Rampant Raider

      An A-4F Skyhawk of VA-212 "Rampant Raiders" overflies USS Hancock, somewhere off Vietnam coast, summer 1972. This was the personal mount of Commander Frank Clifford Green, Jr. 

     The USS HANCOCK first saw action in Vietnam when aircraft from her decks flew strikes against enemy vessels in Saigon Harbour in late 1964. The Essex class carrier, extensively modernized, returned to Vietnam during the early years of the Vietnam war. The attack carriers USS CORAL SEA, USS HANCOCK and USS RANGER formed Task Force 77, the carrier striking force of the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific. The HANCOCK was the smallest type of flattop to operate in the Vietnam theater, but pilots from her fighter and attack squadrons distinguished themselves throughout the duration of the war. On June 12, 1966, Commander Hal Marr, the CO of VF-211 gained the first F-8 Russian MiG kill.

   Commander Frank C. Green was a pilot assigned to Attack Squadron 212 onboard the USS HANCOCK. On July 10, 1972, CDR Green was launched in his A4F Skyhawk aircraft to lead a night armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam.

   Green and his wingman had completed the armed reconnaissance of an assigned road segment and proceeded on their secondary mission to locate and destroyany targets of opportunity they might find. They sighted vehicle lights some distance south of their position and flew in that direction in order to make an unlighted bomb attack. Shortly after the attack, the wingman observed a small flash in the general target area immediately followed by a large, fuel type, secondary explosion on the ground. Not hearing an acknowledgement that CDR Green was off the target or a reply to his comments about the explosion, the wingman suspected that the explosion might be CDR Green's aircraft.

   Search and rescue efforts were initiated immediately, but attempts made to contact CDR Green met with negative results. Since it was not known if CDR Green was killed in the crash of his aircraft or survived to be captured, Green was placed in a casualty status of Missing in Action. CDR Green's remains were recovered in 2008 and were identified in 2010.

   Created with Cinema4D, rendered with Maxwell, edited with Photoshop.