HC-7 RESCUE 59 (1) 21-Dec-1968 (Saturday)

SH-3A Sikorsky Seaking helo Det 110 Big Mother
USS Intrepid (CVS-11) Routine Day (2)
51 miles off North Vietnam coast
Water: 78⁰ Air: 79⁰ Wind: 9 knots Sea State: Calm – debris in water

Pilot – LTJG Jeffrie E. Wiant Jr.
Co-pilot – LTJG Roger A. Beck
1st crew – AE-2 Bobby Childress
2nd crew – ADJ-3 William R. Taylor

Alert received – 0855: UHF
Vehicle departed – 0855: 1/2 mile
Arrived on scene – 0856: search required
Located survivor – 0857: visual sighting
Begin retrieval – 0858: Man
Ended retrieval – 0900: Proceeded to ship
Survivor disembarked – 0905: CVS-11

USN USS Intrepid (CVS-11)
AA G.A. Powers G-Division
( Airman Apprentice )

08:00 USS Intrepid had finished mustering the crew, finding no new absentees; 08:55 a man-overboard alarm is sounded. STARBOARD side, the Intrepid immediately steers to avoid the man in the water.
Big Mother helo returning from SAR station, a mile or two from the carrier, are notified by UHF radio. The helo approaches the stern, the crew spots debris. Two minutes of search required to locate the sailor. Visual sighting, a hover is set, and then the horsecollar sling is lowered. 08:57 sailor is spotted; he was not familiar with the sling, which delayed the pick-up. (10)(12) The carrier’s angel helo was out of position. 09:05 landing on deck was complicated by the excess amount of people on the flight deck.

1) Numbering as per HC-7 Rescue Log (accumulative rescue number)
2) HC-7 1968 Command Report
3) HC-7 Det 110 Rescue report
10) HC-7 History collection; Ron Milam – Historian
12) USS Intrepid – Deck Logs

(Compiled / written by: Ron Milam, HC-7 Historian – HC-7, 2-1969 to 7-1970, Det 108 & 113)