| Date: 24 May 1969 |
| Aircraft type: AC-130A Gunship II |
| Serial Number: 54-1629 |
| Military Unit: 16 SOS, 8 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Ubon |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Col William H Schwehm (Survived) |
| Maj Gerald H Piehl (Survived) |
| Maj Kenneth E Stockard (Survived) |
| Maj Vernon E O’Meally (Survived) |
| Capt Norman Clanton (Survived) |
| SSgt Cecil Franklin Taylor (KIA) |
| SSgt Jackie Wayne Troglen (KIA) |
| SSgt David A Sayre (Survived) |
| Sgt Charles R Kelly (Survived) |
| Sgt Edward Marreo (Survived) |
| A1C Richard A Baasca (Survived) |
| 2 crew, names unknown (Survived) |
| The first AC-130 gunship to be lost during the war was on a night armed reconnaissance mission over southern Laos checking Routes 914 and 920 for truck traffic. The aircraft (call sign Carter 1) was about to attack a truck convoy on a road near the village of Ban Tanbok, about 20 miles southwest of the A Shau Valley, when it was hit It took two rounds of 37mm AAA in the tail and fuselage as it orbited at 6,500 feet. The hydraulic system failed and the aircraft started climbing uncontrollably until the pilot and co-pilot wrestled the control columns to full forward and brought all the crewmembers to the flight deck to make the aircraft nose-heavy. It was then discovered that the elevator trim, rudder control and autopilot were no longer functioning but the pilots regained partial control by the use of aileron trim and differential engine power. Unfortunately SSgt Troglen, the illuminator operator, had been mortally wounded and died before the aircraft landed. Lt Col Schwehm and his crew nursed the damaged aircraft back to Ubon and ordered most of the crew to bail out near the airfield before attempting a landing. As the aircraft touched down the starboard undercarriage collapsed and the AC-130 veered off the runway shearing off the starboard wing when it hit the barrier cable housing causing the aircraft to catch fire. SSgt Taylor, the flight engineer, was unable to escape and died in the incident. |
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