According to US statistics after the war, the US fighter aircraft that suffered the most damage on the Vietnam battlefield was the F-4 Phantom II – the main fighter of all US military branches during the Vietnam War.

With a huge number and the responsibility of being the main tactical aircraft, the F-4 Phantom II was “falling like a fig” during the Vietnam War despite all efforts to strengthen flight tactics, flight formations or electronic suppression by the US.

The US Air Force was the force that lost the most F-4 Phantom fighters with a total of 445 aircraft lost during the Vietnam War, of which 382 were completely damaged in combat, the rest were damaged due to accidents.

The last US F-4 Phantom was confirmed to have been shot down in June 1973, while the first was lost in an accident in 1965.

The US Navy Air Force was not far behind, with 138 F-4s lost during the war. Due to carrier operations, half of the US Navy Air Force’s losses are believed to have been due to accidents.

Lastly, the Marine Air Force lost 95 aircraft, including 72 lost in combat, the rest in accidents. In total, the US lost 678 F-4 fighters in Vietnam, of which 3/4 were lost in combat, the rest in operational accidents.

After the F-4 fighter was the F-105D Thunderchief fighter-bomber with a total loss in the skies of Vietnam of 335, of which 283 were shot down in combat, the rest were lost in accidents.

The first US F-105D was shot down in the Vietnam War in 1964 when it was hit by bullets in the skies of Laos, then had to make an emergency flight to Thailand for the pilot to parachute to safety. The last one was lost in 1970, also in Laos, this time the pilot was forced to parachute immediately but was later found by the US Air Force.

Next in the list of aircraft “lost” the most in Vietnam was the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk attack aircraft with 282 aircraft shot down, of which 195 were lost in combat.

The first A-4 Skyhawk was shot down on the Vietnam battlefield in August 1964, the pilot successfully parachuted but was captured by the liberation army and escorted to the North – this was also the American prisoner of war who spent the longest time in this war.

The F-100 Super Sabre fighter was next in line with equally large losses, with 243 aircraft completely damaged, of which 198 were damaged during combat.

According to declassified US documents, the first F-100 was shot down in 1964 and the last was shot down on the Vietnam battlefield in 1971.

In last place with 191 losses, of which 150 were damaged during combat, was the A-1 Skyraider attack aircraft. This was also the propeller-driven aircraft that was shot down the most during the Vietnam War.

The first A-1 Skyraider was shot down in 1964 during a training flight near Bien Hoa airport, killing both pilots. The last was shot down in 1972, with the pilot rescued.