The F-4C Phantom And The MiG-17
On this day, July 10, 1965 U.S. planes continue heavy raids in South Vietnam and claim to have killed 580 guerrillas. U.S. Phantom jets, escorting fighter-bombers in a raid on the Yen Sen ammunition depot northwest of Hanoi, engaged North Vietnamese MiG-17s. Capt. Thomas S. Roberts with his backseater Capt. Ronald C. Anderson, and Capt. Kenneth E. Holcombe and his backseater Capt. Arthur C. Clark shot down two MiG-17s with Sidewinder missiles. The action marked the first U.S. Air Force air-to-air victories of the Vietnam War.
Interestingly, one of the F-4C Phantom Jets believed to have made one of the service’s first F-4 “kills” of a MiG-17 during the Vietnam War is housed at Misawa Air Base, home to The 35th Fighter Wing. In 2006 it was taken off of display to get some needed up keep, but is now back with a new paint job and some cosmetic fix up.
