Phantom Strike by Robert Taylor

The steel mill at Thai Nguyen was vital to North Vietnam and in 1967 its destruction was a top priority for the USAF. There was a problem however; it was one of the most heavily and well defended installations in the country.

On 30 March 1967, the mission to attack the Thai Nguyen steel plant fell to the legendary fighter leader and WWII Ace Robin Olds but it turned out to be one of the most hazardous raids of the Vietnam War.

“For forty miles we raced over rice paddies studded with rocky hillocks each covered with guns of every caliber shooting for all they were worth. Air bursts flashed and smoked everywhere, shrapnel and short rounds roiled the water in the paddies, and sheets of tracers came at us blurring our vision ahead. We flew right through this barrage much as the Kamikaze pilots had against our carriers in World War II, and for the only time in 900 combat flying, it flashed through my mind that none of us would survive the mission.”

Robert Taylor’s outstanding interpretation of the raid depicts Robin Olds and his two wingmen seconds after the strike and is one of the most iconic and collectible pieces ever released.

Signatures:

Brigadier General ROBIN OLDS

Major DAN LAFFERTY (Robin Olds' backseater)