| Date: 10 January 1968 |
| Aircraft type: F-4B Phantom |
| Serial Number: 151506 |
| Military Unit: VF-154 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Ranger |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr Lew N Mitchell (Survived) |
| Lt(jg) Jack A Thorn (Survived) |
| Aircraft type: F-4B Phantom |
| Serial Number: 151499 |
| Military Unit: VF-154 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Ranger |
| Name(s): |
| Lt(jg) Dennis A Yost (Survived) |
| Lt(jg) Theodore Beckwith (Survived) |
| Two Navy Phantoms flew a radar-directed bombing mission over low cloud in Laos. As the aircraft set course for the return trip to the Ranger the leader inadvertently homed onto the TACAN of the northern SAR destroyer instead of that of the carrier. When the Phantoms broke out from the cloud they were over 100 miles from the Ranger and the aircraft had to be abandoned when they ran out of fuel.
HC-7 Rescue Helicopter Combat Support Squadron SEVEN (HC-7) was established September 1, 1967. While simultaneously providing several fleet support activities in the Gulf of Tonkin, HC-7 assumed the responsibility for North Vietnam naval combat search and rescue. HC-7 prepared for action using UH-2B Kaman Sea Sprite helos inherited from HC-1 and were stationed in detachments aboard small boys, destroyers (DDs) and Guided Missile Frigates (DLGs), patrolling off the coast of North Vietnam primarily for the purpose of Search and Rescue (SAR) duty. The information at the following link was compiled by Ron Milam, the historian for HC-7, from ship's deck logs, official HC-7 Rescue Reports, other official and unofficial documents, interviews with crew members and survivors, and other sources, including the Chris Hobson book upon which this site is based. The details for the rescue associated with this fixed wing loss can be accessed by clicking on this link. |
You may return to your search results, go to the Search Form, or go back to the Home Page.