General Dynamics F-111A Aardvark – 428th TFS, USAF, Takhli RTAB, Thailand, 1968

Hobby Master 1/72 scale HA3031: General Dynamics F-111A Aardvark #66-0022 of  428th TFS, USAF, Takhli RTAB, Thailand, 1968. Production run of 500 models.

Length 12.25 inches Wingspan 10.5 inches

On March 28, 1968, Major Henry MacCann (Pilot) and Captain Dennis Graham (WSO) were killed in the loss of F-111A s/n 66-0022. It was the first F-111 combat related loss during the “Combat Lancer” (the first operational use of the F-11A) deployment to Takhli AB, Thailand. It occurred two days after Combat Lancer operations started. Mission target was Chan Hao Truck park at 17’32.11″N, 106’29.12″E.

The crash site was discovered during 1989, in the Phu Phan Mountain Range of Northeast Thailand. The crew members dog tags were found with the wreckage. At the time of its loss, F-111A s/n 66-0022 had flown 40 flights and accumulated 103.8 flight hours. It turned out that the loss of 66-0022 was not due to enemy action, but was caused by wing and tail structural defects.

Designed to meet the combined requirements of the US Air Force and the US Navy, the F-111 Aardvark was first flown on December 21, 1964. Several versions of the F-111 were developed, but the Navy cancelled its version in 1968 leaving the Air Force the F-111’s sole US operator. The Aardvark was well ahead of its time, pioneering such technologies as terrain following radar, afterburning turbofans and variable sweep wings. Though it was originally conceived as a multi-role fighter, it was better suited to a role as a long-range attack aircraft. It was armed with air-to surface ordnance and was equipped to carry free-fall nuclear weapons.