| Date: 6 February 1968 |
| Aircraft type: P-3B Orion |
| Serial Number: 153440 |
| Military Unit: VP-26 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: U-Tapao on TDY from Sangley Point |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr Robert Frank Meglio (KIA) |
| Lt Thomas Paul Jones (KIA) |
| Lt(jg) Lynn Michael Travis (KIA) |
| Lt(jg) Roy Arthur Huss (KIA) |
| AXCS Donald Frederick Burnett (KIA) |
| AOC Donald Louis Gallagher (KIA) |
| AMH2 Homer Eugene McKay (KIA) |
| ADR1 James Clifford Newman, Jr. (KIA) |
| AE1 Melvin Carl Thompson (KIA) |
| AX1 Billy Walker McGhee (KIA) |
| AX3 Armando Chapa, Jr. (KIA) |
| AX3 William Farrell Farris (KIA) |
| Since November 1964 US Navy P-3 Orion squadrons had been based in Southeast Asia on rotation from bases in the Pacific and the USA. The aircraft were used primarily for coastal reconnaissance as part of the Market Time campaign to reduce the amount of infiltration and resupply of enemy forces by sea. An Orion took off from U-Tapao on the morning of the 5th for a 24-hour Market Time sortie over the Gulf of Thailand and along the coast of South Vietnam. The aircraft was flown by Crew Eight of VP-26, which was normally based at NAS Brunswick, Maine, but had been deployed to Sangley Point in the Philippines on 24 November 1967 for operations in Southeast Asia. Soon after midnight on the 5th the aircraft reported the first of a small number of surface contacts. Its last radio report was timed at 0300 hours. When the aircraft became overdue on the morning of the 6th an extensive search was started. Wreckage was located in the Gulf of Thailand at a position about 65 miles southwest of Rach Gia. It was soon apparent that all 12 men on board had been lost. Salvage operations commenced on 11 February and ceased on 21 March but no evidence was found to indicate whether enemy action or mechanical failure had caused the crash. The wreckage was located in 100 feet of water and two bodies, those of Lt Cdr Meglio and AX1 McGhee, were recovered. It was conjectured that there might have been a problem with the aircraft’s autopilot causing it to fly into the sea. Another P-3 accident in the South China Sea on 5 April was also thought to have been caused by problems with the aircraft’s autopilot. |
You may return to your search results, go to the Search Form, or go back to the Home Page.