| Date: 7 June 1972 |
| Aircraft type: RA-5C Vigilante |
| Serial Number: 156616 |
| Military Unit: RVAH-1 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Saratoga |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr Charles Henry Smith (Survived) |
| Lt Lawrence George Kunz (Survived) |
| The Atlantic Fleet carrier USS Saratoga arrived on the line on 18 May for its first and only tour of the war. With the arrival of the Saratoga the only available fleet carrier not to have served in Southeast Asia during the war was the USS John F Kennedy. The Saratoga lost its first aircraft on 7 June during a photographic reconnaissance sortie near Haiphong. A Vigilante (call sign Comanche Trail) was taking photographs of anchorages among the islands off Haiphong where foreign-registered merchant ships tied up before offloading supplies in the port. The aircraft began a pop-up manoeuvre at 3,000 feet to start a photo run when it received an indication of a nearby SAM launch. Lt Cdr Smith broke first to the left and then reversed his course at which point the SAM exploded as it hit the aircraft. The port engine lost power and had to be shut down and after Lt Cdr Smith headed out to sea and selected afterburner on the starboard engine, it also failed. The electrical power failed and the controls froze forcing the crew to eject about 15 miles southeast of Haiphong. Two Sea Kings of HC-7 were directed towards the Vigilante and rescued the crew within minutes of their ejection.
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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