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Billy Sparks (left) was a veteran Wild Weasel pilot on his second tour when he was shot down in 1967.

War planners studying the problem eventually came up with the so-called “Wild Weasel” concept, which used specialized aircraft to fend off SAM at- tacks. Engineers outfitted these planes with special electronic devices that could detect and defend against SAM launches. The mission of the Wild Wea- sels was to bait the enemy into firing SAMs and then destroying the missiles and launch sites. During bombing missions over North Vietnam, these specialized aircraft flew with more conventional aircraft, such as the Thunderchief, scanning the sky for inbound missiles. The Wild Weasel used two-man crews in each plane. Sitting up front was the pilot and in the rear was the Electronic Warfare Officer,

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