| Date: 12 November 1969 |
| Aircraft type: A-1H Skyraider |
| Serial Number: 52-139821 |
| Military Unit: 6 SOS, 633 SOW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Pleiku |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Gerald Robert Helmich (KIA) |
| In the early hours of the 12th the search for possible survivors of the shoot downs near the Mu Gia Pass was still continuing. Having already lost three Phantoms during the night, the rescue forces then lost one of their Skyraiders (call sign Spad) and its pilot. Capt Helmich was orbiting about a mile south of Ban Senphan when he was shot down by ground fire. It was not known whether he managed to eject or not but he did not survive and became the fifth airman to be lost that night. This was the last of 15 Skyraiders lost by the 6th SOS before it was closed down and its aircraft and pilots dispersed among the other Skyraider squadrons based in Southeast Asia. The Squadron officially inactivated three days after Maj Helmich’s death. Skyraider 139821 was the last of 713 A-1Hs to be built. |
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