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| Date: | Saturday 6 November 1965 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Sikorsky CH-3E Sea King (S-61R) |
| Owner/operator: | Det 5, 38th ARS, USAF |
| Registration: | 63-9685 |
| MSN: | 61-517 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | N of Thanh Hoa, North Vietnam -
 Vietnam
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Lima Site 36 (LS-36), Laos |
| Thanh Hoa, North Vietnam |
The CH-3E with call sign JOLLY GREEN 85 was on a SAR mission for Capt. Richard Eugene Bolstad, pilot of the A-1E Skyraider (52-132469, call sign SANDY 12), who bailed out after his aircraft had been hit by automatic weapons fire north of Thanh Hoa, North Vietnam. When the helicopter approached his position it was hit by small arms fire and the crew of four was forced to bail out after gaining enough height.
A US Navy SH-3 Sea King with call sign NIMBLE 62 (BuNo 148993) of HS-2 from USS Independence (CVA-62)then radioed that they would attempt a rescue and another pair of USAF A-1E Skyraiders joined it to provide cover. However, one of the A-1E (52-132439, call sign SANDY 14) was shot down by ground fire with the pilot Capt. George Grigsby McKnight bailing out. NIMBLE 62 flew back to the carrier to refuel and returned to the area escorted by two US Navy Skyraiders, searching for hours in vain for any signs of survivors until a SAR beeper was heard. They managed to pick up SSgt Berkley E. Naugle, the flight engineer from JOLLY GREEN 85, but had to refuel from a destroyer at sea in order to reach their carrier safely. The following morning NIMBLE 62 took off once again to continue their search but was badly damaged by ground fire and its crew had to be rescued themselves after an emergency landing. The SAR mission continued until 8 November and was reluctantly called off after two further USAF Skyraiders were damaged by anti-aircraft fire.
In fact, the other three crewmen of JOLLY GREEN 85 had been captured soon after they were shot down: pilot Capt. Warren E. Lilly, co-pilot 1Lt Jerry Singelton and pararescue technician SSgt Arthur Cormier, who was later awarded a Silver Star for his actions during this mission. They were joined in a prison camp by the two Skyraider pilots that were captured too.
Sources:
https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1963.html
https://www.helis.com/database/cn/5514/
https://911gfx.nexus.net/aircraftlosses.html
https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=326
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Jan-2010 05:07 | TB | Added |
| 09-Jan-2010 07:08 | TB | Updated [Date, ] |
| 05-Sep-2011 00:57 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 05-Sep-2011 01:06 | Anon. | Updated [Nature, ] |
| 11-Jan-2012 15:26 | Uli Elch | Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 20-Dec-2012 10:10 | TB | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 13-Jan-2025 16:48 | Tetrapack | Updated [Phase, Narrative, ] |
| 24-Jan-2025 06:43 | Tetrapack | Updated [Cn, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
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