| Date: 9 March 1967 |
| Aircraft type: RA-5C Vigilante |
| Serial Number: 151627 |
| Military Unit: RVAH-13 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Kitty Hawk |
| Name(s): |
| Cdr Charles Lancaster Putnam (KIA) |
| Lt(jg) Francis Sarsfield Prendergast (Survived) |
| Original text:
An RA-5C and its F-4 escort were tasked with a coastal reconnaissance of a section of North Vietnam’s coastline. As the aircraft approached the coast near Long Chau, 30 miles northwest of Thanh Hoa, they started a photo run parallel to the coastline, with the Vigilante flying at only 350 feet. The Phantom pilot saw automatic weapons fire ahead and then saw the Vigilante (call sign Flint River 605) suddenly pitch up and burst into flames. Two parachutes were seen and the airmen landed in shallow water about 200 yards from the beach. The Phantom called in a SAR helicopter and started to fire at North Vietnamese troops who tried to reach the downed crew. Lt Prendergast waded ashore and was captured by two militiamen on the beach. However, the North Vietnamese were distracted by strafing from Navy aircraft and Lt Prendergast retrieved his concealed .22 semi-automatic pistol and shot both men dead. He then swam back out to sea and a Navy SH-3 came in and picked him up. There was no sign of Cdr Putnam although a Phantom pilot spotted someone on a sandbar. Increased fire from the beach precluded any further rescue attempt. A subsequent North Vietnamese report claimed that a dead pilot had been seen on a beach near Long Chau at about this time and it appears that Cdr Putnam was either drowned or shot by enemy troops. Charles Putnam’s remains were returned to the USA on 3 November 1988. Supplemental narrative: According to CDR Robert R. "Boom" Powell, USN (Ret.), author of RA-5C Vigilante Units in Combat (Combat Aircraft Book 51), as told to him by Lt(jg) Prendergast's usual pilot, Al Wattay, and confirmed by Dan Heller, researcher and author, as told to him by two RVAH-7 squadron mates: Lt(jg) Prendergast shot one of the soldiers but then hit the other one and ran off. That second soldier started shooting, and Prendergast held up his hands to buy time since the rescue SH-3 helicopter was coming in. The helicopter swung sideways, and the door gunner shot the soldier that was pursuing Prendergast. Lt(jg) Prendergast jumped into the helicopter and was returned to USS Kitty Hawk. The sources also claim that his private weapon was a .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol, rather than .22 caliber. Both Prendergast and Wattay are deceased. |
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