Helicopter CH-46D 154814


Information on U.S. Marine Corps helicopter CH-46D tail number 154814
Date: 04/01/1969
Incident number: 69040144.KIA
Unit: HMM-263
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY
This was an Unknown mission
While Enroute this helicopter was at Level Flight at UNK feet and UNK knots.
South Vietnam
Count of hits was not possible because the helicopter burned or exploded.
Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. (7.62MM)
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL, FLT CONTROLS
Casualties = 09 DOI, 03 INJ . .
The helicopter Crashed. Aircraft Destroyed.
Both mission and flight capability were terminated.
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center Helicopter database. Also: OPERA, NSC, CH46, JSIDR, CASRP, POPASMOKE INCIDENT (Naval Safety Center. Operations Report. Joint Services Incident Damage Report. Casualty Report. )
Summary: Shot down while inserting a recon team and crashed in water-filled bomb crater.
Loss to Inventory

Crew Members:
CP 1LT CARROLL FRANK JEROME KIA
AC MAJ BLANKENSHIP LEROY IRVIN KIA


War Story:
The POPASMOKE Incident reads: From MAG-16 Command Chronologies for April 1969. "On April 1, 1969, A CH-46 from HMM-263 was shot down while attempting to insert a reconnaissance team south of An Hoa airfield, 21 miles SSW of Danang. The pilot and copilot were killed in the ensuing crash." MAJ L. I. Blankenship, Pilot and 1/LT F. J. Carroll, co-pilot both KIA when CH-46 went down in Antenna Valley west of An Hoa. A/C crashed, inverted, with cockpit in water filled bomb crater. Both pilots died. Crew escaped, but unable to extract pilots from wreckage as they were pinned under the water. Squadron was HMM-263. Submitted by John Van Nortwick HMM-263.

This record was last updated on 07/31/2000


This information is available on CD-ROM.

Additional information is available on KIAs at http://www.coffeltdatabase.org

Please send additions or corrections to: The VHPA Webmaster Gary Roush.

KIA statistics

Return to the KIA name list

Return to the KIA panel date index

Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023


Copyright © 1998 - 2023 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association