| Date: 20 September 1972 |
| Aircraft type: A-7B Corsair |
| Serial Number: 154363 |
| Military Unit: VA-155 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Oriskany |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Stanley Frank Bloyer (Survived) |
| A Corsair from the Oriskany had to be abandoned about 40 miles off the coast of North Vietnam during a weather reconnaissance flight when the aircraft’s engine failed. The pilot was quickly rescued by a HH-3A from HC-7’s Detachment 110 which happened to be en route from the USS America to the USS Long Beach at the time of the incident. The cause of the accident was suspected to be a failure of the engine accessory drive. Lt Bloyer retired from the Navy as a Captain in 1994 and later became one of the few former US Navy pilots to fly the MiG-21 as he flew an ex-Polish Air Force aircraft for a civilian company which provided aggressor training to the military. Captain Bloyer died on 15 March 2012.
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. |
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