| Date: 13 December 1968 |
| Aircraft type: AC-47D Gunship I |
| Serial Number: 43-49274 |
| Military Unit: 3 SOS, 14 SOW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Nha Trang det to Bien Hoa |
| Name(s): |
| Maj F D Reeder (Survived) |
| 1Lt P N Rose (Survived) |
| Several other crew, names unknown (Survived) |
| Aircraft type: OV-10A Bronco |
| Serial Number: 67-14627 |
| Military Unit: 19 TASS, 504 TASG |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Bien Hoa |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Charles Farrell Griffin (KIA) |
| Capt Bruce Briant Greene (KIA) |
| By as unfortunate coincidence, another mid-air collision resulted in the loss of two more USAF aircraft at the opposite end of Indo-China on the night of the 13th. A Viet Cong night attack on an outpost six miles southeast of Truc Giang in the Mekong Delta resulted in the scramble of a number of aircraft from Bien Hoa. An AC-47 (call sign Spooky 7) was directed to the target and started to drop flares to assist the defenders as it orbited at 3,500 feet. The crew of the Dakota felt a bump and the aircraft became difficult to control. The aircraft had been hit by an OV-10 FAC (call sign Issue 3) that was co-ordinating the aircraft in the vicinity of the target. Both aircraft headed back towards Bien Hoa but the OV-10 crashed northwest of Saigon killing both the crew. The AC-47 gunship eventually landed at Bien Hoa but its undercarriage collapsed and the aircraft was so badly damaged that it was scrapped. This was the only aircraft lost by the 3rd SOS during its 17-month existence in Vietnam. |
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