| Date: 16 September 1966 |
| Aircraft type: F-4C Phantom |
| Serial Number: 63-7643 |
| Military Unit: 555 TFS, 8 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Ubon |
| Name(s): |
| Maj John Leighton Robertson (KIA) |
| 1Lt Hubert Elliot Buchanan (POW) |
| The Dap Cau railway and road bridge was once more the target for USAF bombers. A flight of four Phantoms from Ubon using the radio call sign Moonglow took part in the raid but en route to the target the flight was jumped by several MiG-17s. Maj Robertson’s aircraft was hit by cannon fire and crashed 15 miles southeast of the MiG’s base at Kep. The WSO, 1Lt Hubert Buchanan, ejected and was captured but it was thought that Maj Robertson died in the crash. Having been held in seven different prison camps during his years of captivity, Hubert Buchanan was released on 4 March 1973. This was the first USAF Phantom to be lost in air-to-air combat during the war. In 1990 the Vietnamese handed over remains they identified as being those of Maj Robertson but they turned out to be the bones of an animal. A joint US/Vietnamese team later located the wreck site but, as yet, no remains have been recovered. |
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