| Date: 19 December 1972 |
| Aircraft type: OV-10A Bronco |
| Serial Number: unknown |
| Military Unit: 20 TASS, 6498 ABW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Da Nang |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Francis Xavier Egan (KIA) |
| Capt Jon Patterson, USMC (Survived) |
| As the B-52s and tactical strike aircraft took the war to Hanoi and Haiphong, the pressure on the northern provinces of South Vietnam was also maintained. A Bronco (call sign Covey 64) was hit by an SA-7 missile and badly damaged during a FAC mission near Quang Tri. The pilot turned towards the coast so that he and his Marine Corps observer (Capt Jon Patterson, USMC, call sign Wolfman 44) could eject over the sea and await rescue. Unfortunately the crew had to eject before they could reach the coast and although Capt Patterson landed safely, Capt Egan’s parachute did not deploy and he was killed.
The ejections were seen by Capt Warren Fuller (call sign Vanguard 969) who was flying a US Army Beech RU-21D of the 138th Radio Research Aviation Company on a radio direction-finding mission nearby. Capt Fuller immediately arrived over the scene and co-ordinated the rescue attempt. Capt Patterson and the body of Capt Egan were picked up by a US Army UH-1 flown by Capt Joe Bowen (call sign Centaur 3) of ‘F’ Troop, 4th Cavalry who made the rescue without the usual gunship escort as Capt Bowen’s request for support did not get through. This rescue, which also included a Navy destroyer standing by offshore, exemplifies the multi-service effort to try to recover downed airmen whenever humanly possible. On the night of the 19th/20th a total of 93 B-52s (27 B-52Ds and 36 B-52Gs from Andersen along with 30 B-52Ds from U-Tapao) hit mostly the same targets as the night before although the Thai Nguyen thermal power plant was also added to the list. Tactics and routings were largely unchanged from the previous night. About 180 SAM launches were logged, about the same as on the first night. However, none of the B-52s were lost on the 19th/20th although a B-52D from the second wave had to make an emergency landing at the USMC airfield at Nam Phong in Thailand following battle damage. |
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