| Date: 25 February 1970 |
| Aircraft type: F-4B Phantom |
| Serial Number: 152286 |
| Military Unit: VF-161 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Coral Sea |
| Name(s): |
| Lt A Gilchrist (Survived) |
| Lt(jg) T Young (Survived) |
| A Phantom from the Coral Sea was lost due to a rare failure of a tanker aircraft not being in the correct position to give fuel when it was needed. The Phantom eventually ran out of fuel, the engines failed and the crew ejected and were rescued from the sea.
HC-7 Rescue Helicopter Combat Support Squadron SEVEN (HC-7) was established September 1, 1967. While simultaneously providing several fleet support activities in the Gulf of Tonkin, HC-7 assumed the responsibility for North Vietnam naval combat search and rescue. HC-7 prepared for action using UH-2B Kaman Sea Sprite helos inherited from HC-1 and were stationed in detachments aboard small boys, destroyers (DDs) and Guided Missile Frigates (DLGs), patrolling off the coast of North Vietnam primarily for the purpose of Search and Rescue (SAR) duty. The information at the following link was compiled by Ron Milam, the historian for HC-7, from ship's deck logs, official HC-7 Rescue Reports, other official and unofficial documents, interviews with crew members and survivors, and other sources, including the Chris Hobson book upon which this site is based. The details for the rescue associated with this fixed wing loss can be accessed by clicking on this link and this link. |
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