Tag: Phantom crash 1 March 1966

William Murre Christensen, age 25, from Montana, Cascade county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, March 1, 1966

Death details:  On March 1, 1966, an F-4 Phantom II (bureau number 150443, call sign “Taproom 310”) carrying two crew members launched from the USS Ranger (CVA 61) for an armed reconnaissance mission along the North Vietnam coast. It was one of a flight of three aircraft, and the fighters encountered deteriorating weather. After reversing their flight course, visual contact was not established with “Taproom 310,” and the aircraft was not heard from again. The crew of the second aircraft in the flight noticed a surface to air missile (SAM) warning, but no SAMs were seen or reported as fired. Search and rescue teams found no sign of the missing “Taproom 310” or its crew.

Lieutenant Junior Grade William Murrey Christensen, who entered the U.S. Navy from Montana, served with Fighter Squadron 143 and was embarked aboard the Ranger. He was the radar intercept officer aboard this Phantom when it disappeared on March 1, 1966, and he went missing with the aircraft. He remains not accounted-for. While carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Navy promoted LTJG Christensen to the rank of Lieutenant Commander (LCDR). Today, LCDR Christensen is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency