| Date: 11 September 1967 |
| Aircraft type: RF-4B Phantom |
| Serial Number: 153104 |
| Military Unit: VMCJ-1, MAG-11 |
| Service: USMC |
| Home Base: Da Nang |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Richard William Hawthorne (KIA) |
| Capt Richard Raymond Kane (KIA) |
| Although VMCJ-1 had been operating the RF-4B from Da Nang since September 1966 it was not until a year later that the unit lost the first aircraft of this type in Southeast Asia. The RF-4B was used for photographic reconnaissance missions over the northern provinces of South Vietnam in support of Marine air and ground operations but, in common with Marine strike aircraft, it also flew a small number of sorties over Laos and North Vietnam. The aircraft that was lost on the 11th set off on an early morning sortie to photograph suspected enemy-occupied huts about 50 miles west of Da Nang on the South Vietnamese border with Laos. A bright flash was seen as the aircraft hit high ground en route to the target near Ben Giang, about 35 miles southwest of Da Nang, and both crew were posted missing. It was not possible to determine the cause of the aircraft’s loss but it was either due to ground fire or flying into terrain when using the aircraft’s radar to fly at low level. The aircraft’s call sign on its last mission was Cottonpicker 52. |
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