Nearly 46 years ago history was made… over Vietnam

Wow. Trolled into 17 posts, and it wasn’t even Operation Bolo. (18 now.)

And your point is… ?

Nearly three days ago a pointless post was made… on this forum

That was Robin Olds – again. He and Captain John B Stone devised a plan to draw the enemy fighters up and teach them a lesson by using the speed and attack profile characteristics of the F-105. Flying over (in Olds’ case) Phuc Yen airfield the MiG’s came up through the clouds expecting bomb-laden 105’s and got a nasty surprise.

Olds’ was one of four “flights” on that mission which achieved a record seven MiG kills in total.

Anon.

This is history – 63 years ago….first Mig shot down in Korean War.

“On Dec. 17, 1950, Hinton, who was commander of the 336th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing, led a flight of four F-86s over northwestern North Korea. To trick the communists, the Sabre pilots flew at the same altitude and speed as F-80s typically did on missions, and they used F-80 call signs. Hinton spotted four MiGs at a lower altitude, and he led his flight in an attack. After pouring a burst of machine gun fire into one of the MiGs, it went down in flames”

Similar thing happened in Vietnam, with F-4s flying the profile of F-105s.

Maybe the sight of all that ‘heritage flight gear’ got “Daniel” so excited he forgot to add the detail?….

So, it’s the 4th May the photo was taken, according to the caption, which would explain why Col. Olds is looking so happy and embracing his back seater.

Olds is applying his kill marking (for downing a MiG 21) so it has to be correct and it is the same aircraft in both pics. So why are the other chaps in the photo as well? There were no other kills on this date. Pascoe and Wells also got a MiG 21 on the 6 Jan ’67 but that was four months earlier.

Not quite the historic day Daniel alludes to, is it? One MiG kill.

Anon.

Thanks to Anon and co for putting up some info and making sense of a picture link. Daniel/Phil has been warned by the mods previously on this sort of posting style…..

Rear centre may be 1LT W.D. Lefever according to comment here –

http://jetpilotoverseas.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/8th-tfw-co-colonel-robin-olds-with-555th-tfs-pilots-vietnam-may-4th-1967/

Guess we have to do the detective work for another of “Daniels” minimum content/only a link style of posting…

46 years ago places the photo in 1967. I’ve managed to piece together the following info on this particular shot:

That’s definitely Robin Olds at top left and Tom Wells at bottom left. The guy at top right looks like Francis Gullick and front centre Richard Pascoe. I can’t i/d the remaining two but the chap rear centre looks a bit familiar.

All were pilots/rears with the 555 TFS, 8 TFW and on 5 June 1967, Pascoe, Wells and Gullick shot down two MiG 17’s, Gullick’s front seat was Everett Raspberry so, if this is the action of 5 June he could be one of the pictured unknowns. Olds was in command of 8 TFW at the time (though didn’t get a kill on this date) so that probably accounts for his presence in the shot.

Priestner and Pankhurst of 480 TFS, 366 TFW also scored a kill on 5 June ’67 so there’s an outside chance that one of them could be in the shot, but that is unlikely as one of our unknowns is wearing a 555 TFS cap.

If the occasion is the 5 June ’67 then, as far as MiG-killing days went it wasn’t any more historic than any other – and less so than many. Some days there were as many as 7 enemy aircraft brought down but this wasn’t necessarily with Phantoms or the crews pictured.

If Daniel cares to comment I’d be interested in some more info, if he has it.

Anon.

Nearly 57 years ago I was made…

I think that might be Ed Rasmus on the top right?

Nice photo, pointless post.

Please explain the ‘history’ to which you are referring?

Regards,

kev35

Daniel. I wish you would expand a bit on your posts. A link to photo tells us nothing. I assume that’s Robin Olds top left. And the history today is what?

This is history – 63 years ago….first Mig shot down in Korean War.

“On Dec. 17, 1950, Hinton, who was commander of the 336th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing, led a flight of four F-86s over northwestern North Korea. To trick the communists, the Sabre pilots flew at the same altitude and speed as F-80s typically did on missions, and they used F-80 call signs. Hinton spotted four MiGs at a lower altitude, and he led his flight in an attack. After pouring a burst of machine gun fire into one of the MiGs, it went down in flames”

And – the history was?

Jon