Date: 8 February 1970 |
Aircraft type: F-4B Phantom |
Serial Number: 149467 |
Military Unit: VMFA-314, MAG-13 |
Service: USMC |
Home Base: Chu Lai |
Name(s): |
Maj James Brady Leonard, Jr. (Survived) |
1Lt Jeffrey Charles Coon (Survived) |
A Marine Corps Phantom was thought to have been a victim of its own ordnance during a close air support mission in South Vietnam. Maj Leonard was dropping napalm on enemy troops near Duc Pho, 40 miles southeast of Chu Lai, when its port wing suddenly caught fire. Although there was .50 calibre ground fire reported at the time, there seems a strong possibility that the aircraft had been hit by the blast from the napalm. Maj Leonard flew the burning aircraft (call sign Love Bug 1) out to sea and he and 1Lt Coon ejected off the coast about 25 miles southeast of Da Nang and were picked up by helicopter. |
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