{"id":22771233,"date":"2026-09-16T15:45:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T13:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/?p=22771233"},"modified":"2026-09-16T15:45:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T13:45:59","slug":"charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/","title":{"rendered":"The Top American Ace of Vietnam Never Flew the Aircraft"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<p>The highest-scoring American ace of the Vietnam War never flew the aeroplane.<\/p>\r\n<p>On 9 September 1972, Captain Charles B. DeBellevue shot down his fifth and sixth MiGs from the back seat of an F-4D Phantom. He was a weapon systems officer. The stick and throttles were three feet in front of him, in the hands of Captain John A. Madden Jr. DeBellevue finished the war with six victories, more than any American of any service, and he got every one of them without touching the flight controls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/mcdonnell-f-4d-phantom-ii.jpg\" alt=\"McDonnell F-4D Phantom II\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A McDonnell F-4D Phantom II. On 9 September 1972 DeBellevue and Madden flew an F-4D of exactly this block, serial 66-0267, callsign OLDS 01. Photo: Eric Friedebach, CC BY 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:18px 20px;margin:26px 0\"><h3 style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-size:20px\">Quick Facts<\/h3><table style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:15px\"><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee;font-weight:600;width:38%;vertical-align:top\">Who<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee\">Captain, later Colonel, Charles B. DeBellevue, born New Orleans, 15 August 1945<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee;font-weight:600;width:38%;vertical-align:top\">Role<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee\">Weapon systems officer, the back-seater in a two-seat F-4 Phantom<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee;font-weight:600;width:38%;vertical-align:top\">Victories<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee\">Six. The highest American total of the Vietnam War<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee;font-weight:600;width:38%;vertical-align:top\">With Steve Ritchie<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee\">Four MiG-21s, between May and August 1972<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee;font-weight:600;width:38%;vertical-align:top\">With John Madden<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee\">Two MiG-19s, both on 9 September 1972<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee;font-weight:600;width:38%;vertical-align:top\">That aircraft<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee\">F-4D-29-MC Phantom II, serial 66-0267, callsign OLDS 01<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee;font-weight:600;width:38%;vertical-align:top\">Unit<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee\">555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Udorn RTAFB, Thailand<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee;font-weight:600;width:38%;vertical-align:top\">Operation<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee\">Linebacker, on combat air patrol west of Hanoi<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee;font-weight:600;width:38%;vertical-align:top\">Career total<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee\">220 combat missions, 550 combat hours, three Silver Stars, six Distinguished Flying Crosses<\/td><\/tr><tr><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee;font-weight:600;width:38%;vertical-align:top\">Afterwards<\/td><td style=\"padding:8px 14px;border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee\">Sent to pilot training. Retired a colonel in 1998 after 30 years<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The rule that made it possible<\/h2>\r\n<p>For most of the war, an F-4 crew that killed a MiG split the credit. Half to the pilot, half to the man in the back. Under that arithmetic DeBellevue would have finished the war with three, and no American would have become an ace from the back seat.<\/p>\r\n<p>In 1971 the Air Force Chief of Staff, General John D. Ryan, changed it, and made the change retroactive to 1965. From then on both members of an F-4 crew received a full aerial victory credit.<\/p>\r\n<p>It reads like bookkeeping. It was a statement about what the aircraft actually was. The Phantom was not a fighter with a passenger. It was a weapons system operated by two people, and in the radar-missile engagements of 1972 the man who found the target, sorted it from the clutter, locked it and told the pilot where to point was doing at least half the fighting. Ryan&rsquo;s ruling simply stopped pretending otherwise.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/ritchie-debellevue-f-4-phantom-mission.jpg\" alt=\"Captains Steve Ritchie and Charles DeBellevue before a mission\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Captains Steve Ritchie and Charles DeBellevue preparing for a mission. Four of DeBellevue&rsquo;s six victories came with Ritchie flying. Photo: U.S. Air Force, public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What the back-seater was actually doing<\/h2>\r\n<p>The F-4D had no internal gun. Everything depended on missiles, and missiles depended on the radar, and the radar depended on the man working it.<\/p>\r\n<p>In a 1972 intercept the WSO ran the search, picked the contact out of ground clutter, established which of the returns was hostile, held the lock through the manoeuvring, checked the shot parameters, and kept up a continuous commentary so the pilot could keep his eyes outside the cockpit rather than down in the scope. He also ran the fuel, the navigation, the systems and the radio. The pilot flew and shot. The WSO did nearly everything else, at the same time, under g.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 24px;margin:26px 0\"><p style=\"font-size:19px;line-height:1.6;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 10px;color:#0d1117\">&ldquo;It is a real team sport.&rdquo;<\/p><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#555;margin:0\"><strong>Charles B. DeBellevue<\/strong>, on air combat, extending the credit from the crew to the crew chiefs, maintainers, cooks and supply staff behind them<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8bTE5RXBG7g\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Four with Ritchie<\/h2>\r\n<p>DeBellevue&rsquo;s first four kills came with Captain Steve Ritchie flying, all MiG-21s, between May and August 1972. Ritchie became <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/\">the only Air Force pilot ace of the war<\/a> on the back of the same engagements, including the celebrated 8 July mission in which two MiG-21s went down in one minute and twenty-nine seconds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #2e7d32;padding:20px 24px;margin:26px 0\"><p style=\"font-size:19px;line-height:1.6;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 10px;color:#0d1117\">&ldquo;The 8th of July mission was the most intense, the most exciting mission that I ever flew. Everything worked. During that minute and 29 seconds I drew on all my life experiences.&rdquo;<\/p><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#555;margin:0\"><strong>Steve Ritchie<\/strong>, interviewed for The History Channel&rsquo;s Weapons at War: The Aces<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The pairing is the point. Two men in the same aeroplane became aces off substantially the same fights, one from each seat, and the Air Force recognised both.<\/p>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">9 September 1972<\/h2>\r\n<p>The fifth and sixth came with a different pilot. Flying OLDS 01, an F-4D of the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron out of Udorn, DeBellevue and Madden were on combat air patrol west of Hanoi in support of Linebacker when they ran into MiG-19s.<\/p>\r\n<p>The MiG-19 was a different problem from the MiG-21. Older, slower at the top end, but with three 30 mm cannon and a good rate of roll at close range, and North Vietnamese pilots flew it as a knife fighter. Coming off a MiG-19 badly was a genuine way to die.<\/p>\r\n<p>They engaged two of them with AIM-9 Sidewinders. The first missile detonated close alongside its target rather than striking it, damaging the MiG badly enough that it went down at Phuc Yen. The second hit, and that aircraft spiralled into the ground. Six.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/vpaf-pilots-shenyang-j-6-mig-19-vietnam.jpg\" alt=\"North Vietnamese pilots with Shenyang J-6 fighters\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">North Vietnamese pilots with Shenyang J-6s, the Chinese-built MiG-19. Cannon-armed and dangerous inside a turn. Photo: U.S. Air Force, public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Sent to pilot training<\/h2>\r\n<p>Then the Air Force took its leading ace out of the war. Aces were too valuable as prisoners and too valuable as symbols, so he went home.<\/p>\r\n<p>And then it sent him to pilot training, at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona. He had started undergraduate pilot training years earlier and not finished it; that was why he was in the back seat in the first place. He completed it this time, returned to the Phantom as an aircraft commander in the front seat, and retired as a colonel in 1998 after thirty years. In 2015 he received the Congressional Gold Medal.<\/p>\r\n<p>There is a neatness to it that is almost too good. The man who proved the back seat could win a war was rewarded with a transfer to the front one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gJgiqvCRly4\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Two notes on the version going round<\/h2>\r\n<p>This came up via the Commemorative Air Force Gulf Coast Wing, and the substance is right. Two things are worth flagging for anyone reading the original.<\/p>\r\n<p>The first is that the post describes only the 9 September engagement, which can leave the impression that those were his only kills. They were his fifth and sixth. The other four came earlier in 1972 with Ritchie, and a commenter corrected this underneath.<\/p>\r\n<p>The second is an editing slip. A paragraph about Bennett and Bakke and the Strike Eagle&rsquo;s only air-to-air victory, each credited with half a kill, has been pasted into the middle of the text from a different article. It sits directly against the sentence explaining that the Air Force had stopped splitting credits, which makes the post appear to contradict itself. Bennett and Bakke are a real story, from the Gulf War in 1991 and involving a laser-guided bomb rather than a missile, but they have nothing to do with DeBellevue.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"margin:24px 0;display:flex;justify-content:center\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DdFFHy9mC5i\/embed\/\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:540px;height:1000px;border:0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowtransparency=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>Who was the highest-scoring American ace of the Vietnam War?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Captain Charles B. DeBellevue, a US Air Force weapon systems officer, with six aerial victories. He flew in the back seat of F-4 Phantoms and never handled the flight controls during any of his six kills. No American of any service scored more in the war.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How can a back-seater be an ace if he does not fly the aircraft?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Because the Air Force changed how it awarded credit. For most of the war a two-seat F-4 crew split a victory in half. In 1971 Chief of Staff General John D. Ryan ruled that both crew members would receive a full aerial victory credit, and made the change retroactive to 1965. Under the old rules DeBellevue would have finished with three.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What did DeBellevue actually do during an engagement?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">He ran the radar. That meant searching, picking the target out of ground clutter, identifying it as hostile, holding the lock through manoeuvring, checking the shot parameters and keeping up a continuous verbal commentary so the pilot could keep his eyes outside the cockpit. He also managed fuel, navigation, systems and radios. The F-4D carried no internal gun, so everything depended on the radar and the missiles it cued.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What happened on 9 September 1972?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Flying an F-4D of the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron from Udorn in Thailand, callsign OLDS 01, with Captain John A. Madden Jr. as pilot, DeBellevue engaged two MiG-19s on combat air patrol west of Hanoi during Operation Linebacker. Both were destroyed with AIM-9 Sidewinders, taking his total to six and making him the leading American ace of the war.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many kills did DeBellevue score with Steve Ritchie?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Four, all MiG-21s, between May and August 1972. Ritchie became the only US Air Force pilot ace of the Vietnam War from the same series of engagements, including a mission on 8 July 1972 in which two MiG-21s were shot down in one minute and twenty-nine seconds. DeBellevue&rsquo;s remaining two victories came with a different pilot, John Madden, on 9 September.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What happened to DeBellevue after he became an ace?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Air Force withdrew him from combat and sent him to pilot training at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona, completing the course he had started and not finished years earlier. He returned to the F-4 as an aircraft commander in the front seat and retired as a colonel in 1998 after thirty years of service. He received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2015.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why was the MiG-19 dangerous to an F-4?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The MiG-19, and the Chinese-built Shenyang J-6 version of it, was older and slower at the top end than the MiG-21 but carried three 30 mm cannon and rolled well at close range. North Vietnamese pilots used it as a close-in knife fighter. An F-4D with no internal gun that ended up in a turning fight with one was in a genuinely bad position.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who was the highest-scoring American ace of the Vietnam War?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Captain Charles B. DeBellevue, a US Air Force weapon systems officer, with six aerial victories. He flew in the back seat of F-4 Phantoms and never handled the flight controls during any of his six kills. No American of any service scored more in the war.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How can a back-seater be an ace if he does not fly the aircraft?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Because the Air Force changed how it awarded credit. For most of the war a two-seat F-4 crew split a victory in half. In 1971 Chief of Staff General John D. Ryan ruled that both crew members would receive a full aerial victory credit, and made the change retroactive to 1965. Under the old rules DeBellevue would have finished with three.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What did DeBellevue actually do during an engagement?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"He ran the radar. That meant searching, picking the target out of ground clutter, identifying it as hostile, holding the lock through manoeuvring, checking the shot parameters and keeping up a continuous verbal commentary so the pilot could keep his eyes outside the cockpit. He also managed fuel, navigation, systems and radios. The F-4D carried no internal gun, so everything depended on the radar and the missiles it cued.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happened on 9 September 1972?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Flying an F-4D of the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron from Udorn in Thailand, callsign OLDS 01, with Captain John A. Madden Jr. as pilot, DeBellevue engaged two MiG-19s on combat air patrol west of Hanoi during Operation Linebacker. Both were destroyed with AIM-9 Sidewinders, taking his total to six and making him the leading American ace of the war.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many kills did DeBellevue score with Steve Ritchie?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Four, all MiG-21s, between May and August 1972. Ritchie became the only US Air Force pilot ace of the Vietnam War from the same series of engagements, including a mission on 8 July 1972 in which two MiG-21s were shot down in one minute and twenty-nine seconds. DeBellevue\u2019s remaining two victories came with a different pilot, John Madden, on 9 September.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happened to DeBellevue after he became an ace?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Air Force withdrew him from combat and sent him to pilot training at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona, completing the course he had started and not finished years earlier. He returned to the F-4 as an aircraft commander in the front seat and retired as a colonel in 1998 after thirty years of service. He received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2015.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why was the MiG-19 dangerous to an F-4?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The MiG-19, and the Chinese-built Shenyang J-6 version of it, was older and slower at the top end than the MiG-21 but carried three 30 mm cannon and rolled well at close range. North Vietnamese pilots used it as a close-in knife fighter. An F-4D with no internal gun that ended up in a turning fight with one was in a genuinely bad position.\"}}]}<\/script><p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#777;font-style:italic;margin-top:28px\">Sources: Air &amp; Space Forces Magazine; Vintage Aviation News; Airpower Asia; Gathering of Eagles Foundation; US Air Force; Commemorative Air Force Gulf Coast Wing on Instagram; Afterburner reporting<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:18px 22px;margin:28px 0\"><h3 style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-size:19px\">Related Posts<\/h3><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px\"><li style=\"margin:6px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/steve-ritchie-usaf-only-pilot-ace-vietnam-f-4-phantom\/\">Steve Ritchie: The Air Force&#8217;s Only Pilot Ace of Vietnam<\/a><\/li><li style=\"margin:6px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/dude-44-bravo-f-15e-backseater-60-minutes-interview-2026\/\">Dude 44 Bravo: The F-15E Backseater Breaks His Silence on Iran<\/a><\/li><li style=\"margin:6px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/keith-ferris-false-canopy-camouflage-a-10-cf-18\/\">The Man Who Painted Fake Cockpits on Fighter Jets<\/a><\/li><li style=\"margin:6px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/thomas-mcguire-38-victories-negros-1945\/\">Thomas McGuire: 38 Kills, and the Turn That Killed Him<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The highest-scoring American ace of the Vietnam War never flew the aeroplane. On 9 September 1972, Captain Charles B. DeBellevue shot down his fifth and sixth MiGs from the back seat of an F-4D Phantom. He was a weapon systems officer. The stick and throttles were three feet in front of him, in the hands [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":22770595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22771233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Top American Ace of Vietnam Never Flew the Aircraft | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Charles DeBellevue scored six MiG kills from the back seat of an F-4 Phantom, the highest American total of the Vietnam War, without touching the controls.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Top American Ace of Vietnam Never Flew the Aircraft | MiGFlug\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Charles DeBellevue scored six MiG kills from the back seat of an F-4 Phantom, the highest American total of the Vietnam War, without touching the controls.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-16T13:45:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/mcdonnell-f-4d-phantom-ii.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1042\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tamika Johnson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tamika Johnson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tamika Johnson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/88afb39d0a02d6de10537662492fb68d\"},\"headline\":\"The Top American Ace of Vietnam Never Flew the Aircraft\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-16T13:45:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1722,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/mcdonnell-f-4d-phantom-ii.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"History &amp; Legends\",\"Military Aviation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Top American Ace of Vietnam Never Flew the Aircraft | MiGFlug\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/mcdonnell-f-4d-phantom-ii.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-16T13:45:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"Charles DeBellevue scored six MiG kills from the back seat of an F-4 Phantom, the highest American total of the Vietnam War, without touching the controls.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/mcdonnell-f-4d-phantom-ii.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/mcdonnell-f-4d-phantom-ii.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1042,\"caption\":\"A McDonnell F-4D Phantom II. DeBellevue flew an F-4D of exactly this block on 9 September 1972. Photo: Eric Friedebach, CC BY 2.0\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Top American Ace of Vietnam Never Flew the Aircraft\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\\/w:897\\\/h:278\\\/q:mauto\\\/ig:avif\\\/https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\\/w:897\\\/h:278\\\/q:mauto\\\/ig:avif\\\/https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/88afb39d0a02d6de10537662492fb68d\",\"name\":\"Tamika Johnson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tamika Johnson\"},\"description\":\"Tamika Johnson tells the human stories of aviation \u2014 the pilots, pioneers and characters behind the machines.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/author\\\/tamikajohnson\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Top American Ace of Vietnam Never Flew the Aircraft | MiGFlug","description":"Charles DeBellevue scored six MiG kills from the back seat of an F-4 Phantom, the highest American total of the Vietnam War, without touching the controls.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Top American Ace of Vietnam Never Flew the Aircraft | MiGFlug","og_description":"Charles DeBellevue scored six MiG kills from the back seat of an F-4 Phantom, the highest American total of the Vietnam War, without touching the controls.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-09-16T13:45:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1042,"url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/mcdonnell-f-4d-phantom-ii.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tamika Johnson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tamika Johnson","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/"},"author":{"name":"Tamika Johnson","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/88afb39d0a02d6de10537662492fb68d"},"headline":"The Top American Ace of Vietnam Never Flew the Aircraft","datePublished":"2026-09-16T13:45:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/"},"wordCount":1722,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/mcdonnell-f-4d-phantom-ii.jpg","articleSection":["History &amp; Legends","Military Aviation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/","name":"The Top American Ace of Vietnam Never Flew the Aircraft | MiGFlug","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/mcdonnell-f-4d-phantom-ii.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-16T13:45:59+00:00","description":"Charles DeBellevue scored six MiG kills from the back seat of an F-4 Phantom, the highest American total of the Vietnam War, without touching the controls.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/mcdonnell-f-4d-phantom-ii.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/mcdonnell-f-4d-phantom-ii.jpg","width":1920,"height":1042,"caption":"A McDonnell F-4D Phantom II. DeBellevue flew an F-4D of exactly this block on 9 September 1972. Photo: Eric Friedebach, CC BY 2.0"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/charles-debellevue-wso-ace-vietnam-six-kills-f-4-phantom\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Top American Ace of Vietnam Never Flew the Aircraft"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","name":"Afterburner \u2013 MiGFlugs Magazin","description":"F\u00fcr alle, die sich f\u00fcr das Fliegen von Milit\u00e4rjets und verwandte Luftfahrtthemen interessieren.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/88afb39d0a02d6de10537662492fb68d","name":"Tamika Johnson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tamika Johnson"},"description":"Tamika Johnson erz\u00e4hlt die menschlichen Geschichten der Luftfahrt \u2013 die Piloten, Pioniere und Pers\u00f6nlichkeiten hinter den Maschinen.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/author\/tamikajohnson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22771233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22771233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22771233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22771364,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22771233\/revisions\/22771364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22770595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22771233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22771233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22771233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}