ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 185841
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| Date: | Saturday 12 August 1972 |
| Time: | 01:45 |
| Type: |  Grumman A-6A Intruder |
| Owner/operator: | VA-52, US Navy |
| Registration: | 157018 |
| MSN: | I-487 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Ky Thuong, Nui Am Vap Mountain, near Cam Pha, Quang Ninh Province -
 Vietnam
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) off coast of Vietnam |
| USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) off coast of Vietnam | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A-6A Intruder BuNo 157018/'NH-502', call sign VICEROY 502 of VA-52, based on board the USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63). Lost on combat operations August 12, 1972: shot down by a SA-2 SAM during low-level strike on a trans-shipment point near the village of Ky Thuong on the extremely steep northwest side of Nui Am Vap Mountain, now known as Khe Can Mountain. It was also approximately 7 miles north of Route 183, 12 miles north of the major coastal city of Hon Gay, 13 miles northwest of the town of Cam Pha, Quang Ninh Province, North Vietnam, at approximate Coordinates: 21'00.00"N 105'45.00"E.
At approximately 0145 hours, other flight members heard a transmission from Lt. JG Lester and Lt. Mossman’s aircraft stating “Let’s get the hell of out here!” which other pilots believed meant that Viceroy 502 was getting out of the area due to the heavy ground fire and not ejecting from their aircraft.
About the same time one of the aircrews saw a flash of light below the cloud level that corresponded with the track of Viceroy 502, but they could not tell if it was from the Intruder or from the many thunderstorms. Further, the other aircrews reported extremely accurate and heavy anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fire emanating from in and around the target area.
Both crew - Lt Roderick Barnum Lester (pilot) and Lt Harry S. Mossman (bombardier/navigator)- posted as MIA with effect from August 19, 1972. According to the following published report:
"Further information regarding my cousin who was killed in Vietnam. His name was Lt. Commander Roderick Barnum Lester. He was stationed aboard the USS Kittyhawk in 1972. He and his Bombardier/Navigator Lt. Harry S. Mossman were shot down over North Vietnam on August 12 1972 by a SAM. He was officially listed as MIA on August 19th 1972.
The wreckage of their A-6 was found in 1997, and although no remains were found, they did find my cousin's dogtags, and .38 caliber side arm, along with several other pieces. An interview was conducted with an NVA Col. that was in charge of the SAM site and reported that few remains were found, and his men buried them in the jungle. The exact location of those remains was unknown. Expedition leader's report of the incident was that because of the low altitude and speed that the incident took place, Roger and Harry never had a chance to eject from the aircraft and were killed.
As a side note, there is an exact replica of Roger's A-6 intruder at the Boeing air museum in Seatle. The actual tail hook from his A-6 that was recovered from the 1997 expedition to Vietnam is on display at the Boeing museum as well."
The Secretary of the Navy eventually approved Presumptive Findings of Death for both men, Harry Mossman on February 21, 1975 and Roderick Lester on August 2, 1978. Joint Task Force - Full Accounting (JTF-FA) located and excavated the crash site, recovering wreckage and repatriatiating human remains. The crash location, as given in a 1993 JTF-FA report, is on Cu Xu Island, about 48 kilometers due east of Cam Pha, North Vietnam.
The government announced the repatriation and positive identification of the remains of Lieutenant Commander Harry S. Mossman, USN, who was buried in a military ceremony on Monday, 30 August 2004, at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington. As of 12 June 2008 the DoD's Personnel Missing - Southeast Asia (PMSEA) Office has not reported the recovery and identification of Lt. Commander Lester's remains.
Sources:
1. A-6 Intruder Units of the Vietnam War By Rick Morga
2. http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries20.html
3. http://web.archive.org/web/20171103001143/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/a6_prowler.htm
4. http://web.archive.org/web/20180422222159/http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/A-6.html
5. http://www.virtualwall.org/dl/LesterRB01a.htm
6. http://www.virtualwall.org/dm/MossmanHS01a.htm
7. http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/l/l074.htm
8. http://taskforceomegainc.org/l074.htm
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar-2016 23:05 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
| 25-Mar-2016 23:06 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 25-Mar-2016 23:18 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 25-Mar-2016 23:19 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Location] |
| 25-Mar-2016 23:20 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 25-Mar-2016 23:21 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 25-Mar-2016 23:21 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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