| Date: 25 April 1967 |
| Aircraft type: A-4E Skyhawk |
| Serial Number: 151102 |
| Military Unit: VA-212 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Bon Homme Richard |
| Name(s): |
| Lt(jg) Alan Richard Crebo (Survived) |
| Later in the day the Bon Homme Richard mounted another raid against an ammunition depot on the southern outskirts of Haiphong. Lt Crebo approached the target and pulled up to 8,000 feet to start his dive. At the top of his manoeuvre an SA-2 exploded near the aircraft (call sign Flying Eagle 225) but Crebo dived down to drop his bombs. As he pulled out of the dive the aircraft became uncontrollable but Lt Crebo skilfully regained control, disconnected the hydraulic system and flew the aircraft on manual back out to sea and towards the carrier. As he approached the Bon Homme Richard only the nose undercarriage would extend and then the engine flamed out and would not restart. Lt Crebo ejected and was picked up by the carrier’s escort destroyer. A well-publicised photograph was taken of Crebo’s aircraft just before he ejected showing that the rudder and top of the tailfin was missing. |
You may return to your search results, go to the Search Form, or go back to the Home Page.