| Date: 12 June 1966 |
| Aircraft type: B-57B Canberra |
| Serial Number: 55-4268 |
| Military Unit: 13 TBS, 405 FW attached to 35 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Da Nang |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Charles William Burkart (KIA) |
| Capt Everett Oscar Kerr (KIA) |
| The Da Nang Canberras with their long endurance and large ordnance loads played a major role in the growing interdiction campaign over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Four Canberras were flying a strike mission at night in the Steel Tiger area of southern Laos when they became separated from each other in bad weather. Burkart and Kerr’s aircraft (call sign Opal 57) failed to return and was thought to have crashed near Ban Thapathon, probably due to enemy action. It was not until 1979 that the two crewmen were officially declared to be dead during which time Capt Burkart had been promoted to Colonel and Capt Kerr to Lieutenant Colonel. This Canberra was one of 12 B-57Es that had been refurbished late in 1965 by Martin as combat replacements for Southeast Asia. The B-57E was originally designed to tow aerial targets but the refurbished aircraft had the same offensive capability as the B-57B model. |
You may return to your search results, go to the Search Form, or go back to the Home Page.