| Date: 17 November 1965 |
| Aircraft type: F-8E Crusader |
| Serial Number: 150675 |
| Military Unit: VMF(AW)-212 |
| Service: USMC |
| Home Base: USS Oriskany |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Ross Carl Chaimson (Survived) |
| Aircraft type: A-4E Skyhawk |
| Serial Number: 151083 |
| Military Unit: VA-163 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Oriskany |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr Roy Howard Bowling (KIA) |
| Aircraft type: A-1H Skyraider |
| Serial Number: 135244 |
| Military Unit: VA-152 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Oriskany |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr Jesse Junior Taylor (KIA) |
| Aircraft type: F-8E Crusader |
| Serial Number: 150308 |
| Military Unit: VF-194 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Bon Homme Richard |
| Name(s): |
| Cdr Robert S Chew (Survived) |
| On 17 November the Navy returned to the Hai Duong Bridge east of Hanoi. The Oriskany had lost a VMF(AW)-212 Crusader there on 5 November during the first raid but this second raid proved more disastrous for Air Wing 16. Within the space of about 30 minutes four aircraft were shot down, three of them from the Oriskany, and the bridge still remained operational
The first aircraft hit during the attack was another Crusader from the Marine squadron on board the carrier. Capt Chaimson had just started his dive to release his bombs when his Crusader (call sign Sea Grape 103) was struck by 37mm AAA. The aircraft’s electical power died immediately and the bombs failed to release. Chaimson deployed the aircraft’s ram air turbine, which should have generated some electrical power, but nothing happened. Capt Chaimson flew back towards the carrier alone and descended through the clouds to find the Bon Homme Richard but his fuel was exhausted as he had been unable to radio for a tanker and could not deploy his refuelling probe in any case. Chaimson ejected about 100 miles east of Dong Hoi and was picked up safely by a Navy helicopter. The first aircraft to be shot down at the bridge was a Skyhawk flown by Lt Cdr ‘Hap’ Bowling, the operations officer of VA-163 under the new leadership of Cdr Wynn Foster. The Skyhawk (call sign Old Salt 340) had just dropped its Snakeye bombs on the bridge and was making a low-level, high-speed egress from the target area when it was hit by AAA. The wingman saw the starboard horizontal tailplane blown off and the aircraft roll to the right and impact the ground. Although the aircraft had been flying at less than 150 feet at very high speed the pilot had managed to eject. Another pilot reported seeing a parachute but saw that the occupant was inert and without his helmet. The parachute was later seen on the ground but there was no sign of ‘Hap’ Bowling. About 25 minutes later a section of Skyraiders, which had been launched for RESCAP, flew into the area to search for Lt Cdr Bowling. The aircraft came down to low level to try to obtain a sighting of the downed pilot and Lt Cdr Taylor’s aircraft (call sign Locket 588) was hit by ground fire in the port wing, which burst into flames. Lt Cdr Taylor, who was the Air Wing’s operation officer, had volunteered for the mission. He tried to return to the carrier but the aircraft crashed into coastal marshes about 15 miles southwest of Haiphong. A few minutes after the Skyraider went down another wave of strike aircraft attacked the bridge, this time from the Bon Homme Richard’s Air Wing 19. Although the Marine Corps Crusader squadrons were often used as bombers in close air support missions, it was less usual for the Navy to use its Crusaders in this role. However, this raid was a maximum effort and Cdr Chew, the CO of VF-194, led his squadron in the attack. The Commander started his dive at 3,500 feet, released his two large Mk84 bombs and pulled out at 1,900 feet and 500 knots jinking to avoid the intense ground fire. As the wingman closed up after his attack he noticed fuel streaming from underneath his CO’s aircraft (call sign Red Flash 402). The formation flew south towards the carrier and Cdr Chew refuelled three times to replace the fuel that was constantly pumping out of the aircraft. Eventually, the fuel was exhausted and Cdr Chew was forced to eject about 120 miles southeast of Haiphong where he was rescued by a USAF HU-16 amphibian piloted by Capt David Richardson. Although it was suspected that Lt Cdr Bowling had been killed in the high-speed ejection, it could not be proved and he was promoted to the rank of Captain during the time the Navy maintained him as missing. In March 1977 the remains of Captain Bowling were handed over to a US Presidential commission which was visiting Hanoi. Two years earlier, in December 1975, the remains of Jesse Taylor had been handed over by the Vietnamese as a goodwill gesture. Jesse Taylor had been awarded a posthumous Navy Cross and in December 1984 an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate was launched with the name USS Taylor in honour of the dead Skyraider pilot. |
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