| Date: 3 December 1966 |
| Aircraft type: F-4C Phantom |
| Serial Number: 63-7608 |
| Military Unit: 559 TFS, 12 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Cam Ranh Bay |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Kenneth William Cordier (POW) |
| 1Lt Michael Christopher Lane (POW) |
| The very next day after the SAM’s greatest success so far, the SA-2 struck again. A flight of Phantoms was escorting an EB-66 on an electronic warfare mission over North Vietnam. As the aircraft were flying a wide orbit at 24,000 feet about 15 miles southeast of Yen Bai, one of the Phantoms (call sign Texas) was hit by an SA-2 missile. Both crew ejected and Capt Cordier fell through the fireball of a second SAM that exploded beneath the aircraft. Both men became residents of the Hanoi Hilton until Lane was released on 18 February and Cordier on 4 March 1973. Capt Cordier had been on his second tour in Southeast Asia and had flown a total of 175 missions when he was shot down, whereas 1Lt Lane was only on his 11th mission. |
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