Oriskany's Most Colorful C.O.

Commander Richard M. (Dick) Bellinger is one of the truly unique characters in U. S. naval aviation history. “Belly One” or “Belly,” as he was affectionately known, was a one-of-a-kind fighter pilot who may have seemed somewhat of a dinosaur by the 1960’s. He was a real “throwback” to an earlier era in air combat and had a notorious reputation as a “raging bull” who often seemed out-of-control. He flew U. S. Army Air Corps bombers in World War II, transferred to the Navy after the war, and flew combat missions in Korea. He was first the XO of VF-162 "The Hunters" on the Oriskany’s and later became the squadron’s CO.

Cdr. Bellinger was shot down by a MiG on 14 July 1966 after a high-speed chase over downtown Hanoi. After Bellinger’s Crusader was hit, he tried to make it to Da Nang before his fuel ran out. He ejected from his F-8 40 miles out from the mainland and was recovered by a rescue helicopter. On 9 October 1966 Cdr. Bellinger became the first Navy pilot to shoot down a MiG-21. He was flying an F-8E (149159 AH 210) leading three other “Hunter” F-8s as escorts for A-4s from the USS Intrepid. During the flight they were intercepted by a group of MiG-21s which were the newest communist aircraft and a real leap in technology. Using two Sidewinder missiles, Bellinger was able to nab one of the MiGs marking the first Navy kill over the new MiG-21. Upon his return to the Oriskany, Bellinger was heartily congratulated by his ship mates and squadron. Cdr. Bellinger was awarded the Silver Star by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara aboard the Oriskany one week later.

Cdr. Bellinger’s Silver Star was presented to him just days before the fire that killed forty-four of his Oriskany shipmates. On the morning of 26 October 1966, the Oriskany suffered a deadly fire when a crewman panicked and threw a flare, which had accidentally ignited while being moved, into a storage locker located at the forward starboard corner of hangar bay 1. The locker contained some 650 other flares which ignite in turn. Cdr. Bellinger’s stateroom was extremely close to the locker where the flares were ignited. His only way out of his cabin was to rip out an air conditioner unit and wriggle his naked 205-lb. frame through an eighteen-inch porthole and onto a burning catwalk to freedom. In what must have been a bizarre scene, Bellinger appeared on the flight deck stark naked at the height of the fire fighting action. The resulting fire took three hours to control, damaged six aircraft, and put the Oriskany out of action for several months. Air Wing 16’s commander was killed in the fire.

Bellinger was 42 years of age during the Oriskany’s 1966 cruise and a fair bit older than the average fighter pilot. Over the years, he had gained a real reputation as a heavy drinker and someone who would overlook the rules from time to time. It’s really quite amazing that a squadron commander could behave the way he did and still perform as well as he did when it counted. Bud Flagg, who served under Bellinger on the 1966 cruise, recalled that Bellinger was a “colorful” character. “But he flew the F-8 well and commanded the squadron well. He was always there to do the job. He was tops.” Sadly, Cdr. Dick Bellinger ended his days confined to a VA psychiatric facility. When he passed away the autopsy revealed that he had Alzheimer’s. Love him or hate him, Dick Bellinger was an American legend and an American hero.

Some material from this post is from the book F-8 Crusader Units of the Vietnam War by Peter Mersky.