| Date: 13 December 1966 |
| Aircraft type: A-4C Skyhawk |
| Serial Number: 147776 |
| Military Unit: VA-195 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Ticonderoga |
| Name(s): |
| Lt(jg) Donald Owen Taylor (Survived) |
| Aircraft type: A-4C Skyhawk |
| Serial Number: 147819 |
| Military Unit: VA-195 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Ticonderoga |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr Charles Edward Barnett (Survived) |
| Not long after Capt Waters had been shot down a Navy Iron Hand flight of A-4s attacked a SAM site at the Xuan Mai Bridge, 15 miles southwest of Hanoi. This may have been the SAM battery responsible for the death of Capt Waters. As Lt Taylor fired his rockets and left the target area his aircraft (call sign Chippy 502) was hit by ground fire. The Skyhawk’s fuel consumption increased rapidly indicating a serious fuel leak. Lt Taylor flew out over the Gulf of Tonkin and about 80 miles southeast of Thanh Hoa he rendevouzed with a tanker. Just as he was about to engage the tanker’s drogue the Skyhawk’s engine flamed out and Lt Taylor had to eject. He was later picked up by a Navy ship.
Another member of the Ticonderoga’s Iron Hand flight, Lt Cdr Barnett, attacked the Xuan Mai Bridge SAM site a few minutes after Lt Taylor’s aircraft had been hit. An SA-2 exploded directly underneath Lt Cdr Barnett’s aircraft and caused damage to the wings, ailerons and the hydraulic system. Reverting to manual back up as the hydraulics failed, Barnett flew the crippled Skyhawk back to the carrier. However, the damage to the ailerons and the low fuel state made it too dangerous to attempt a carrier landing and the pilot ejected and was picked up by one of the ship’s helicopters. Sadly, Lt Cdr Barnett was killed on 23 May 1972 when his Corsair was shot down by a SAM over North Vietnam. |
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