| Date: 15 June 1966 |
| Aircraft type: F-4B Phantom |
| Serial Number: 152251 |
| Military Unit: VF-143 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Ranger |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Charles Wayne Bennett (Survived) |
| Ensign David Whitney Vermilyea (Survived) |
| During a coastal reconnaissance mission on the lookout for North Vietnamese patrol boats a Phantom (call sign Taproom 310) was hit by AAA as it was climbing through 1,000 feet over Da Cat Ba island near Haiphong. The port engine was hit and had to be shut down and the starboard wing was holed and began to stream fuel. Lt Bennett attempted to rendezvous with a tanker but the starboard engine failed as the damage to the fuel system would not allow fuel to transfer to the live engine. Both crew ejected and were picked up by an HC-1 helicopter from the northern SAR destroyer, about 45 miles south of Haiphong. |
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