| Date: 26 April 1967 |
| Aircraft type: A-4E Skyhawk |
| Serial Number: 152076 |
| Military Unit: VA-192 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Ticonderoga |
| Name(s): |
| Lt(jg) J W Cain (Survived) |
| Aircraft type: A-4E Skyhawk |
| Serial Number: 151073 |
| Military Unit: VA-192 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Ticonderoga |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr Michael John Estocin (KIA) |
| A raid on a POL site at Haiphong resulted in the loss of two aircraft and one pilot but saw one of the most outstanding acts of bravery and skill of the entire war. On the run in to the target one of the Skyhawk bombers (call sign Jury 200) was hit by AAA but continued to drop its bombs and climb away. Lt Cain saw smoke in the cockpit and lost his electrics and eventually the hydraulic system. When the aircraft started rolling into a dense cloud layer, Cain attempted to disconnect the hydraulics but this had no effect so he ejected. He came down just offshore about 15 miles south of Haiphong and was rescued 20 minutes later by a Navy helicopter assisted by 10 F-8s and two A-1s, which strafed enemy vessels and gun positions that were firing at the survivor and the helicopter.
Lt Cdr Estocin, VA-192’s operations officer, specialised in the Iron Hand mission and, despite severe damage to his aircraft, had destroyed three SAM launchers on 20 April during a strike on two thermal power plants near Haiphong. He required in-flight refueling all the way back to the carrier but landed safely into the barrier with his aircraft still burning. Six days later he and his two wingmen once more flew ahead of a strike force to take on a SAM site during the Haiphong POL strike. He fired a Shrike and then climbed to deliver another attack. At 12,000 feet and less than 10 miles northeast of the city, Lt Cdr Estocin (call sign Jury 208) spotted an SA-2 that was heading directly for him. Waiting until it closed on the aircraft, probably with the intention of firing a Shrike at the site, he began a hard turn but he had left it too late and the SAM exploded very close to the aircraft. The Skyhawk burst into flames and completed four or five rolls diving towards the ground before the pilot regained some measure of control. Lt Cdr Estocin turned towards the coast with the rear of his aircraft burning furiously and fuel venting from the wings. He was accompanied by an F-8 flown by Lt Cdr J B Nichols of VF-191 who tried in vain to contact Estocin by radio. After flying in this condition for nearly 20 miles the Skyhawk started rolling again and then crashed inverted into the sea just off the island of Dao Cat Ba. During the final manoeuvre the aircraft’s centreline fuel tank was seen to separate from the aircraft and both Shrikes fired, probably as a result of fire damage to the aircraft’s electrical system. Lt Cdr Estocin was not seen to eject before the aircraft dived into the sea. An extensive search failed to reveal any evidence of aircraft or pilot. Rumours surfaced after the war that Mike Estocin had survived and been captured but this information has not been substantiated and Lt Cdr Estocin was officially declared dead on 10 November 1977. For his courage and devotion to duty on his final mission and that of 20 April Lt Cdr Michael Estocin was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honour, the only Navy jet pilot so honoured for a combat mission. On 3 November 1979 the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, USS Estocin, was launched in honor of Mike Estocin. |
You may return to your search results, go to the Search Form, or go back to the Home Page.