| Date: 3 January 1968 |
| Aircraft type: F-105D Thunderchief |
| Serial Number: 58-1157 |
| Military Unit: 469 TFS, 388 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Korat |
| Name(s): |
| Col James Ellis Bean (POW) |
| The MiGs also scored their first victory of 1968 on the 3rd. A force of F-105s was on its way to bomb the Kinh No railway yard when it was intercepted by several MiG-21s at 10,000 feet, 25 miles west of Thai Nguyen. One of the MiGs evaded the F-4 escorts and Col Bean’s aircraft (call sign Scuba) was hit by an Atoll air-to-air missile, forcing the pilot to eject. Col Bean, the wing’s deputy for operations, was the third senior officer to be lost by the 388th TFW within just over three months. James Bean had joined the USAAF in 1942 and had flown 41 combat missions in P-47 Thunderbolts over Europe. He had been flying the F-105 since 1960 and had helped to devise the flight-training programme for the aircraft. James Bean had served in Southeast Asia on several temporary detachments from the 8th TFW during the early phase of the war. He was released from imprisonment in North Vietnam on 14 March 1973. 58-1157 was painted as ‘Shirley Ann’ and ‘Bubbles’ during its time at Korat. |
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