| Date: 27 February 1971 |
| Aircraft type: F-4J Phantom |
| Serial Number: 155884 |
| Military Unit: VF-21 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Ranger |
| Name(s): |
| Lt(jg) Larry Gene Lewis (KWF) |
| Lt(jg) James Carroll (Survived) |
| A Phantom suffered an engine failure as it was being catapulted off the Ranger on a training flight at night. One of the afterburners was seen to go out as the aircraft was hurtling down the deck and as the Phantom started to descend towards the water the pilot initiated a command ejection. Both seats were seen to fire but the Ranger’s helicopter could only find Lt Carroll despite a search that continued throughout the night and all next day. This was the last of eight aircraft lost by the Ranger during 123 days spent on the line on her sixth tour in Southeast Asia. Three Corsairs had been lost to enemy action with one pilot missing but another three airmen were killed in accidents during the tour.
The following additional information was submitted by CDR James W. Carroll, USN (Ret): I was the backseat RIO. We were launching on a nighttime (overcast and very dark) CAP mission off the coast of Vietnam. The right afterburner failed during the catapult. Once airborne I immediately called “Climb! Climb!” on the ICS. There was no verbal reply, and the aircraft never climbed above flight deck level. Approximately 5 seconds after being airborne there was an explosion that lit up the sky around us. I instantaneously ejected. I had Command Eject selected which means the front seat would fire about a second later. The best outside observer was the “Plane Guard” helo who observes all launches. In their report they stated the aircraft hit the water less than a half second after my ejection. That means there wasn’t enough time for the front seat to fire before the airplane hit the water. If it did fire, it was either under water and not observed or it was not a successful ejection. CDR Carroll sponsors the LTJG LARRY ‘LURCH’ LEWIS MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP through the Tailhook Association. |
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