| Date: 20 July 1972 |
| Aircraft type: F-4D Phantom |
| Serial Number: 66-0265 |
| Military Unit: 35 TFS, 3 TFW attached to 388 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Korat |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Joe Lee Burns (Survived) |
| 1Lt Mike Nelson (Survived) |
| On the 20th the Air Force flew a Linebacker strike on POL storage at Kep airfield. The strike force hit the target and retired to the south to fly out over the Gulf of Tonkin before climbing to altitude for the return flight to Thailand. As Capt Burns was a few miles north of Hon Gay and about to cross the coast at 5,000 feet, his aircraft (call sign Scuba) was hit by AAA and burst into flames. The aircraft just made it to the sea before the crew were forced to eject. They came down in the water close to the North Vietnamese coast but were rescued by a Navy SH-3 helicopter. Capt Burns was on his second tour in Southeast Asia and had flown 222 combat missions. He later helped set up the T-38 Aggressor Squadron at Nellis AFB to teach air combat training with the benefit of experience from Southeast Asia. He later commanded the 44th TFS.
HC-7 Rescue Helicopter Combat Support Squadron SEVEN (HC-7) was established September 1, 1967. While simultaneously providing several fleet support activities in the Gulf of Tonkin, HC-7 assumed the responsibility for North Vietnam naval combat search and rescue. HC-7 prepared for action using UH-2B Kaman Sea Sprite helos inherited from HC-1 and were stationed in detachments aboard small boys, destroyers (DDs) and Guided Missile Frigates (DLGs), patrolling off the coast of North Vietnam primarily for the purpose of Search and Rescue (SAR) duty. The information at the following link was compiled by Ron Milam, the historian for HC-7, from ship's deck logs, official HC-7 Rescue Reports, other official and unofficial documents, interviews with crew members and survivors, and other sources, including the Chris Hobson book upon which this site is based. The details for the rescue associated with this fixed wing loss can be accessed by clicking on this link. |
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