| Date: 20 December 1965 |
| Aircraft type: F-4C Phantom |
| Serial Number: 64-0678 |
| Military Unit: 433 TFS, 8 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Ubon |
| Name(s): |
| 1Lt George Ivison Mims (KIA) |
| Capt Robert Duncan Jeffrey (POW) |
| Minutes after Capt Russo’s aircraft had been hit one of four Ubon Phantoms which had been escorting the bombers was hit by an 85mm shell about 10 miles to the east of the bridge. The aircraft (call sign Deer) was seen to explode and it was thought by other pilots who saw the incident that neither of the crew could have survived. However, on 12 February 1973 during the initial release as part of Operation Homecoming, Bob Jeffrey emerged from a North Vietnamese prison. Miraculously, Capt Jeffrey had ejected through the fireball of his exploding Phantom and was captured soon after landing. The pilot’s fate was unknown but most probably he died when the aircraft exploded.
Bob Jeffrey was actually a rated F-102 and F-4 pilot and had been in theatre for three days when he was shot down. He was on his first mission and was probably taking a back seat with an experienced pilot before flying his own aircraft. Early in the war Phantoms were crewed by two pilots but this practice later changed as it meant the unnecessary loss of two pilots when a crew was lost. Trained navigators or weapons systems officers were also better able to assist a pilot than another pilot who may not have been proficient in the aircraft’s navigation or weapon systems. Bob Jeffrey’s wife was told unofficially that there was very little hope that Bob was alive. His son was 10 months old when Bob was shot down: he was eight years old when Bob was released. This is indicative of the problem faced by many POWs. In some cases the years of incarceration caused permanent marital rifts, although the majority of wives and families just waited and hoped and suffered until the men returned home. |
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