Meet Swede the MiG Killer | Legends of Aviation #3

William John Swendner Interview
On 14 July 1966, Bill 'Swede' Swendner became a MiG-21 killer during the Vietnam War! Hear his incredible story as he took on the most feared Soviet fighter in its day, and won!
On top of that, he is an excellent speaker and will make you laugh. Join us as he tells about incredible career highlights as a USAF fighter pilot.
Recording Date: 29 October 2022
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Credits-
Footage: US Archives, DOT*
Photos: Public Domain Archive Photos / Marc Swendner Collection
Director: Andrew Horton
Editor: Alex Jang
Narrator: John-Michael Sedor
Videographer: Gideon Kai
Special thanks to the American Fighter Aces Association and Rob Spitznagel for making this interview possible.
Please check out their website and membership options here:
www.americanfighteraces.org/s...
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:18 - Becoming A Fighter Pilot
4:50 - Flying the F-84
5:46 - New Assignment-F-100
18:43 - F-102 out of Soesterberg
23:05 - Back to the F-100
24:39 - Enter the F-4 Phantom
33:49 - MiG-21 Kills
33:45 - First F-100 Flight
45:00 - F-16 Finale
47:01 - Epilogue
*"The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement."

[@gabbyhayes9977]

Swede and wife Meredy are wonderful, fun-loving people. Proud Americans to the core. It’s an honor to know them.

[@flightlinemedia]

Hope you liked the video! Swede was great to chat with.

[@martinlutt]

I was a radar operator at Brigham Control GCI in Udorn from 1971-72, and handled a lot of F4 flights on missions to Laos and North Vietnam. This pilot provides a terrific narrative of what it's like to fly the plane and some of the challenges of aerial combat.

[@flightlinemedia]

Thanks for watching. We would love to hear your experiences as a radar operator. Swede was awesome to interview.

[@dominikdominik8475]

Thank you for the interview. Wonderful story about destroyed Mig-21.

[@flightlinemedia]

Glad you enjoyed it! Many, many more to come.

[@andhelm7097]

Fantastic to listen to him.thank you!

[@showtime112]

A testimony worth preserving, good job guys!

[@flightlinemedia]

Thanks!

[@VNAV_PTH]

It was absolutely fantastic listening to this guy.

[@flightlinemedia]

Thanks for watching! Love the user name.

[@VNAV_PTH]

@@flightlinemedia Ha, thanks 😅Thanks for uploading! Content like this is golden.

[@Tmorgan2018]

Wonderful video!! Thank you for your service, sir!

[@flightlinemedia]

Glad you enjoyed it! : )

[@davedeblaey8454]

Great interview!!!! Really enjoyed it!!!!

[@flightlinemedia]

Thanks for watching!

[@charleywalker2982]

Thanks for sharing your videos and keep them coming please.

[@flightlinemedia]

You bet! We have already recorded 20 more episodes. We are just behind on the editing a little haha.

[@chrisknoernschild5908]

Got here from Greg, great content you guys!

[@flightlinemedia]

Thanks for coming on over! Greg is a good friend and an excellent historian.

[@arjunarabindranath]

Same here. What a fantastic interview!

[@ColinFreeman-kh9us]

Riveting stuff, simply amazing career.

[@flightlinemedia]

Thanks for watching! Swede is a really cool guy.

[@TheRealHawkeye]

Awesome stories! I laughed at Swede blowing down the Arab's tents haha.

[@charleywalker2982]

👍