Information on U.S. Army helicopter OH-13S tail number 63-09097
The Army purchased this helicopter 0164
Total flight hours at this point: 00002423
Date: 05/09/1968
Incident number: 68050999.KIA
Unit: HHC 1 BDE 1 CAV
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY
This was an Unknown mission
Unknown this helicopter was Unknown at UNK feet and UNK knots.
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: YC500388 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48PYC500388)
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)
The helicopter was hit in the Cockpit causing Fragmentation Damage.
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL
Casualties = 02 KIA . .
The helicopter Crashed. Aircraft Destroyed.
Both mission and flight capability were terminated.
Burned
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, LNNF, CASRP (Operations Report. Lindenmuth New
Format Data Base. Casualty Report. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
AC WO1 LANIER DAYTON WAYNE KIA
CE CPL FRANKHAUSER CHRIS WALTER KIA
War Story:
On May 9, 1968, a U.S. Army helicopter OH-13S (tail number 63-09097) from Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division was on a reconnaissance mission for 1st Cavalry ground troops when it came under enemy and was shot down. Both crewmen, aircraft commander WO1 Dayton W. Lanier and crew chief CPL Chris W. Frankhauser, suffered fatal injuries in the attack. The following is an account for this incident: WO1 Lanier and CPL Frankhauser were flying as part of a two ship scout team which was working its way up the valley in front of some ground forces. The two ships were doing lazy circles to cover each other as they moved up the valley. The second crew witnessed aircraft 097 straighten out of its turn, start a climb, and then spin back down into the trees where there was a dull explosion. There was no radio transmission from 097. The other scout helicopter dove to cover the crash scene, but came under heavy fire. They banked to get away from that area, returning fire, and managed to get out of range of the enemy troops. Gunships were scrambled from the A Shau Valley and the soldiers on the ground were directed to move up to where the ship had gone down. The soldiers reported that the crew would have been killed in the crash rather than in the post-impact fire. It appeared to the other scout crew that the aircraft had come under fire, tried to get out of the area, and that the pilot had probably been hit and lost control of the helicopter. (Information supplied by Frank Vanatta) [Taken from flying-circus.com]
From: William M. Killian
This record was last updated on 05/17/2015
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Date posted on this site:
11/13/2023
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