| Date: 21 May 1965 |
| Aircraft type: A-4B Skyhawk |
| Serial Number: 144938 |
| Military Unit: Detachment Q, VA-113 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Bennington |
| Name(s): |
| Lt(jg) Marc Vincent Pierce (Survived) |
| One of the USS Bennington’s Skyhawks from VA-113 was blown overboard when landing back from a training flight. The Bennington had only arrived in the South China Sea a few weeks before and this accident was the only loss from the ASW carrier’s tour, which ended on 9 September 1965. Much of the flying performed by the attack squadron detachments on the ASW carriers was mundane and the Bennington only spent 34 days of its first tour of duty actually on the line. The USS Bennington returned for two more tours of duty between 1966 and 1968 but no further fixed-wing aircraft were destroyed although three SH-3As were lost along with five crewmen. The Bennington was decommissioned on 15 January 1970 and was stricken for disposal on 20 September 1989. It was finally towed to India for scrapping in 1994. |
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