Archives: Today in History

4 July 1968 – J.S. Ellard was serving with the 352 TFS/35 TFW out of Phan Rang aB, Vietnam. While en route to taking out a SAM site, Ellard’s F-100 was hit by gunfire. He crashed and was recovered but suffered major injuries. 4 July 2020 – Let us remember how hard we’ve struggled to […]

The General Dynamics F-16XL was a derivative of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, with a cranked-arrow delta wing. It was originally conceived as a technology demonstrator, later entered the United States Air Force’s (USAF) Enhanced Tactical Fighter (ETF) competition but lost to the F-15E Strike Eagle. Several years after the prototypes were shelved, they were turned over to NASA for additional aeronautical research.

1Lt Lance LaGrange was KIA while flying F-100 #563122 from the 31st TFW at Tuy HOA AB near Binh Dinh province in Vietnam during an LZ Prep mission. Lance was raised in Maspeth, NY, and graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York with a BSEE Degree. He also graduated at the top of his USAF