| Date: 15 July 1966 |
| Aircraft type: F-4B Phantom |
| Serial Number: 150470 |
| Military Unit: VMFA-323, MAG-11 |
| Service: USMC |
| Home Base: Da Nang |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Billy Dale Fritsch (Survived) |
| 1Lt Charles Dannie Smith, Jr. (Survived) |
| Operation Hastings was a large scale search and destroy mission undertaken by the Marines just south of the DMZ. The operation was aimed at countering the movements of the NVA’s 324B Division, which had become increasingly aggressive in this area in recent weeks and had made numerous large-scale incursions through the DMZ into the Marine’s I Corps area. The ground operations were heavily supported by Marine Corps aircraft from Da Nang and Chu Lai and included a heliborne landing in the Ngan Valley on 15 July. It was during this operation that a Phantom (call sign Condol 52) was lost 15 miles northwest of Dong Ha. The aircraft was making its second pass dropping napalm on several small buildings near a site known as the Rockpile when it was observed by a USAF FAC to be on fire, probably as a result of ground fire. Both crew ejected safely as the aircraft flew through the tops of some tall trees and were rescued 30 minutes later by a USAF HH-43F helicopter from Da Nang. This was the only Marine fixed-wing aircraft lost from the 1,677 tactical sorties flown in support of Operation Hastings. VMFA-323 had only just returned to Da Nang on 5 July. |
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