SwiftVets.com

jmckay8497

Air Force Pilot Lorenza Conner, missing in Viet Nam since October 1967 was buried yesterday in his hometown in Georgia.

Welcome Home Lorenza, and God Bless You!

Here is a link to the story. http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/10/08/cartersville_pilot_vietnam.html?cxntlid=inform_sr

A friend of mine is in the Patriot Guard in Georgia, and Lorenza was given a tremendous welcome home by thousand of Americans!
_________________
Air Force Vet
Service in Thailand and Viet Nam
1968 and 1969

coldwarvet

Dear Lord thank you for the Service of this great Air Force officer Conner who made the ultimate sacrifice to pass freedom down to this generation. May his family and comrades find peace.

Amen
_________________
Defender of the honor of those in harms way keeping us out of harms way.

"Peace is our Profession"
Strategic Air Command - Motto

USAF 75-79 Security Police

zinfella · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 2:59 am Post subject:

A prayer for Conner's soul is definitely on order, and he has our undying gratitude as well.
_________________
No whiners!

1991932 · Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:57 am Post subject:

It is gratifying that Captain Conner's family can finally lay him to rest.

These stories always send my off on Google searches, often for hours at a time.

Here is a pretty good news report from My Fox/Atlanta. Captain Conner was his class valedictorian in high school.

The AJC article linked in the original post has a photograph of Captain Conner posing with "his jet." It's certainly not an F-4D. Can somebody help me out? It looks like either an F-101 or some training command mock-up.

RIP Captain Conner.
_________________
Former "War Criminal"

jmckay8497 · Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:10 pm Post subject:

Looks to me like a T-33,
common training fighter in the 60's.

_________________
Air Force Vet
Service in Thailand and Viet Nam
1968 and 1969

zinfella · Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:24 pm Post subject:

That doesn't look like an F-4D, I remember them very well. Very Happy

_________________
No whiners!

TEWSPilot · Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:42 pm Post subject:

Yes, it is a T-33. It was the trainer developed from the F-80. Wikipedia has a decent writeup on it:

The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star is an American-built jet trainer aircraft. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948, piloted by Tony LeVier. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then designated T-33A. It was used by the U.S. Navy initially as TO-2 then TV-2, and after 1962, T-33B. Despite its vintage, the venerable T-33 still remains in service worldwide.

The Cessna T-37 Tweet (Primary Jet Trainer) and the Northrop T-38 Talon (Advanced Jet Trainer) had replaced it shortly before I entered USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training. Someone had noted that the T-37 converted JP-4 to noise. It was also know as the 6,000 pound dog whistle. Wikipedia also noted that the A-37 Dragonfly variant served with distinction in the light attack role during the Vietnam War and continues to serve a role in the air forces of several South American nations. I watched them in action conducting air to mud missions in Laos, and they were very precise with their hits. Both the T-37 and the T-38 were fun to fly. I had to investigate a T-33 fatal crash once, but I never had the opportunity to take one for a ride.

jmckay8497 · Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 11:00 am Post subject:

This is an F4-D

From Wikepedia ''The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II[1][2] is a two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic fighter-bomber originally developed for the U.S. Navy by McDonnell Aircraft.[2] Proving highly adaptable, it became a major part of the air wings of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force.[3] It was used extensively by all three of these services during the Vietnam War, serving as the principal air superiority fighter for both the Navy and Air Force, as well as being important in the ground-attack and reconnaissance roles by the close of U.S. involvement in the war.[3]

First entering service in 1960, the Phantom continued to form a major part of U.S. military air power throughout the 1970s and 1980s, being gradually replaced by more modern aircraft such as the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon in the U.S. Air Force; the F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Hornet in the U.S. Navy; and the F/A-18 in the U.S. Marine Corps. It remained in use by the U.S. in the reconnaissance and Wild Weasel roles in the 1991 Gulf War, finally leaving service in 1996.
_________________
Air Force Vet
Service in Thailand and Viet Nam
1968 and 1969

zinfella · Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 1:17 pm Post subject:

No, that is not an F-4D Skyray, it's an F-4 Phantom.

<http://www.vectorsite.net/avskyray.html>
_________________
No whiners!

TEWSPilot · Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 6:29 pm Post subject:

Remember that some of the designations were previously used during WWII, so don't confuse them. I remember walking by one of the mechanics on the flightline one day, and he had a sticker on his toolbox that said:

"McDonnel - Douglas, -- World's largest distributor of MIG parts"...and there was a picture of an F-4D having firied a missile at a MIG, and the MIG was exploding.

"World's largest distributor of MIG parts" was also a motto of the 555th Fighter Squadron of the 8th TAC Fighter Wing at Ubon, where I was stationed for the last half of my tour.

zinfella · Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 7:00 pm Post subject:

jmckay8497 · Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 9:03 pm Post subject: F-4 Phantom History

The F-4C first flew for the Air Force in May 1963 and the Air National Guard began flying the F-4C in January 1972. The Air Force Reserve received its first Phantom II in June 1978. The F-4D model, with major changes that increase accuracy in weapons delivery, was delivered to the Air Force in March 1966, to the Air National Guard in 1977, and to the Air Force Reserve in 1980.

The first F-4E was delivered to the Air Force in October 1967. The Air National Guard received its first F-4E in 1985, the Air Force Reserve in 1987. This model, with an additional fuselage fuel tank, leading-edge slats for increased maneuverability, and an improved engine, also has an internally mounted 20mm multibarrel gun with improved fire-control system.

Starting in 1973, F-4E's were fitted with target-identification systems for long-range visual identification of airborne or ground targets. Each system is basically a television camera with a zoom lens to aid in positive identification, and a system called Pave Tack, which provided day and night all-weather capability to acquire, track and designate ground targets for laser, infrared and electro-optically guided weapons. Another change was a digital intercept computer that includes launch computations for all AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles. Additionally, on F-4E/G models, the digital ARN-101 navigation system replaced the LN-12 inertial navigation system.
_________________
Air Force Vet
Service in Thailand and Viet Nam
1968 and 1969

TEWSPilot · Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 9:55 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the corrections. "After further review from the booth", the ones I saw on the flightline at Ubon may even have been F-4Es; I didn't pay that much attention to them. I remember a funny experience on a cross country during T-37 training out of Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, Texas to Bergstrom AFB in Austin, Texas. John Piowaty was one of the guest instructors who flew with us, and upon landing at Bergstrom, he walked over to one of the RF-4s and commented out loud, "hmmmm, two engines, two seats, rotating beacons....must be some sort of transport"...and then he walked off. In case the name is unfamiliar to you, he flew F-105s and got credit for helping to take down a span of the infamous Dournier Bridge on the Hanoi raiload and highway in August 1967, arguably the most heavily defended target in North Vietnam. At one time, his handlebar mustache measured 13 inches either side of his mouth.