ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 148190
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| Date: | Friday 24 March 1967 |
| Time: | 00:00 LT |
| Type: |  Grumman A-6A Intruder |
| Owner/operator: | VA-85, US Navy |
| Registration: | 151587 |
| MSN: | I-69 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Bac Giang Thermal Power Plant, near Kep, North Vietnam -
 Vietnam
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) off coast of Vietnam |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
On March 24 1967, Lt Commander John "Buzz" Ellison and Lt. (JG) Jim Plowman launched in A-6A (BuNo 151587 call sign BUCKEYE 511) from the USS Kitty Hawk as part of a strike force directed against the Bac Giang thermal power plant, near Kep in North Vietnam, at approximate co ordinates 1°25'N, 106°57'E. The target was heavily defended by SAMs and a full spectrum of conventional anti-aircraft weaponry. Ellison and Plowman were tasked with SAM suppression for the bombers.
After the strike was completed, friendly radar flight following tracked BUCKEYE 511 as it headed toward the Gulf of Tonkin, but the track terminated in the vicinity of Ha Bac Province near the Vietnam/China border. Combat SAR was initiated. Voice contact was achieved with Lt. Commander Ellison: Overpass 706, an E-2A, received Buckeye 511's last known transmission, "Bombs away," followed by an ominous silence. Neither Ellsion nor Plowman was rescued. Both men were placed in "Missing in Action" status.
The North Vietnamese never acknowledged capturing either Ellison or Plowman, nor did they report that either man had been killed. However, there is evidence that both men survived.
Even so, the two men were never placed in POW status, and on 5 Sep 1975 the Secretary of the Navy approved a Presumptive Finding of Death for now-Captain Ellison, changing his status to "Died while Missing"
Sources:
1. http://web.archive.org/web/20171103001143/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/a6_prowler.htm
2. http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries19.html
3. http://www.virtualwall.org/de/EllisonJC01a.htm
4. http://www.virtualwall.org/dp/PlowmanJE01a.htm
5. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/k/kitty-hawk-cva-63-ii.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 31-Aug-2012 05:51 | Uli Elch | Added |
| 16-Mar-2016 14:17 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
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