navy pilots, Camparelli cautions him to be on his best behavior. Elsewhere on the ship, Jake discusses the rumored stockpile of surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) in Hanoi, North Vietnam, with Guffy (Douglas Roberts), who maps bombing targets. While Guffy does not deny the rumor, he reminds Jake that attacks on the enemy capital have been forbidden throughout the history of the war. Later, Virgil, Razor, Jake, and a pilot named Boxman (Tom Sizemore) spend the evening at a naval base in the Philippine Islands. Jake visits the McPherson home to find war widow Callie Joy (Rosanna Arquette) packing the family's possessions. She cynically assumes Jake is making a courtesy call on behalf of his superiors, until he explains his close friendship with Morgan. That evening, the airmen attend a disreputable saloon, where they brawl with a group of belligerent merchant seamen. After evading arrest, Jake meets Callie at the officers' club, where they dance until closing, then retire to her home to make love. Jake spends the following day with Callie and her young daughter before returning to the ship. When Virgil is assigned as Jake's new bombardier, the pilot suggests an unauthorized raid on Hanoi. Virgil appreciates Jake's intentions, but discourages the idea, certain that it would result in a courts martial. However, during their next mission, Boxman is killed by a SAM, and Virgil agrees to Jake's plan. While viewing newsreel footage from Hanoi, they notice a number of SAMs on display in the background. Their research is interrupted by Guffy, the phantom prankster who has been leaving excrement in the executive officers' quarters. In exchange for Jake and Virgil's silence, Guffy reveals the exact location of the missiles. Following their next mission, Jake and Virgil take a detour to Hanoi and destroy the stockpile. The North Vietnamese government issues a false statement, saying the raid destroyed a children's hospital, and Camparelli berates the airmen for compromising peace negotiations. At the ensuing inquiry, Virgil takes a flippant attitude, declaring the war a pointless endeavor. Jake defends his actions, believing he saved American lives, and is ready to accept the consequences. However, when President Richard Nixon orders "unrestricted bombing of all military targets in North Vietnam," charges are dropped against Jake and Virgil. Regardless, Camparelli considers the airmen untrustworthy and confines them to the ship until they can be transferred. The next day, Camparelli is stranded behind enemy lines during a daylight raid. With the executive officer's permission, Jake and Virgil go to their commander's rescue, but they are also stranded after their airplane is shot down. While Jake attends to the injured Camparelli, Virgil is shot by a Vietnamese soldier. Certain that he is dying, Virgil ignites a smoke grenade, signaling the rescue team to strafe and bomb the area. As napalm falls around them, Jake and Camparelli take refuge in a narrow valley, where they are followed by an enemy soldier. After signaling a rescue helicopter, Jake dispatches the soldier, allowing himself and Camparelli to be pulled to safety. Sometime later, as U.S. involvement in the war draws to an end, Jake smiles as he reads a letter from Callie. Camparelli is offered the command of his own ship, and hopes to have Jake as a crew-member.
Lieutenant Jake "Cool Hand" Grafton (Brad Johnson)and his bombardier/navigator and best friend Lieutenant Morgan "Morg" McPherson (Christopher Rich) are flying a Grumman A-6 Intruder during the Vietnam War over the Gulf of Tonkin towards North Vietnam. They hit their target, a 'suspected truck park,' which actually turns out to be trees. On the return to carrier, Morg is fatally shot in the neck by an armed Vietnamese peasant. Landing on USS Independence with Morg dead, a disturbed Jake, covered in blood, walks into a debriefing with Commander Frank Camparelli (Danny Glover) and Executive Officer, Commander "Cowboy" Parker (J. Kenneth Campbell). Camparelli tells Jake to put Morgan's death behind him and to write a letter to Sharon, Morg's wife. New pilot Jack Barlow, nicknamed "Razor" because of his youthful appearance, is then introduced.
Lieutenant Commander Virgil Cole arrives on board and reports to Camparelli, who later tells Jake's roommate Sammy Lundeen (Justin Williams) to take Jake, Bob "Boxman" Walkawitz (Tom Sizemore) and "Mad Jack" (Dann Florek) to fly into Subic Bay the next day and help Jake unwind. Jake goes to see Sharon, but she has already departed. He runs into a woman named Callie Troy (Rosanna Arquette), who is packing Sharon's things, and they have a small, tense encounter. After an altercation with civilian merchant sailors in the Tailhook Bar, Jake runs into Callie again. After they reconcile, dance at the officer's club and spend the night together, she reveals her husband was a Navy pilot himself and was killed but officially MIA on a solo mission over Vietnam.
Jake returns to the carrier, where Camparelli confronts him regarding the bar brawl incident, and Cole reports in Jake's favor. Cole and Jake are paired on "Iron Hand" A-6Bs loaded with Standard and Shrike anti-radiation missiles for SAM suppression. During the mission, after a successful strike, they encounter and manage to evade a North Vietnamese MiG-17.
Jake suggests to Cole that they bomb Hanoi, which would be a violation of the restrictive rules of engagement (ROE) and could get them court-martialed. Cole initially rejects the idea. On the next raid, Boxman hits the suspected target, but is shot down by another SAM and killed. The North Vietnamese in Hanoi gloat on TV over the downing of U.S. aircraft. Cole then agrees with Jake's plan to attack Hanoi, deciding to hit "SAM City," a surface-to-air missile depot.
To secure their mission, they coercively enlist the aid of the Squadron Intelligence Officer, who has been caught urinating in the commander's coffee decanter, being the Phantom Shitter who's secretly repeated this deed throughout the first half of the film. He warns Jake and Cole that there's no chance of succeeding in their mission, but he is soundly ignored.
Sent to bomb a power plant in the vicinity of Hanoi, they drop two of their Mark 83 bombs, keeping eight for the missile depot and set a new course for Hanoi for their independent bombing mission. Arriving at SAM City, on their first pass, their armament computer malfunctions and they are forced to bomb 'by hand' (guesswork), and after barely surviving a barrage of enemy fire, their bombs fail to release. The two come back around, rerun the route, successfully drop their bombs and manage to obliterate the missile depot in a spectacular display of secondary explosions. Upon returning to the carrier, Camparelli angrily chastises the pair for their independent mission and informs them of their impending court martial at the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay. During the preliminary hearing, Cole and Grafton are criticized for their actions, and informed that their naval careers are essentially over.
The charges are dropped the next day when Operation Linebacker II is ordered by President Richard M. Nixon, and the unauthorized mission is covered up. The next day, Camparelli grounds Jake and Cole while the rest of the carrier's A-6 and A-7 crews conduct a daylight raid to destroy anti-aircraft emplacements: the tangible, lucrative targets they've longed to attack. Camparelli is hit by a ZSU-23-4 Shilka AA tank and crash lands, his bombardier dead. Sammy Lundeen is hit and has to head for the ocean. Razor is ordered by Camparelli to disengage and obeys. Jake and Cole, defying orders, man their Intruder, launch and fly one more time to assist Camparelli. They destroy the ZSU, but are forced to eject from their heavily damaged aircraft. After bailing out, Jake lands near Camparelli's crashed Intruder and runs to cover with Camparelli. Separated from Jake, Cole is mortally wounded in hand-to-hand combat with an enemy soldier. On the radio, he lies to Jake, telling him he has already gotten away. Moments later, a pair of U.S. Air Force A-1 Skyraiders ("Sandy") appear and provide cover.
Cole instructs the lead Sandy to drop ordnance on the spot he has marked with smoke. He is killed along with a few dozen NVA soldiers. Cole's final voice transmission to Sandy is: "Alpha Mike Foxtrot"! (meaning "Adios, mother fucker!") Jake and Camparelli retreat into the woods, pursued by a sniper. A "Jolly Green Giant" helicopter picks up the two men, and the Skyraiders make one final napalm run to finish the job.
Later, recovering from his injuries, Jake joins his crew and Camparelli, all in their Navy whites, on deck to prepare for entry at a port of call. Jake and Camparelli reconcile their differences, and the movie ends in rolling credits.
