| Date: 9 October 1966 |
| Aircraft type: F-4B Phantom |
| Serial Number: 152993 |
| Military Unit: VF-154 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Coral Sea |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr Charles Neils Tanner (POW) |
| Lt Ross Randle Terry (POW) |
| Two Phantoms were assigned flak suppression duties during a major air strike on a railway bridge at Phu Ly, 30 miles south of Hanoi. The lead aircraft (call sign City Desk 452) was hit in the rear fuselage by a 100mm anti-aircraft shell as it started its roll in to attack the target. Engine warning lights started flashing and the electrical system and hydraulics began to fail as a fire burned through the aircraft’s structure. The aircraft quickly became uncontrollable and the crew ejected at a speed of Mach 1.3 with the aircraft inverted in a 60-degree dive. They landed about seven miles northwest of Ninh Binh and were captured. The pair were severely beaten for giving misleading information under torture that was later repeated by the North Vietnamese in a press briefing in Paris. The two fliers claimed to be ‘Clark Kent’ and ‘Ben Casey’!
Lt Cdr Tanner was on his second tour in Southeast Asia and had flown 125 missions, whereas Lt Terry was a relative newcomer and was only on his 20th mission when he was shot down. Both men were released on 4 March 1973 and both eventually retired from the Navy with the rank of Captain. In at least one reference the loss of this Phantom is attributed to an Atoll missile fired by a MiG-21. During the dangerous and determined rescue attempt for these two airmen by a US Navy SH-3 a dogfight developed between four A-1H Skyraiders of VA-176 and four MiG-17s with the result that one of the MiGs was shot down by Lt(jg) William T Patton. This was the second and last victory scored by a Skyraider pilot during the entire war. |
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