Hobby Master 1/72 HA1946B McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom 66-0267 Captains Madden & DeBellevue
Hobby Master HA1946 McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom66-0267, flown by Capt. John Madden and Capt Chuck DeBellevue, 555th TFS/8th TFW, Udorn AFB Thailand, 1972
Captain Chuck DeBellevue came from the 555th TFS / 432nd TRW with 4 MiG-21 victories under his belt while flying with Captain R. Ritchie, but now was paired with Captain John Madden of 555th TFS / 8th TFW at Udorn AB, Thailand. On September 9, 1972 during Operation Linebacker while flying F-4D 66-0267 call-sign Olds 01, Madden and DeBellevue fired two AIM-7 missiles at a MiG-21 but missed but then managed to down 2 MiG-19s giving DeBellevue victories 5 and 6 making him the highest scoring American Ace of the Vietnam War.
Avionics. The F-4D entered operational service in April 1966 and joined the combat forces in Southeast Asia in May 1967. With the arrival of the D most of the C variant was reassigned to ground attack with the Ds taking on the air-to-air interceptor role. In 1968 - 1969 a total of 825 D models were produced 793 for the USAF and 32 for the Iranian Air Force.