| Date: 19 September 1968 |
| Aircraft type: F-105D Thunderchief |
| Serial Number: 60-0428 |
| Military Unit: 469 TFS, 388 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Korat |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Elwyn Rex Capling (KIA) |
| The increasingly ‘hot’ region just north of the DMZ claimed yet another pilot on the 19th. A flight of F-105s was sent to bomb a storage area six miles northwest of Thon Cam Son. As Maj Capling was making his second run over the target his Thud (call sign Scuba) was hit by 37mm anti-aircraft fire. He turned towards the coast but Maj Capling had to eject and the aircraft crashed near Vinh Linh, three miles short of the sea. The other pilots in the flight saw him land and spoke to him on his survival radio. Capling told them that his leg was broken. This was the last message received from Elwyn Capling and it appears that he was killed by his captors as he did not appear in any of the known POW camps. His remains were returned to the USA on 18 March 1977. Thunderchief 60-0428 was the first F-105D to reach 3,000 flying hours and had flown more than 500 combat missions before it was lost. It was painted as ‘Pollyana’ and ‘Cajun Queen’ during its time at Korat. |
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