| Date: 23 August 1967 |
| Aircraft type: F-4D Phantom |
| Serial Number: 66-0238 |
| Military Unit: 555 TFS, 8 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Ubon |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Charles Robert Tyler (POW) |
| Capt Ronald Nichalis Sittner (KIA) |
| Aircraft type: F-4D Phantom |
| Serial Number: 66-0247 |
| Military Unit: 555 TFS, 8 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Ubon |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Larry Edward Carrigan (POW) |
| 1Lt Charles Lane (KIA) |
| Aircraft type: F-4D Phantom |
| Serial Number: 65-0726 |
| Military Unit: 555 TFS, 8 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Ubon |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Robert Ralston Sawhill (POW) |
| 1Lt Gerald Lee Gerndt (POW) |
| Aircraft type: F-4D Phantom |
| Serial Number: 66-0260 |
| Military Unit: 555 TFS, 8 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Ubon |
| Name(s): |
| Maj C B Demarque (Survived) |
| 1Lt J M Piet (Survived) |
| Later in the day the Triple Nickel Squadron from Ubon took part in a strike against the Yen Vien railway yard that turned to disaster with the loss of four Phantoms and three crews. The strike consisted of nine flights of F-105s and four flights of F-4s, one of which was designated as the MiGCAP flight. As Ford flight approached the target at 15,000 feet it was intercepted by several MiG-21s. A dogfight ensued resulting in two Phantoms (both call signs Ford) being shot down by the MiG’s missiles just north of Thud Ridge, about 50 miles northwest of Hanoi. Maj Tyler ejected and was knocked unconscious and taken prisoner but his WSO, Capt Sittner, probably perished in the aircraft, although another POW claimed to have seen Sittner in one of the Hanoi prisons. The pilot of the other MiG-victim, Capt Carrigan, also survived and was captured three days later. Once on the ground he saw another airman, who he took to be his WSO, Charles Lane, moving in the distance. US intelligence reports appeared to indicate that Lane was being held in a POW camp in 1968 but when Tyler and Carrigan were released on 14 March 1973, Charles Lane was unaccounted for and had not been seen by any other US POW.
During a 1991 JTF-FA investigation of this incident eye witnesses reported seeing three or four parachutes from the two Phantoms but only two airmen were captured. However, local villagers reported find the body of an airman hanging from a tree by his parachute. The body was buried nearby and the investigation team disinterred the remains and sent it to Hawaii for identification. The remains were determined to be those of Capt Sittner. The witnesses also stated that a Chinese military unit arrived and removed the wreckage of one of the aircraft. Soon after the two Phantoms had been shot down 1Lt David Waldrop, an F-105 pilot from the 44th TFS, shot down two MiG-17s. Following close on the heels of Ford flight was Falcon flight. Maj Sawhill avoided the MiGs but ran into an intense barrage of AAA as he dived on the target. His aircraft was hit and the crew ejected close to Gia Lam Airport on the outskirts of Hanoi. Both men were quickly captured and spent the rest of the war as prisoners until released on 14 March 1973. Another of the 555th’s Phantoms (call sign Ford) was hit by the intense AAA over the target but managed to escape from the area and head towards home. Maj Demarque crossed North Vietnam and Laos into Thailand but he and his WSO were forced to eject near Wanon Niwat, about 60 miles northwest of Nakhon Phanom, when they ran out of fuel before reaching a tanker. They were both picked up by a HH-3E from Udorn, having suffered only minor injuries. The loss of four aircraft on a single raid was a severe blow to the 555th TFS and the threat of the MiG-21 was becoming very apparent. The VPAF had revised its tactics by approaching the strike force at low level and zooming up to attack with a single pass before heading for base or China. The tally might have been worse as an F-4C crew launched two Sparrow missiles at what they thought was a MiG but was then identified as another Phantom. The crew broke radar lock and the missiles went ballistic and fell into the jungle. |
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