11 December 1966 – Capt A.E. Belford was serving with the 90TFS out of Bien Hoa AB, Vietnam. On a mission to discover a Vietcong supply route, his F-100 #553787 was hit by heavy artillery. Belford ejected and was rescued near Dau Tieng, RVN by HH-43F from Det. 6, 38th ARRS, crewed by David M. Randall (P), Robert A. Reilly (CP), Melvin G. Goff (FE) and Robert A. Loud (PJ).
Today in History – April 29, 1949 – Prototype of McDonnell XF-85 “Goblin” dropped from crane at Moffett Field.
29 April 1949 – During WWII a need was discovered for a “parasite fighter” – a jet fighter to protect bombers from hostile intercept aircraft. Pilot fatigue from P-41 and P-51 pilots who were protecting Boeing B-17’s, B-24’s, and Boeing B-29’s was a real problem. Aerial refueling hadn’t been perfected and these interceptors couldn’t match