jets (MiG17 & MiG21). (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication. lived thru WWII. I pulled the power off just as I touched down and the aircraft settled onto the wire cutting it. I thoroughly enjoyed both the days I spent with the Mig drivers and the events were well planned and superbly executedthe host aircrew did great jobs making things happen behind the scenes. Jim Hoogerwerf USAF C-130B, TAC Airlift Van Bay was the spittin image of Ho Chi Minh himself, incidentally. I called for help for Kenny and headed back for Thailand where we were stationed. To the contrary. He said he was finally able to imagine saying to the American, OK, big deal, congratulations, that was a big accomplishment. The Silver Star is the third-highest military combat decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Armed Forces. Kenny decided he would be safer in the trees so he did not use his tree lowering device to let down to the ground. In 1965, while bombing Laos in a classified mission, the propeller plane of the German-American US Navy pilot Dieter Dengler is hit and crashes in the jungle. Another radar went up and down repeatedly. Ive decided to write a little recap of the event for a bunch of friends with different backgrounds so the language will vary for the benefit of those who have combat or aviation experience and others who dont. Nguyn Thanh Qy MiG-21 [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/powmia/pwmaster_14608/. The F-105 was one of the primary attack aircraft of the Vietnam War; over 20,000 Thunderchief sorties were flown, with 382 aircraft lost including 62 operational (non-combat) losses (out of the 833 produced).Republic F-105 Thunderchief. Copyright 2009 - 2017 Richard Keyt | All Rights Reserved, Articles by 35th Tactical Fighter Squadron Guys, Robin Olds, the Fighter Pilots Fighter Pilot, Roger Locher Kills a Mig, is Shot Down & Evades for 23 Days, Joe Lee Burns Shot Down over North Vietnam, Thank You Martin Baker the F-4s Ejection Seat, General MacArthurs Duty, Honor, Country Speech, President Lincolns Letter to Lydia Bixby, Major Sullivan Ballous Last Letter to His Wife, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas on Freedom, : The Story Of Lance Sijan, Hero Of Vietnam, A Sons Tribute to His Dad, Lt. Col. William A. Curnutte, wonderful and very detailed Facebook post, Gary Retterbush 2 North Vietnamese Air Force 0, Gary Retterbush Meets Theo van Geffen, Author of Republic F-105 Thunderchief: Peacetime Operations, Navy Capt Mike McGrath Recalls the Hanoi Hilton, Two A-1 Sandy Pilots Remember the Mu Gia Pass & Rescuing Downed Pilots, Col. Ken Cordier, Vietnam Prisoner of War, 4 Vietnam Air War MiG Killers Answer Questions, Oyster 1 Bravo: Evasion and Escape in Vietnam, the story of Major Robert Lodge and Captain Roger Locher, Roger Locher Talks about Getting Shot Down & Evading for 23 Days, Into the Mount of the Cat: Lance Sijans Heroism, John Boyd Energy Maneuverability Theory, OODA Loop, Thud Pilots Experiences Over North Vietnam in 1965, Major Phil Handleys Supersonic F-4 Shoots Down a MiG-19, Video: 35th Tactical Fighter Squadron TDY to SEA 1 Apr 72, video about the squadrons deployment to Southeast Asia, Navy Red Crown Air Intercept Controller Seeks F-4 Pilots, OSCM Larry ACE Nowell, US Navy (Retired), Story of the 1st MiG Kill of the Vietnam War, Harlan Elseths Video of His 148 Missions in SEA, The honest, personal accounts of four combat pilots during the Vietnam War, after his violent ejection from the dark and smoky cockpit of his Boeing B-52G Stratofortress, During the Vietnam War, Johnstons was the job of a jet fighter pilot blended with a forward air controller, or Fast FAC, F-4 Hit by Flak Lands without Its Backseater, Richard Keyts Thoughts on Ken Burns Vietnam War Series, The tragedy of the PBS-Ken Burns version of the Vietnam War, 13 North Vietnamese MiG Pilots Meet U.S. Pilots in San Diego, The F-4s AN/APR-25 & 26 Radar Homing & Warning System, David Johnson Remembers Ejecting from His Stricken F-4, 100 missions in the F-105 over North Vietnam. How Many Huey Helicopters Were Shot Down In Vietnam? - CLJ Twenty-one aircraft carriers conducted 86 war cruises and operated 9,178 total days on the line in the Gulf of Tonkin. 7. Here is Bills USAF bio: Sad to report that Gary Busch Retterbush, one of the true heroes of the Vietnam war, slipped the surly bonds of earth on July 25, 2022. What follows is Ray Battles comments on the mission: Kenny Boone and I were flying a fast mover FAC mission along the Ho Chi Min trail in Laos. How many helicopter pilots shot down in Vietnam? The United States, along with their allies (The Republic of Vietnam, South Korean, Australian, Thailand, New Zealand), lost about 12,500 aircraft, helicopters and UAVs. Different from the aircraft itself the men who flew the F-105 Thunderchief, like USAF Captain Samuel E. Waters, were absolutely dependable no matter the odds or the mission. experienced leadership. Read more about list of pilots shot down in vietnam and let us know what you think. J. W. Newhouse rescued, First loss: EF-105F 63-8286 (13th TFS, 388th TFW) shot down by AAA RP-6 July 1966, Maj. Roosevelt Hestle, Final loss: F-105G 63-8359 (Det.1 561st TFS, 388th TFW) shot down by SAM 16 November 1972, RP-3, crew rescued, First loss: mission-related TFR failure, 66-0022 (428th TFS 474th TFW, Project Combat Lancer), 28 March 1968, Maj. H.E. During the Vietnam War, thousands of U.S. aircraft were lost to antiaircraft artillery (AAA), surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and fighter interceptors (MiG)s. The great majority of U.S. combat losses in all areas of Southeast Asia were to AAA. "During the minute or so of a dogfight, most of what we did was due to instinct, reflexes, study of the latest intelligence, and on-the-job . The worthy subject of statues in town squares or the name of a new high school. The A stood for azimuth and the S stood for sector. The SA-2 control van had several radars on it. See Gary Retterbush 2 - North Vietnamese Air Force 0; Three Silver Star medals. Here are some facts he mentions about Thud missions and pilots in 1965: I just ordered the F-4E model shown below. A similar story was that one day the US attacked one of the Migs air fields. Especially during this era in the Thunderchiefs history, it was best to stick to observations that acknowledged its curvaceous, needle-nosed fuselage, artfully shaped wings that leave one with the visual impression of speed, and its remarkable performance. He flew over 300 combat missions, and crewed an F-4 that shot down a MIG. He has dedicated his life to helping students achieve their full potential in the classroom and beyond. Gary immediately banked 90 degrees left and put five Gs on the F-4E. VS-41 at NAS North Island retained four of the borrowed Broncos to be used for training replacement pilots and maintenance personnel. Two were pilots, two Air Force weapon systems officers, and two Navy radar intercept officer; both awarded an aerial-kill claim for each enemy aircraft shot-down. So he just flew right back to directly overhead the field and ejected. A few seconds later Col. Beckers radioed Lark 3 break left. Beckers was checking Lark 3s six oclock and saw the missiles come off the rails. Kenny is the only instructor pilot I remember from my F-4 RTU. How many enemy did the U.S. or the ARVN kill in a battle? It seems like only yesterday that we were all together, but actually it had been 28 years. By Edmund Duncan May 31, 2022. William Reeder Jr., who served two tours in Vietnam as a U.S. Army pilot, was shot down on May 9, 1972, while flying a mission in a Bell AH-1 Cobra . FLASH BACK: During that first meeting back in Hanoi one of the navy guys had asked the question of the most senior officer in the group, himself a six-kill Mig-21 pilot, Lt General Nguyn c Sot, (pronounced Swat) who were the better adversaries, the USAF or the NAVY. Saving lives by taking lives, changed them forever.. During that most enjoyable visit we heard a lot of war stories and I handed F-105 Thunderchief book one to Gary, dealing with its peacetime operations (book two will deal with SEA ops). He flew the Thud over Route Pack VI during operation Rolling Thunder in 1965 in the Vietnam War. You will automatically receive an email when other people comment on your comment. My sensation was that the aircraft as out of control and I ordered Kenny to eject which he did. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the famous high-altitude Mach 3 [], This may be one of the best helicopter footage youve ever seen! Realistically, far too many to tell in a single day. From now on we will finally tell only the truth. See Kennys memorial web page. It was six seconds from the time Gary was told to eject to when his airplane blew up. Just enter your name, email address and subject then type your comments at the end of an article. records. An additional 28,000 men became prisoners of war. He recently attended a get-together with a dozen former North Vietnamese MIG pilots and U.S. pilots with MIG killsa gathering of eagles. How many American bombers were shot down in ww2? With Christian Bale, Zach Grenier, Marshall Bell, Toby Huss. My dear friend Bob Jeffery was there. This is a video of a fabulous and very informative speech made recently by former USAF Captain Gary Barnhill who talks about his USAF career flying the F-84, the F-100 and the F-105. When the loran F-4 said pickle all eight F-4s released 12 Mark 82 five hundred pound bombs. I had no experience behind a . The pitch of the tone varied depending on the type of radar beam that struck the Phantom. ON December 5, 6, and 7, 1969 a massive 3-day rescue effort was conducted for the 2-Man crew of anF-4C Phantom (Callsign Boxer 22) shot down in Mu Gia Pass,The Deadliest Air Space in History of Air Warfare.. The airborne command post directed my four ship flight of F-4s to rendezvous with an F-4 that had a loran bombing system. The ejection initiated perfectly, I had a horizontal ejection over Sarasota Bay and when I regained my eyesight I checked my canopy and looked for Paul. Final loss: EB-66B 42nd TEWS, 388th TFS lost to engine failure on 23 December 1972 during Operation Linebacker II. It is already difficult to sort through accurate records about Captain Samuel E. Waters. Yes, but the Koreans had to be under the Viets control and fly according to their doctrine. 9. They climbed and when each got within missile range (9,000 feet) of Lark 3 each MiG fired two Atoll heat seeking missiles at Lark 3. Citing Primary Sources. 9. PDF Helicopter Losses During the Vietnam War - VHPA One day my new friend asked me, in all sincerity, if I thought he was crazy. I found that to be interesting because it tacitly admitted that they had been lying in the pastor at least evading or hiding the truth. If you flew the F-4 in the Vietnam War in any branch of the service please become an author on this site and tell your stories. Major Charles R. "Dick" Brownlee was the pilot of the lead aircraft (s/n 62-4234, call sign "Panda 01") in a flight of four. Once he arrived in Thailand he was assigned to the 421stTactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) of the 388thTactical Fighter Wing (TFW) at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, a hub of F-105 action over Southeast Asia. The United States lost 578 Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (554 over Vietnam and 24 over China). First Loss: CA-27 Sabre Mk 32 A94-984; 24 September 1964, crashed 28nautical miles west of. We were probably 15,000 20,000 feet high, nine Phantoms in a line abreast. So, in order to keep the pilots honest, if they claimed a kill their bosses told the pilots to bring me the tail of the airplane. They had a mutual-friends-society back-slapping session in one of the back rooms then they all came out to have some libations in the main bar and on the back patioboth of which were packed! It documents the flight of a civilian who got a two hour ride in the backseat of anAlabama Air National Guard 30 year old F-16 Falcon. Vietnam Helicopter Memorial: Veterans Fight Bureaucracy | Time As soon as Paul disconnected, the aircraft pitched 90 down and began to accelerate, even with the throttles in idle. November 22, 1966, was selected as the day a massive air strike would be launched against the first of two high-priority targets in North Vietnam (NVN). Home Kent State University How Many Huey Helicopters Were Shot Down In Vietnam? We sometimes dropped bombs use a procedure we called sky puking. This was not dive bombing. Both were awarded the Silver Star for their kill., Read Major Retterbushs article on his two MiG kills called Gary Retterbush 2 North Vietnamese Air Force 0.. One interesting thing though, was a long session with 82 year old Sen.Col. The one intercepting van Cuong was sketchy but factual and the one which told how Hoang Quoc Dung (pronounced Zoong) intercepted me was virtually the same as which Zoong had told mebut it was a lie. 60 caliber machine gun.. u-6 losses need added all are army fixed wing aircraft, 5,195+ (which include not in addition to the above statistics)[2], North Vietnam captured 877 South Vietnamese aircraft at war's end. All told, the U.S. Air Force flew 5.25 million sorties over South Vietnam, North Vietnam, northern and southern Laos, and Cambodia, losing 2,251 aircraft: 1,737 to hostile action, and 514 in accidents. Samuel E. Waters died 51 years ago on Tuesday December 13, 1966 over the dense jungle region of Ha Tay Province, North Vietnam. Navigator on B-26B #44-35566, shot down while conducting air strike: Killed in action, body not recovered: January 14: Mitchell, Carl B: Major: USAF: 1st Air Commando Squadron: South Vietnam, ng Nai Province: Pilot of B-26B #44-35566, shot down while conducting air strike: Killed in action, body not recovered: January 18: Metoyer, Bryford G Richter also shot down a North Vietnamese MiG-17 on September 21, 1966 using the cannon on his F-105. A lot of the afternoon was taken up by an interview with Lt General Pham Phu Thai, a four-kill Mig-21 driver. Shot Down During Vietnam: A Fighter Pilot's Story Well, were over east Texas or Louisiana now and my memory-and my fingers-are about exhausted. He had 100 missions over North Vietnam and 48 missions over Laos while flying out of Ubon & Udorn Air Bases, Thailand. We didnt want to harm the Vietnamese people, so we passed the targets to the Swiss embassy in Washington with instructions to pass them to the Vietnamese government.. 3. OK this isnt an F-4 video, but its a great fighter video. Mccann and Capt. The AAF produced about 690 aces during that greatest of wars. Unfortunately the goal of the U.S. through out the entire nine year war was not to defeat North Vietnam. He received the Silver Star for one of his missions, in which he saved several friendly aircraft by his tactical expertise, during a large MIG engagement. The more the merrier. . Thereafter, I was moved into a 2060 foot cell with Dave Grant, Bill Beekman, and more than 400 pumpkins. Daily Kos moves in solidarity with the Black community. I was calling out the checklist items and Paul would then execute the procedure. This was the only MiG-19 shot down by an F-4 gun during the Vietnam War and is believed to be the highest speed gun kill in the history of aerial combat. If anyone reading this has an opportunity to mix with some former Vietnamese enemies I highly recommend you meet them and get to know them and have fun with themthey arent our enemies any more, Jaybee Souder.somewhere in the free skies above the USA, 1. 6. Red Crown calls on the radio that blue bandits (MiG-21s) are at a range and bearing close to Lark 3, Gary and Dans call sign. 13. In particular, one group of pilots repeatedly shows up in photos of medal winners and in heroic tales. When the Blues took off the Viets were all eyes to the skies and you could see by their smiles and gestures that some of them were flying right along with the Blues. Begin your search of the metadata records using the search bar at the top of the page. U.S. Marine Corps aircraft lost in combat included 193 fixed-wing and 270 rotary-wing aircraft. What Major Is Kent State University Known For? Guess what Dan said? A helicopter rescue crew had to locate downed fighter pilot Victor Vizcarra is a Spanish actor. The enemy simulated a SAM launch to distract Gary and Dan while two MiG-21s attacked them from their low six oclock position. On the first day of Desert Storm, two Iraqi MiG-21s attempting to escape from four VF-103 F-14Bs flew directly into a flight of four F/A-18s that shot down both MiGs. He frequently liked pictures I posted. Col. L Thng MiG 17/21 Bob said hed never seen an O-Club like that before. We joined up with the other five aircraft, aborted the mission and arranged for an escort back to MacDill. Final loss: C-130E 72-1297 (314th TAW) destroyed by rocket fire at Tan Son Nhut AB on 28 April 1975. Manuscript/Mixed Material. It looks like the USAF Warthog attack planes are rapidly moving across eastern Europe: after deploying to Germany, as [], The air inlets were the key factor that helped the J-58 engines to provide 32,000 pounds of thrust and allow the Blackbird to reach Mach 3.2. A Downed Fighter Pilot's Rescue from North Vietnam He seemed a little embarrassed to be a 19 pilot. Commander Nelson wrote: J.B. was, by all accounts, one of the Navys top RIOs in the F-4 Phantom II. That meeting with the Mig pilots made me think of when Jerry Morris and I went back to Hanoi that second time in 2006 when we had that terrific experience of meeting with Hoang Quoc Dung: it was surreal.