| Date: 17 October 1972 |
| Aircraft type: F-111A Aardvark |
| Serial Number: 67-0066 |
| Military Unit: 429 TFS, 474 TFW on TDY |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Takhli |
| Name(s): |
| Capt James Alan Hockridge (KIA) |
| 1Lt Allen Upton Graham (KIA) |
| The 474th TFW lost its second aircraft on the night of the 16th when Capt Hockridge and 1Lt Graham, flying as Coach 33, failed to return from a low level strike on a railway bridge at Dia Loi near Phuc Yen. The aircraft crashed close to the target and, according to the North Vietnamese, both crew were killed in their escape module, which failed to deploy properly. Radio Hanoi also claimed the F-111 as the 4,000th US aircraft shot down over North Vietnam, which was something of an exaggeration. A later radio report stated that the crew’s remains were buried near the Ca Lo River but on 30 September 1977 the remains of the crew were returned to the USA by the Vietnamese. The cause of the loss was never positively determined but in addition to the possibility of flak or SAMs there was still concern over the carriage of the Mk84 bombs, which had been found to detach fully armed without warning at low altitude. The large fragmentation pattern of the 2,000lb bomb at low level might well have caused the aircraft’s demise. Soon after this incident the use of Mk84 bombs was restricted to medium or high altitude missions and most low level missions used the 500lb Mk82 ‘slick’ or Snakeye bombs. |
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