| Date: 27 January 1973 |
| Aircraft type: F-4J Phantom |
| Serial Number: 155768 |
| Military Unit: VF-143 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Enterprise |
| Name(s): |
| Cdr Harley Hubert Hall (KIA) |
| Lt Cdr Phillip Allen Kientzler (POW) |
| Another Navy aircraft was lost near Quang Tri on the very day that the Paris Peace Accords were signed between the USA and North Vietnam. A Phantom (call sign Taproom 113), flown by the commanding officer of VF-143, was bombing a number of trucks on a road about eight miles north of the city under the control of a USAF OV-10 FAC and was hit by AAA as it pulled up from its third pass. The aircraft caught fire and the flying control system failed leading to a loss of control. Both crew ejected at 4,000 feet and were seen to land only about 100 feet apart near a village on an island in the Cua Viet River. Cdr Hall was seen to be moving about and to discard his parachute. Lt Cdr Kientzler was captured and was told that Cdr Hall had been killed by a North Vietnamese soldier. His body was repatriated by the Vietnamese government in 1993 and positively identified in September 1994. Phillip Kientzler, a veteran of over 500 combat missions in Southeast Asia, was the last Navy aviator to become a POW during the war. Just over two months later he was released on 27 March 1973. Cdr Hall had previously flown as leader of the Blue Angels aerobatic team. His remains were returned to the USA for burial in June 1995. This Phantom was the final aircraft lost by the USS Enterprise before it finished its sixth and last cruise of the war on 3 June 1973. The mighty Enterprise is scheduled to remain in service until 2013, when it will be the last of the Vietnam-era aircraft carriers still in service. HC-7 Rescue Attempt 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 attempt associated with this fixed wing loss can be accessed by clicking on this link. |
You may return to your search results, go to the Search Form, or go back to the Home Page.