| Date: 31 October 1968 |
| Aircraft type: A-7A Corsair |
| Serial Number: 153175 |
| Military Unit: VA-27 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Constellation |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Richard Chester Macke (Survived) |
| A Corsair crashed due to accidental engine failure during a combat mission. The pilot ejected safely. [Note: this original entry did not have the pilot's name, which was corrected by the input below.]
The following was provided by Richard "Smokey" Powell, President of the Red River Valley Association (River-Rats.org): I was in VA-27, on adjacent Catapult awaiting launch. Macke was launched just before me. I heard him on the radio calling “engine failure,” saw the ejection, and the ship suspended launch, turned slightly, and continued launching aircraft while the helicopter went to pick him up (combat operations, so sorties needed to go). No other details that I recall. That was our only operational loss; we were the only squadron to bring home all our pilots in the 2 combat cruises; we lost 4 aircraft in combat, 2 contested rescues. I had 220 combat missions when I left, all of us about the same. Macke rose to the rank of ADM and became the Commander of US Pacific Command. |
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