| Date: 30 September 1965 |
| Aircraft type: F-4C Phantom |
| Serial Number: 64-0680 |
| Military Unit: 47 TFS, 15 TFW on TDY |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Ubon |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Chambless Marshall Chesnutt (KIA) |
| 1Lt Michael Daniel Chwan (KIA) |
| Aircraft type: F-105D Thunderchief |
| Serial Number: 61-0117 |
| Military Unit: 334 TFS, 4 TFW attached to 6235 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Takhli |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Col Melvin Joseph Killian (KIA) |
| Despite the loss of Capt Hall’s Voodoo over the Ninh Binh Bridge on the 27th, photographs were obtained to plan a major strike on the bridge. A mixed force of F-105s and F-4s struck the target on the last day of the month. Two aircraft were lost on the raid, the first was an F-4C (call sign Cobra) that was shot down by intense large calibre AAA. The aircraft caught fire and crashed immediately, neither of the crew escaping. The second aircraft lost was an F-105 (call sign Mercury 1) flown by Lt Col Killian, the CO of the 334th TFS on detachment to Takhli from Seymour-Johnson AFB. The aircraft was orbiting above the target at 18,000 feet when it was hit by an SA-2 SAM causing major damage. The aircraft flew on burning furiously for a few minutes before it exploded killing the pilot. This was only the fourth US aircraft to be lost to a SAM since the first aircraft was shot down by an SA-2 on 24 July. |
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