| Date: 8 September 1965 |
| Aircraft type: RF-8A Crusader |
| Serial Number: 146825 |
| Military Unit: Detachment G, VFP-63 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Oriskany |
| Name(s): |
| Lt(jg) Robert David Rudolph (KIA) |
| As if to underline the vulnerability of the US photographic reconnaissance aircraft, another RF-8A failed to return from a mission the day after Lt Goodwin was lost. Lt Rudolph was heading into North Vietnam to take part in a search for SAM sites near Thanh Hoa when his aircraft (call sign Cork Tip 918) was hit by AAA soon after crossing the coastline. The wingman saw Rudolph’s Crusader roll inverted and the canopy fall away. However, as he was trying to avoid being hit himself he was unable to see if Lt Rudolph ejected before his aircraft hit the ground 15 miles northeast of Thanh Hoa. A SAR effort yielded no results and the Navy reluctantly declared Lt Rudolph dead three weeks later. On 15 December 1988 the remains of Robert Rudolph were handed over by the Vietnamese. |
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