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Katherine Tatum Grossfeld-Family
to remember
Tatum, Lawrence Byron, Col.
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Col. Lawrence Byron Tatum served with the 1st Air Commando Squadron 14th Air Commando Squadron 7th Air Force.
He was a graduate of the United States Military Academy in 1953. Following his graduation, he received his Ph.D. at Syracuse University.
By 1962, he was a Captain in the U.S. Air Force and an instructor of Political Science at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
In 10 September 1966, then Major Tatum was serving with the 1st Air Commando Squadron in Pleiku, RVN and piloting an A-1E Skyraider (#52-132675, call sign "HOBO 27"). He was on a strafing mission just north of the Demilitarized Zone when his aircraft was struck by hostile fire.
The FAC of the mission saw him bail out and his descent was followed to the ground where he landed in a tree. People were seen in the area and shortly thereafter, he and his parachute disappeared. Intense ground fire prevented search and rescue. No mention of a second crewman is given in Air Force accounts of this incident.
He was listed as MIA and then declared dead Nov 10, 1976.
His remains were not recovered. He is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing, Court A, at the Honolulu Memorial, HI, in the US Air Force Academy Cemetery, Colorado Springs, CO, and in Maple Grove Cemetery, Russelville, KY.
Aircraft/Missile Information
Model North American F-100D Super Sabre Length 49.51 ft | 15.09 m Width 38.75 ft | 11.81 m Height 16.24 ft | 4.95 m Engine(s) 1 x Pratt & Whitney J 57-P21 turbojet with afterburning generating 17,000lbs of thrust. Empty Weight 20,999 lbs | 9,525 kg MTOW 34,833 lbs | 15,800 kg Max Speed 864 mph | 1,390 km/h | 751 kts Max Range 1,995 miles | 3,210 km Ceiling 45,000 ft | 13,716 m | 8.5 miles Climb Rate 16,000 ft/min (4,877 m/min) Hardpoints 6 Armament 4 x 20mm cannons
External hardpoints for an additional 7,500lbs of ordnance including: Dumb Bombs, Drop Tanks and Rocket Pods. Accommodations 1
Major Variants * F-100A - Initial Production Model * F-100B - Proposed Mach 2 / nuclear-capable fighter-bomber; would go on to become the YF-107 prototype series. * F-100C - Fighter-Bomber Variant with improvements; inflight refueling capability; more powerful engine. * F-100D - Fighter-Bomber Variant with improvements; fitted with ECm equipment and low-altitude bombing system.
