BAT 21 Bravo: When Combat SAR Was Put to the Ultimate Test

First Rescue Attempt Comes Up Short

Two Air Force A-1H Sandys from the 1^st Special Operations Squadron (SOS) joined the FAC over Hambleton’s position in short order. They loitered in the vicinity as Hambleton calmly and effectively called in strikes on the NVA positions around him. The A-1H Sandys called for a rescue attempt in the belief that the airstrikes had created a window of opportunity for rescue. Two Bell UH-1 Iroquoi (Huey) helicopters escorted by two Bell AH-1 Cobra gunships, made their way to the scene for a “quick snatch” rescue but enemy fire was just too heavy and accurate. One of the Hueys was shot down and the other three helicopters and both Sandy A-1Hs were heavily damaged. Rescue operations were suspended for the night and Hambleton was instructed to hole up and wait.

A Far Costlier Second Rescue Attempt

The next day (April 3^rd) another rescue mission was attempted. A combined force consisting of A-1H Sandys, two HH-53 Jolly Green Giant rescue helicopters, and several F-4 Phantom IIs tasked with dropping anti-personnel cluster bombs around Hambleton’s position were overhead. OV-10A Bronco FAC aircraft remained on station over the area. One of the HH-53s went in for the pickup. The rescue helo was so badly shot up by heavy and accurate NVA ground fire that it was fortunate to make it back to a friendly base at all. When the second Jolly Green approached the area it too was heavily damaged and barely made it back from the area. To make matters worse, the OV-10 Bronco FAC aircraft was shot down. One of the crew was taken prisoner. The other crew member, First Lieutenant Mark Clark (grandson of US Army General Mark Clark), successfully evaded the NVA and became potential rescue number two in the area.

They Kept On Going After Bat 21 Bravo at Any Cost

On April 4th, A-1H Sandys tried to soften up the area around Hambleton in preparation for another rescue attempt but were shot up badly enough that availability of Sandy aircraft was a critical issue for the remainder of the war. Eight of the ten aircraft that flew the mission were damaged. April 5^th passed without any SAR activity due to poor weather in the area. But on April 6^th, another rescue attempt was laid on. A-1H Sandys once again attacked the troops located near Hambleton’s position. Even B-52 BUFFs were used to bomb NVA staging areas nearby. In response the NVA fired some 80 SAMs at the American aircraft operating in the area.

Losses Mount as the Attempts to Rescue Bat 21 Bravo Continue

The plan for the 6^th was to pick up Hambleton first and then grab Clark. After checking the area and finding NVA fire to be reduced, the on-scene commander gave the first rescue helo the go sign. When the first Jolly Green Giant approached it too was shot to pieces. The HH-53 made it out of the area but the damage it sustained caused the aircraft to crash a few kilometers away. The entire crew of six men was listed as missing in action (MIA) but presumed killed. SAR activity was suspended for the rest of the day. Hambleton and now Clark would be forced to spend another day surrounded by NVA troops who were beating the bushes looking for them. The North Vietnamese, seeing the effort the American CSAR forces were making to rescue Bat 21 Bravo, decided to commit even more resources to finding him.

Rethinking the Entire Rescue Strategy

On April 7^th, yet another OV-10 Bronco FAC aircraft was shot down and its crew captured while spotting for naval gunfire to protect Hambleton from the NVA. It was time to come up with a new plan. Five days, five aircraft lost, 16 more heavily damaged, twelve crew members either killed or captured, and no rescue. The area in which Hambleton and Clark were holed up was just too hot to try another airborne CSAR helo rescue. General Creighton Abrams himself ordered no more such rescue attempts would be made, but that every effort should be made to extricate the two men from the area. It would take the efforts of two heroic and fearless volunteers, an encyclopedic knowledge of golf courses, and luck by the metric ton to pull this one off.

The Ballad of Bat 21 Bravo Continues on the NEXT PAGE (below)