Rampant Raider

An A-4F Skyhawk of VA-212 "Rampant Raiders" overflies USS Hancock, somewhere off Vietnam coast, summer 1972. This was the personal mount of Commander Frank Clifford Green, Jr.

The USS HANCOCK first saw action in Vietnam when aircraft from her decks flew strikes against enemy vessels in Saigon Harbour in late 1964. The Essex class carrier, extensively modernized, returned to Vietnam during the early years of the Vietnam war. The attack carriers USS CORAL SEA, USS HANCOCK and USS RANGER formed Task Force 77, the carrier striking force of the U.S. Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific. The HANCOCK was the smallest type of flattop to operate in the Vietnam theater, but pilots from her fighter and attack squadrons distinguished themselves throughout the duration of the war. On June 12, 1966, Commander Hal Marr, the CO of VF-211 gained the first F-8 Russian MiG kill.