| Date: 18 July 1967 |
| Aircraft type: A-4E Skyhawk |
| Serial Number: 151986 |
| Military Unit: VA-164 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Oriskany |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr Richard Danner Hartman (POW (died)) |
| Aircraft type: A-4E Skyhawk |
| Serial Number: 151175 |
| Military Unit: VA-164 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Oriskany |
| Name(s): |
| Lt(jg) Larry J Duthie (Survived) |
| The 18th turned out to be another bad day for the Oriskany with the loss of three A-4s and one pilot. VA-164 mounted a raid on the Co Trai railway and road bridge, which had been the target just five days earlier. Lt Cdr Hartman had successfully bombed the target and was leaving the area when his aircraft was hit by AAA. The Skyhawk caught fire and Hartman ejected about 25 miles south of Hanoi. Encouraged by the success in recovering Lt Cdr Verich on the 16th, a SAR mission was quickly organised and aircraft from VA-164 orbited over Hartman’s position to provide protection. However, this was an extremely ‘hot’ location and after about 12 minutes another A-4 was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Lt Duthie was jinking to avoid being hit but there was so much flak in the sky there was very little chance of avoiding it for long. His flight controls began to fail and his oxygen supply failed, probably as a result of the oxygen tank being hit and burning its way through the aircraft’s structure. Lt Duthie came down near Nam Dinh, about 45 miles southeast of Hanoi and was rescued by a HH-3E (Jolly Green 37) from Udorn after a Navy HH-2 was hit and barely made it back to the carrier with a badly damaged tail rotor. Worse was to follow a little while later as a rescue attempt was made by an SH-3 from the USS Hornet’s HS-2 detachment but the helicopter was damaged by heavy anti-aircraft fire and also had to return to the carrier.
Meanwhile both Navy and USAF rescue forces were attempting to reach Lt Duthie. In the face of intense ground fire that damaged several helicopters and escorting A-1s, a HH-3E, piloted by Maj Glen York, made a successful pick up. Maj York was awarded the Air Force Cross for this daring rescue. The rescue attempt for Lt Cdr Hartman continued the next day with tragic results. The continuation of the effort is available by clicking on this link. |
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