23 September 1967: Colonel Robin Olds, United States Air Force, the Wing Commander of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Ubon-Rachitani Royal Thai Air Force Base, flew the final combat mission of his military career.
On this last mission, Colonel Olds flew a McDonnell F-4C-21-MC Phantom II, serial number 63-7668. Olds had flown this Phantom when he and Lieutenant William D. Lefever shot down a MiG-21 near Hanoi, 4 May 1967.
63-7668 had been delivered to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing from the factory on 18 January 1965. It was lost in the South China Sea, 27 January 1968.
© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes
Gentlemen:
I have a 150 page mimeo’d book entitled “Fighter Pilots Songbook. It has “Maxon 372B and 497th TFS handwritten on the cover. Inside: Second edition/November 1965/433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron.
Names given as typists, etc:
Sandi Wilson George Kahl Cpt. Bob Ashcraft Cpt. Bob Bones Mr & Mrs J A Maher Jere Mileusnich Cpt. J B Stone Cpt. Bennie Wallace Tim Wilson Lt. John B. Spencer Cpt. Chuck Kahl.
Any information about this book would be appreciated. I’d send it to wherever it may belong, since I do not want to dispose of it. I got it some years ago from a friend.
Sincerely,
Stanley J. Serxner [email protected]
Mr. Serxner: The 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron was assigned to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing (“Wolf Pack”) at Ubon-Ratchitani Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, December 1965. You might try: https://web.archive.org/web/20180307120544/http://www.8tfw.com:80/pages/index3.htm
Link doesn’t work Bryan.
☲✪☲ I forwarded your note to Brig Gen J.B. Stone & Ms. Christina Olds [Robin’s daughter].
??
ℭhief ℬob
its actually F-4C 63-7668, not F-4D 66-7668
Thanks, Raymond. You are correct. Col. Olds had previously flown 63-7668 to shoot down a MiG-21, 4 May 1968. 66-7668 was based at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, at the time. Thank you for brining this to my attention.
I served in the 497th ,1965 thru 1968. All my photos and memorabilia are going to the USAF museum in Dayton Ohio on my next trip there.
One of Americas greatest fighting men. A true hero.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Ubon.veterans/?ref=share
It would be more accurate to say that 23 September 1967 was Olds’s last combat mission as the 8 TFW commander.
After his Academy Superintendent assignment (ca. 1971), Olds actually flew more combat missions with different F-4 units in-theater when he did his stint on the IG, which was prior to Linebacker, during the bombing halt, so he didn’t go up “North” but he flew interdiction and CAS missions…I don’t know more details than that but there are published photos of him with F-4D crews at Phu Cat in that period.
Another error in this article is that Olds flew his last mission with the 8 TFW in “his” flagship F-4C, with the 433 TFS, 64-0829, “SCAT XXVII,” which had been repainted in early September to make the name bolder and more visible, while also patch-painting over much of the peeled camouflage colors on the front end of the airframe, and applying large, freshly painted red stars with yellow outlines denoting Olds’s and Steve Croker’s double MiG-17 kills in 0829 on 20 May 67.
The photo in the article of Olds taxiing back in front of the cheering crowd is an actual photo (or still frame capture from 16mm film) of Olds and LaFever landing after their MiG-21 killing mission on 4 May 1967, in F-4C 63-7668. This is how 7668 looked in May 67, while still assigned to the 555 TFS (tail code FY), before it was reassigned to the 497 TFS (FP tail code) in summer ‘67…had Olds flown in 7668 for his final flight on 23 September, it would have had a red nose band and an FP tail code.