The Red Baron reports what they really said.
Air Power History › Vol. 52 Nbr. 3, September 2005
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Summary
Vietnam War
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The Red Baron reports what they really said.
Route Pack II vicinity of Vinh, Democratic Republic of Vietnam, May 7, 1968. The two U S. Navy F-4B Phantom IIs of Silver Kite section were providing MiGCAP in very hazy weather for a strike on Vinh when they encountered interceptors from the Vietnamese People's Air Force (VPAF). In the confusion that followed, the Navy Phantoms lost sight of each other, finding themselves suddenly very alone in the hostile skies of North Vietnam. As Lt. Cmdr. E. S. Christensen turned Silver Kite 210 toward the sea and home, he rolled out wings level at 8,000 feet and searched for his wingman, hoping to join up and regain the vital mutual support they had lost. Indeed, at that very moment, Christensen was being tracked--but not by his wingman. Nguyen Van Coc, the first--and to that point, only--ace of the Vietnam War was moving into attack position astern of Christensen's Phantom. Nguyen succinctly described his sixth and final kill of the war: "I went after him and launched two missiles from 1,500 meters. The Phantom crashed in flames into the sea." Fortunately, Commander Christensen and his Radar Intercept Officer successfully ejected from their stricken fighter five miles out into the Gulf of Tonkin, and were quickly recovered by Navy rescue units. (1)
Route Pack VIA vicinity of Hanoi, DRV, May 10, 1972. Four U. S. Air Force F-4Ds of Oyster flight were tracking four VPAF MiG-21s, preparing for a head-on engagement. (2) The MiGs had no weapons able to engage the Americans from a frontal aspect, but the Phantoms were carrying AIM-7 Sparrow radar-guided missiles that could be fired in a nose-to-nose engagement, and the USAF fighter pilots pressed their advantage to the maximum. As the two flights passed, two of the MiGs exploded, leaving the F-4s with a 2 to 1 advantage in the fight. Oyster Lead (Maj. Robert Lodge, pilot; Capt. Roger Locher, Weapons System Officer), a crew with two previous MiG kills to their credit, immediately turned with Oyster 02 on their wing to purs...See the full content of this document
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