| Date: 14 August 1964 |
| Aircraft type: F-105D Thunderchief |
| Serial Number: 62-4371 |
| Military Unit: 36 TFS, 41 AD on TDY |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Takhli |
| Name(s): |
| Lt David Stanley Graben (Survived) |
| Original Text:
Three days after the 36th TFS arrived at Korat the first F-105 to be lost in Southeast Asia was hit by ground fire when flying on a RESCAP mission for an Air America T-28 over Laos. The Thunderchief was attacking an anti-aircraft gun position when it was hit in the engine and stabiliser causing a small fire. The pilot climbed the aircraft to 39,000 feet to starve the fire of oxygen. He then descended slowly and made an emergency landing at Korat. The aircraft was too badly damaged to be repaired and was struck off and scrapped. After this serial number was listed as "lost," notes were uncovered that indicated that the aft fuselage from another F-105 was fitted onto this airframe, and the serial number 62-4371 remained active with the rebuilt aircraft. The rebuilt aircraft was then lost 21 September 1966. That loss can be viewed at this link. We have adjusted our statistics on this site to ensure the number of F-105's actually lost is correct even though we chose to retain this original record in our database. |
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