| Date: 20 July 1965 |
| Aircraft type: RA-5C Vigilante |
| Serial Number: 151619 |
| Military Unit: RVAH-1 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Independence |
| Name(s): |
| Cdr Valentin George Matula (KWF) |
| Lt Carl Eugene Gronquist (KWF) |
| Following VA-75’s experience with its Intruders, the Independence continued to be dogged by bad luck. After a photographic reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam, an RA-5C landed back on board but the No.1 arrester cable snapped and the aircraft went overboard at low speed and crashed into the sea. RVAH-1’s commanding officer, Cdr Matula, and his NFO perished in the accident. Both the crew had ejected but were too low for their parachutes to deploy properly. Their bodies were retrieved from the water by a whaleboat from the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Mullany and later transferred to the Independence . |
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