1973: A U.S. Navy F-4B Phantom II of Fighter Squadron 161 (VF-161) off USS Midway (CVA-41) flown by Lieutenant V. T. Kovaleski (pilot) and Ensign D. H. Plautz (radar intercept officer) becomes the last American aircraft lost over North Vietnam when it is shot down by antiaircraft artillery near Thanh Hoa while escorting an Operation Blue Tree reconnaissance mission.