| Date: 29 July 1966 |
| Aircraft type: RC-47D Skytrain |
| Serial Number: 43-48388 |
| Military Unit: 606 ACS, 634 CSG |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Nakhon Phanom |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Galileo Fred Bossio (KIA) |
| Capt BernardBernard Conklin (KIA) |
| Capt Robert Eugene Hoskinson (KIA) |
| 1Lt Vincent Augustus Chiarello (KIA) |
| 1Lt Robert Joseph Di Tommaso (KIA) |
| TSgt John Micheo Mamiya (KIA) |
| TSgt Herbert Eugene Smith (KIA) |
| SSgt James Shreve Hall (KIA) |
| On 19 July an RC-47D (call sign Dogpatch 2) set off for a surveillance mission around the Pathet Lao stronghold of Sam Neua. During the mission the aircraft flew close to (and may even have crossed) the border into North Vietnam. MiGs had occasionally been seen operating close to the Laotian border but it was thought that they posed little threat to aircraft operating in the Sam Neua area. However, a MiG-17 made a high speed dash to the border and shot down the RC-47 before making off deep into North Vietnam. This was undoubtedly a major success for the VPAF, which had succeeded in shooting down an important aircraft in a daring and skilful attack. Despite an unconfirmed report that one or two parachutes had been seen, none of the crew of the aircraft appears to have survived. In March 1988 the remains of Conklin, Chiarello, Hall, Mamiya and Smith were returned and identified. A witness reported seeing a badly burned survivor who was said to have died in a hospital the day after being shot down. |
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