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Adventures of a cold war interceptor pilot

- Ted Carlson

The cold war essentially guaranteed that all human nerves in the USA and USSR would be on edge. Tensions were on steroids for nearly two decades. Ubiquitous fallout shelters and air-raid sirens were the norm, designed for wary civilians that periodically trained for possible incoming air-raid onslaughts. The USA and the USSR had missiles, fighters, and bombers loaded for bear and poised to fly at a moment’s notice. This was not only near the U.S. borders but also scattered throughout the entire country. Meet Capt. Danny Cox, a U.S. Air Force (USAF) Cold War interceptor pilot, a breed that was a major factor in America’s defensive war plan.

Cox joined the USAF in February 1957 and learned to fly in bare aluminum Beech T-34A Mentors and North American T-28A Trojans at Moore Air Force Base (AFB) in Texas. Later he flew Lockheed T-33A Shooting Stars at Greenville AFB in Mississippi for jet qualifications, and received his wings mid-1958.

Cox, standing at a towering height of 5 feet 4 inches, barely met the minimum height requirement to fly fighters at the time, but ended up logging more than 2,400 hours of fighter time throughout his career. A product of his height, he had earned call signs such as “Two Cushion,” “Mighty Mouse,” “Madison Avenue Midget,” and “Compact Crusader.” Having had the opportunity to work closely with Cox for this feature, I noted that he has the admirable quality of being humble about his height and carries no chip on his shoulder. In fact, he pitches in on the fun if there is an opportunity to bring up “shorty” jokes or comments. In the fighter communities, his small frame meant that he could withstand and recover from G-forces much better than his alpha-male peers. Being short is a desired trait when flinging around fast movers.