ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 158713
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| Date: | Tuesday 9 January 1973 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Grumman A-6A Intruder |
| Owner/operator: | VA-115, US Navy |
| Registration: | 155693 |
| MSN: | I-419 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 20 miles W of Phu Dien Chau, Nghe An Province, North Vietnam -
 Vietnam
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | USS Midway (CV-41) Gulf of Tonkin, North Vietnam |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A‑6A Intruder BuNo. 155693/'NF-5' of VA-115, US Navy on board the USS Midway (CVA-41). Lost on combat operations on night of January 9-10, 1973: Crashed south of Kan Ty, 20 miles West of Phu Dien Chau, Nghe An Province, North Vietnam during strike mission over North Vietnam. Near the target area in Nghe An Province in North Vietnam, aircrew reported an estimated 15 surface-to-air missiles fired, as well as numerous antiaircraft rounds.
Both crew - Lt Michael "Mike" Timothy McCormick (pilot) and Lt (JG) Robert Alan Clark (Bombardier/Navigator) - were initially posted as MIA. Attempts to contact the crew for four days through radio and visual searches were unsuccessful. Both crewmen were carried as Missing in Action until the Secretary of the Navy approved Presumptive Findings of Death for them - McCormick on July 25, 1975 and Clark on March 7, 1978. Mike McCormick and Robert Clark were the last of seven VA-115 aircrew men lost during the Vietnam War
In July 1991, U.S. researchers discovered in a Vietnamese military museum a data plate which correlated to the downed aircraft. Later, in another museum, they discovered photos of a crash site which also correlated to the missing aircraft. U.S. researchers examined Vietnamese wartime records which confirmed the downing of that aircraft in Nghe An Province in January 1973.
Between 1993 and 2002, U.S. researchers and joint U.S.-Vietnam teams conducted four field investigations and one excavation. During one of their field visits, a witness to the 1973 crash turned over remains he claimed to have recovered at the site. During the excavation in 2002, additional remains were recovered.
In May 2003, researchers in the Central Identification Laboratory used skeletal analysis and DNA to finally confirm the remains belonged to Clark and McCormick. On the cold and snowy morning of January 9, 2004, the remains of Lt Robert Alan Clark (known to his family and friends by his middle name) were laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
Sources:
1. A-6 Intruder Units of the Vietnam War By Rick Morgan & Jim Laurier
2. http://web.archive.org/web/20180422222159/http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/A-6.html
3. http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries19.html
4. http://web.archive.org/web/20171103001143/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/a6_prowler.htm
5. http://www.virtualwall.org/dc/ClarkRA01a.htm
6. https://navy.togetherweserved.com/usn/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=414607
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Aug-2013 09:01 | Uli Elch | Added |
| 20-Aug-2013 09:58 | Uli Elch | Updated [Date, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Narrative] |
| 26-Mar-2016 13:47 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 26-Mar-2016 13:48 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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