USAF Jungle Jacket w/ 1973 VN Friendly Fire Pocket Patch

[DiGilio]

Picked this up off ebay. Thought someone here might enjoy seeing it. This is the first time Ive seen this pocket patch actually on a uniform. Basicly on 8 January 1973, a flight of US aircraft screwed up coordinates and dropped their bombs on Da Nang air base in Vietnam. Luckily it landed on a thinly populated area of the base so there were only some minor injuries. I could imagine for guys who were there this was a pretty scary event though. Its also scary to think of how bad this could of turned out if the bombs actually landed on one of the main areas of the base.

 

I put some of the info I found about this event below the photos. If anyone has more info Id love to see it.

 

As for the shirt itself it appears it was worn a decent amount with the pocket patch on there. The pocket was removed when sewing on the patch so the pocket would still be useable.

 

 

 

SAIGON (AP) - An American flight leader mistakenly guided five U.S. fighter-bombers into an accidental attack on the Da Nang Air Base today. Ten Americans and one Vietnamese were reported wounded by shrapnel or injured while running for cover. No deaths were reported. The western part of the base where the bombs hit is thinly populated. The U.S. Command reported that about half a dozen U.S. AC119 gunships and one helicopter were lightly damaged by lying shrapnel and four fuel tanks were destroyed. The command first reported the explosions at 8:20 a.m. as an enemy shelling attack. Seven hours later, it announced that an investigation showed five Air Force, Navy and Marine fighter-bombers "flying above a heavy overcast accidentally dropped 34 500-pound bombs at Da Nang Air Base." The intended target was suspected North Vietnamese and Viet Cong positions near Da Nang. The flight leader reportedly ordered the bombs dropped at the wrong map coordinates. The planes - an Air Force F4 Phantom, two Marine F4s and two Navy A7 Corsairs - came from two bases in Thailand and from a carrier off the coast, and the pilots may have been unfamiliar with the Da Nang area.

 

From a now gone website:

"Danang Air Base, January 8, 1973. Keith W. Steward. 6498th Security Police Squadron. It was the eighth of January 1973, and Tiger Flight (night shift) had just gotten off duty. I now had a room on the second floor of a two story barracks in Gunfighter Village, on the east side of the base. I was working nights supporting Tiger Flight from the vehicle section. I remembered just getting ready for bed when I heard a strange whistling noise. All of a sudden the world is erupting in explosions. It sounded like rockets right outside of the building. the barracks was shaking and I was sure, when I headed for the door, I was going to find dead Momma-Sans all over, since they would just be coming to work. I ran out of the west door, and seen nothing. Everything looks normal until I look to the northwest across the base. there are several columns of black smoke headed skyward from the area of the VNAF (Vietnamese Air Force) POL (Petroleum Oil Lubricant) storage. the big question was why were the explosions so loud? It turned out we didn't get hit by rockets at all. It was an Air Force F-4, two Marine F-4s and two navy A-7 Corsairs dropping a total of 34 five hundred pound bombs. the story was the Air Force pilot in lead was unfamiliar with the area, and due to overcast conditions, ordered the bombs dropped on the wrong coordinates. The base newsletter had a nice article which I saved, and my folks saved a couple from the local papers. It was said that Danang was the only US air base in Vietnam ever bombed by American military forces. I think even at a mile away, it was too close. One of the large storage tanks burned for days afterward."

 

Appendix 1 (11th Combat Aviation Group) to Annex B to USARV/MACV SUPCOM After Action Report

"8 January 1973: DaNang AFB received a misdirected Loran strike causing light damage to one building and one UH-1H aircraft. Six members of the 11th CAG were slightly injured with minor cuts and bruises."

 

Project Checo Southeast Asia Report, Short Rounds, January 1972 - August 1973 (U), 1 November 1977

"Because of a procedural error on the part of the aircrew, a flight of F-4s, call sign Junior, inadvertently released 34 Mark-82 five-hundred-pound bombs directly on Da Nang Air Base. Fortunately, the damage was relatively light, considering the number of bombs dropped. The first bomb struck a fuel storage area, destroying three 10,000-barrel-capacity fuel storage tanks. The remainder fell in an open field, and the only damage incurred was from flying debris which lightly damaged eleven parked aircraft and injured 16 persons, with only one requiring hospitalization. Junior flight was scheduled for a LORAN strike and the Da Nang coordinates had been set in the target number two position, to be used for rendezvous. The actual target coordinates were set in the number three position. The aircrew failed to select the number three position prior to making the bomb run, which resulted in the computer identifying Da Nang as the actual target. The LORAN checklist specifically requires rechecking the selected target prior to making the bomb run; therefore, the primary cause of the incident was aircrew procedural error."

[Sabrejet]

That's a pretty low-circulation patch, for sure. Great score!

[vintageproductions]

There was also a great article in the ASMIC Trading Post, from I believe the person who designed the patch.

[cpembleton]

I remember this day very well. I was getting very short ...like 6 or 7 days left in country when this bomb drop happened. I was working the SPS Communications desk that morning. If I recall the MACV Command staff had just arrived on base that morning and they were not happy about the event.

[DaddyDog]

Until I found this old post I had no idea what this patch was. Thanks for the great info.