| Date: 30 June 1965 |
| Aircraft type: F-8E Crusader |
| Serial Number: 150657 |
| Military Unit: VF-194 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Bon Homme Richard |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr Robert Ernest Weedon (Survived) |
| On 30 June the US Navy suffered its first combat loss in South Vietnam. A flight of F-8s from the Bon Homme Richard was strafing VC positions north of the Mekong Delta when Lt Cdr Weedon’s aircraft (call sign Red Flash) was rocked by an explosion that damaged the engine causing compressor stalls and rough running. A couple of minutes later the Crusader’s engine eventually flamed out. Two attempts to relight failed and Weedon parted company with his aircraft, landing near Ap Bac. It was thought that either the aircraft had been hit by ground fire or that the Crusader’s cannon had exploded resulting in foreign object damage to the engine. The Crusader had suffered problems with its 20mm cannon for many years. Although TF 77 aircraft had made their first strike on a Viet Cong target in South Vietnam on 15 April, this was the first Navy aircraft lost in action from Dixie Station. |
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