History 1968

4453rd CCTW History

1968

In January issue of the Phantom NEWSLETTER, there was an article about a USAF first--a father and son receiving the same USAF training at the same base at the same time. The father, Col. Lee H. Batsel, Assistant Deputy Commander for Operations, 41st Air Division, Yokota Air Base, Japan. The son, 2Lt. Michael L. Batsel, a September graduate from Pilot Training School, Vance AFB, Oklahoma, and currently assigned to a unit at Homestead AFB, Florida.

The where--both men arrived at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, and checked in at the 4453rd CCTW where Col. Batsel was attending a one month familiarization program of the F-4C. 2Lt. Batsel attended the academic program prior to returning to Homestead AFB to finish his flight training in the F-4C. On Col. Batsel's fifth sortie in the F-4C he had his son in the backseat, the first time in about sixteen years that the two had been flying together. This was at the time believed to been a USAF "first."

On 28 June F-4C 63-7458 crashed.

In either late 1968 or early 1969 five sets of aircrews from the Israeli Air Force (IAF) checked in with the 4453rd CCTW for basic F-4 transition training. All of the IAF aircrewmen were combat veterans and as the stories go, there is a debate over who actually taught whom what in the F-4. The IAF aircrews were experiencing the two-man team arrangement for the first time but their collective combat experience against a more active foe than the limited USAF engagements with the North Vietnamese Air Force (NVAF) gave them experience with tactics considered saftey risks by the USAF IP's (themselves just learning the aircraft). Following the initial transition training the IAF element transferred to George AFB, California, for more advanced training.

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