| Date: 16 August 1972 |
| Aircraft type: F-4J Phantom |
| Serial Number: 157262 |
| Military Unit: VF-114 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Kitty Hawk |
| Name(s): |
| Cdr John Russell Pitzen (KIA) |
| Lt Orland James Pender (KIA) |
| A flight of Phantoms from the Kitty Hawk were flying a CAP mission during a strike by a flight of Intruders on the night of the 16th on targets on North Vietnam’s northeast railway line. After the Intruders had bombed their target and as the CAP flight was about to cross the coast the leading fighter (call sign Linfield 211) was shot down, probably by a SAM, about 10 miles north of Haiphong. The Intruder crews saw at least five SAMs in the vicinity and one of the missiles was seen to explode in two large fireballs at 11,000 feet. The remains of the Phantom crew were discovered in 1994 and positively identified in March 1996. |
You may return to your search results, go to the Search Form, or go back to the Home Page.