| Date: 13 August 1965 |
| Aircraft type: RF-101C Voodoo |
| Serial Number: 56-0186 |
| Military Unit: 20 TRS, 363 TRW on TDY |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Udorn |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Fredric Moore Mellor (KIA) |
| The USAF was also busy hunting for SAM sites at this time but while the Navy searched the area north of Thanh Hoa the USAF concentrated on the region to the west of Hanoi around where Fobair and Keirn had been shot down on 24 July. Capt Mellor was heading back to base with his wingman at low level when his Voodoo (call sign Wolf 41) was hit by ground fire near Van Yen, about 50 miles due west of Hanoi. The aircraft caught fire and he ejected and later radioed that he was on the ground and OK. The other RF-101 made contact with Capt Mellor but as the North Vietnamese might be able to locate him by radio direction finding, he was advised to stay off the air until a SAR task force could be put together. However, when a USAF rescue helicopter arrived at the area there was no sign or radio contact with Capt Mellor and a search over the next few days also proved negative. In February 1991 US investigators in Vietnam interviewed witnesses to an incident that they believed related to Capt Mellor. The Vietnamese said that the pilot evaded capture for several hours but was then discovered by members of the local militia. The pilot opened fire on the militia who returned fire causing wounds from which he later died. In 1991 four Vietnamese witnesses returned to the area where Capt Mellor was killed and recovered human remains and personal effects. The remains were handed over but were not positively identified as being those of Capt Mellor until July 2018.
The experience of the past 48 hours proved two points. Firstly, low level searching for SAM sites was extremely dangerous and was best performed by specialist aircraft and crews which were not then available. Secondly, the greatest threat from the SA-2 was that it forced aircraft to fly at low level where they became extremely vulnerable to AAA and small arms fire. Unfortunately, it took a little while for these two valuable lessons to really hit home. |
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