| Date: 27 October 1966 |
| Aircraft type: F-105D Thunderchief |
| Serial Number: 60-0431 |
| Military Unit: 421 TFS, 388 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Korat |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Robert Earl Kline (Survived) |
| Later in the day a number of Korat Wing F-105s flew armed reconnaissance missions over the Steel Tiger area of southern Laos. A flight of aircraft found a North Vietnamese troop concentration near Muang Fangdeng and commenced an attack. Maj Kline was just pulling out of his dive at about 2,500 feet when his aircraft (call sign Cobalt 2) was hit by automatic weapons fire. He turned north over the Bolovens Plateau and ejected when he was about 10 miles from his target. He was seen to eject by an O-1 pilot who reported his position. As it was getting dark and the USAF SAR helicopters had no night capability at that time it was decided to send in a Bright Light team from Dak To. An Army UH-1D from the 155th Aviation Helicopter Company flew the team in to rescue Maj Kline and refuelled on the return journey from pre-placed fuel drums at a site deep inside enemy territory. Unfortunately, Maj Kline was lost on a mission over North Vietnam on 2 November. |
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