| Date: 18 July 1967 |
| Aircraft type: A-4E Skyhawk |
| Serial Number: 151986 |
| Military Unit: VA-164 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Oriskany |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr Richard Danner Hartman (POW (died)) |
| Aircraft type: A-4E Skyhawk |
| Serial Number: 151175 |
| Military Unit: VA-164 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Oriskany |
| Name(s): |
| Lt(jg) Larry James Duthie (Survived) |
| The 18th turned out to be another bad day for the Oriskany with the loss of two A-4s and one pilot. VA-164 mounted a raid on the Co Trai railway and road bridge, which had been the target just five days earlier. Lt Cdr Hartman had been driven down to low altitude by two tracking SAM's and was climbing for another run at the target when his aircraft was hit by AAA. The Skyhawk exploded and Hartman ejected over a karst ridge about 25 miles south of Hanoi. Encouraged by the success in recovering Lt Cdr Verich on the 16th, a SAR mission was quickly organised and Hartman's wingman orbited over Hartman’s position to provide protection and organise a rescue effort. However, this was an extremely ‘hot’ location and after about 12 minutes the wingman was hit by anti-aircraft fire. Lt(jg) Duthie was jinking to avoid being hit but there was so much flak in the sky there was very little chance of avoiding it for long. His flight controls began to fail and his oxygen supply failed, probably as a result of the oxygen tank being hit and burning its way through the aircraft’s structure. He was able to control his aircraft somewhat using only the A-4's trim controls. Lt(jg) Duthie ejected and came down near Nam Dinh, about 45 miles southeast of Hanoi. Big Mother 67, an SH-3 from USS Hornet’s HS-2 detachment, took some 27 small-arms hits as it hovered over Duthie; however, one of those rounds hit door-gunner AX2 David Chatterton in the chest, and the SH-3 departed in an effort to get the gravely injured crewman to medical attention, but he died en route. A little while later, as a rescue attempt was made over Hartman, a Navy HH-2 was hit and barely made it back to the carrier with a badly damaged tail rotor; the helicopter vibrated so badly that the instrument panel fell out of its mounts.
Meanwhile both Navy and USAF rescue forces were attempting to reach Lt(jg) Duthie. In the face of intense ground fire that had damaged two helicopters and escorting A-1s, an HH-3E from Udorn (Jolly Green 37), piloted by Maj Glen York, made a successful pick up. Maj York was awarded the Air Force Cross for this daring rescue. The rescue attempt for Lt Cdr Hartman continued the next day with tragic results. The continuation of the effort is available by clicking on this link. |
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