iscover
Winning
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August 10, 1967 MiG-21
F-4B, VF-142, CVW-14, CVA-64 A/C No. NK-202 BuNo
152247 Lt Guy Freeborn
Lt[JG) Bob Elliot August 10, 1967 MiG-21
F-4B, VF-142, CVW-14, CVA-6 LCDR Bob Davis
LCDR Swede Elie
Freeborn and his leader, Bob Davis, launched from the USS Constellation at 1145; climbed to rendezvous with a waiting KA-3B tanker, and topped off their tanks. Their mission was to fly cover for two strike groups, one from the Constellation, and one from USS Intrepid, which were to strike the Phu Ly trans-shipment point. As they dropped off the tanker, the two VF-142 Phantoms banked to the northwest and headed for North Vietnam. They reached their assigned patrol area, over the foothills west of Nam Dinh, and in loose combat spread formation, began a random left-hand pattern orbit at 16,000 feet. There was an overcast at 22,000 feet, and since the CCI-directed MiGs were expected to attack from above, the Phantom pilots had opted for a lower patrol altitude, hoping to spot the MiGs as they descended through the cloud deck. Even though the MiGs would have the altitude advantage, they would be in the transition from instruments to visual, and would momentarily be disoriented. In modern aerial combat, a few seconds of indecision can be fatal, and that is what the Phantom pilots were counting on.
The Constellation strike group hit Phu Ly at 1230. Davis and Freeborn were able to observe some of the activity, and as the strike group pulled off their targets, the MiGs appeared. The Phantom patrol heard several MiG calls, but despite continued and vigorous neck craning, they could not spot the enemy interceptors. The Constellation strike group was leaving the area, so they switched to the Intrepid frequency and began calling the strike leader. Several calls went unanswered. (They would later learn that the Intrepid strike had been weather aborted.)
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