1/72 A-4E Skyhawk Bruno McCain

CORGI
1/72, Aviation Archive Collector Series US37404
Douglas A-4E Skyhawk Diecast Model
USN VA-46 Clansman, AA416, John McCain, USS Forrestal, Gulf of Tonkin, 1967, #US37404

This aircraft was one of 21 jets destroyed during a huge fire that engulfed the flight deck of the USS Forrestal on the morning of 29 July 1967 as the carrier prepared to launch its second strike of the day against targets in North Vietnam. The vessel, with Carrier Air Wing 17 embarked, had only been in the theater on Yankee Station for 48 hours when disaster struck. A Zuni unguided rocket was accidentally fired from an F-4J Phantom II, hitting an A-4 (possibly this aircraft) parked in front of it. Strapped into the cockpit of 'AA416' was Lt. Cdr. John S. McCain, who quickly abandoned his jet and ran for cover. Of the 21 jets destroyed in the ensueing conflageration, 11 of them were A-4Es. By the time the blaze aboard the Forrestal had been brought under control some 12 hours after it had started, 134 sailors were dead and $72 Million worth of damage had been inflicted on the US Navy's first Super Carrier.