The Vought F8 "Crusader" saw action early in U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. Its fighter models participated both in the first Gulf of Tonkin reprisal in August 1964 and in the myriad attacks against North Vietnam during Operation Rolling Thunder. The Crusader was used exclusively by the Navy and Marine air wings (although there is one U.S. Air Force pilot reported shot down on an F8) and represented half or more of the carrier fighters in the Gulf of Tonkin during the first four years of the war. The aircraft was credited with nearly 53% of MiG kills in Vietnam.
The most frequently used fighter versions of the Crusader in Vietnam were the C, D, and E models although the H and J were also used. The Charlie carried only Sidewinders on fuselage racks, and were assigned such missions as CAP (Combat Air Patrol), flying at higher altitudes. The Echo model had a heavier reinforced wing able to carry extra Sidewinders or bombs, and were used to attack ground targets, giving it increased vulnerability. The Echo version launched with less fuel, to accommodate the larger bomb store, and frequently arrived back at ship low on fuel. The RF models were equipped for photo reconnaissance.
The combat attrition rate of the Crusader was comparable to similar fighters. Between 1964 to 1972, eighty-three Crusaders were either lost or destroyed by enemy fire. Another 109 required major rebuilding. 145 Crusader pilots were recovered; 57 were not. Twenty of these pilots were captured and released. The other 43 remained missing at the end of the war.
Commander Doyle W. Lynn was a Navy Crusader pilot. Lynn was not a green pilot.
He had participated in the early Yankee Team operations
in central Laos in 1964.
In the spring of 1964, Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese forces launched attacks against Neutralist forces on the Plain of Jars in Xiangkhoang Province, Laos.
Air Force and Navy photoreconnaissance jets began gathering intelligence information in May 1964 in Laos, and the result was a number of photos showing the Plain of Jars bristling with newly installed anti-aircraft guns.
Ambassador Leonard Unger obtained approval from the Johnson Administration to release the fuses on previously delivered U.S. bombs, for use by the Royal Lao Air Force. Prince Souvanna Phouma also authorized the use of U.S. fighters to accompany the unarmed reconnaissance jets over Laotian territory, and these missions became code-named Yankee Team.
CDR was at that time assigned to Fighter Squadron 111 and on June 7 flew an F8D as escort on a Yankee Team reconnaissance mission over central Laos. His aircraft was shot down that day, but fortunately, he was rescued the following day. The rescue operations of this period laid the groundwork for the most successful combat rescue missions in history.
The following year, May 27, Lynn was still in combat. During a combat mission over Nghe An Province, North Vietnam near the city of
Vinh, his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire while he was in the target area and crashed. No parachute was seen, and little hope was held that Cdr. Lynn survived. He was listed Killed/Body Not Recovered.
Since the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports relating to Americans missing, prisoner or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S. Government. Many authorities who have examined this largely classified information are convinced that hundreds of Americans are still held captive today. Fighter pilots in Vietnam were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and were prepared to be wounded, killed, or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they proudly served.
Incidental Information
