An Observation Aircraft that took on the North Vietnamese Forces
June 29th, 1972; Capt Steven Bennett was flying his USAF OV-10 Bronco near Quang Tri City, on a low-level Forward Air Controller artillery adjustment mission. Capt Bennett was accompanied on this mission by a Marine gunfire spotter Capt. Michael B. Brown who occupied the rear seat of the lightly armed reconnaissance aircraft.
After approximately three hours of controlling gunfire from U.S. naval vessels offshore and directing air strikes against enemy positions, Captain Bennett received an urgent call for assistance over the radio. A small South Vietnamese unit was on the verge of being attacked by a much larger force of North Vietnamese. The situation was grave, and there were no friendly fighters left in the area. Supporting naval gunfire would have endangered the South Vietnamese, so that was not an option either. Without immediate help, the unit was certain to be overrun, as they were caught between the enemy and the coast.
Captain Bennett made a total of five strafing runs against the North Vietnamese regulars, and each time was successful in causing their retreat and slowing their advance on the small South Vietnamese unit he was trying to defend.
Capt Bennett turned his aircraft to the South as fire was engulfing the left wing of his aircraft. As Bennett was preparing to eject, the Marine observer in back advised him that he couldn't eject with him; his chute had been shredded by fragments from the heat seekers' detonation.
Choosing to stay with his aircraft and his observer, Bennett turned towards the Gulf of Tonkin and began setting up for an emergency ditching off the coast. No pilot had ever survived putting an OV-10 into the sea, and the hanging left gear was not going to help matters, but Bennett was not going to leave his observer behind. As he put the Bronco down on the water, the gear dug deeply into the ocean, throwing the Bronco into a snap roll, resting nose down into the sea.
The Marine observer Capt. Brown managed to escape, but Captain Bennett was unable to free himself in time and sank with his aircraft.
Captain Steven Bennett was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery and sacrifice. The decoration was presented to his widow by Vice President Gerald R. Ford on Aug. 8th, 1974.
If the Bronco had four 7.62mm machine guns it wasn’t unarmed, was it.
“Captain Bennett took it upon himself to stop the advancing troops with his unarmed observation aircraft. Bringing his OV-10 around for a low-level strafing run, Capt. Bennett proceeded to open fire with his four small 7.62mm machine guns, momentarily halting the advance, and causing the enemy to scatter.”
Somewhat contradictory statement there.
Thank you for such an amazing article and such a bad ass title. My grandfather on my mother’s side is Capt Bennett. Seeing his story still remembered always makes me happy. I can’t wait to meet him some day.
I met the Marine FO in the rear seat many years later, he told me the story first hand, awesome decision on Bennett’s part, go Air Force!
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