First Vietnam Mig Kill?

That is quite a story and too bad he wasn't credited for that Mig kill. It certainly sounds like he got that one with his guns.

Destiny has a way for us all. He did 3 tours in Nam, flew hundreds of hours yet he's killed in a traffic accident in DC. 

Urban legend...

Kilgus did get a "probable", and the pilot of the Mig may have been Le Minh Huan, who shot down Magnusson.

-"Mig 17/19 Aces of the Vietnam War"

True the Air Force gave credit for a probable kill. But since the Viets opened up their archives and thheir side admits to the loss, it should be upgraded. The F-100's only air to air kill. And as bad of a day as that was for the Air Force there, two Thuds lost to Migs, plus a couple more to AAA, not to mention the target surviving two days of strikes in a row, a confirmation would be a bright spot on an otherwise bad day.

stikpusher

True the Air Force gave credit for a probable kill. But since the Viets opened up their archives and thheir side admits to the loss, it should be upgraded. The F-100's only air to air kill. And as bad of a day as that was for the Air Force there, two Thuds lost to Migs, plus a couple more to AAA, not to mention the target surviving two days of strikes in a row, a confirmation would be a bright spot on an otherwise bad day.

 

knew a Weasel crew that tried to claim a kill when the mig that was chasing them disappeared.  All they saw was one of their drop tsnks tumbling through the air and a big ball of fire at another location.  Since they were alone and there was no film, they lost it.

The courage those guys had during that was was incredible. I worked for a LtCol. who had over 900 combat, not standard flying, hours in a O-1.

Rev, I seriously doubt anybody is losing sleep over this piece of history. And I know the military is glacially slow at modifying or correcting records. That is just who they are. I just hope someday that they do correct the record. The information is out there, the rest is up to the folks who make such decisions.

ikar, I have read of one Thud Weasel crew who claimed a kill made by an emergency jettison of their centerline MER of a Mig "trapped in their six". Depending upon the source, the kill was allowed or disallowed. 

Also in the war the concept of kills and body counts became political.

And in a certain sense an aircraft type having no kills is also a good thing.

But F-102, F-106 and F-89 didn't either.

Yes, but the ultimate proof of concept of a fighter plane is the air to air kill. Especially against what can be considered a "peer" contemporary design from the other side. The Mig-17 and F-100 were developed with the lessons of air combat in Korea then going on between the Mig-15 and F-86. Both were highly successful designs that served worldwide. First as fighters and later as fighter bombers. And while the Mig-17 would score numerous kills under the flags of many nations, the F-100 did not. And this incident appears to be the only encounter between the two types in a combat air to air situation with shots fired.