| Date: 24 June 1968 |
| Aircraft type: A-6A Intruder |
| Serial Number: 152949 |
| Military Unit: VA-35 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Enterprise |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Nicholas Mallory Carpenter (KIA) |
| Lt(jg) Joseph Scott Mobley (POW) |
| A single Intruder set out on a night low-level interdiction sortie from the Enterprise to lay mines. The target was the Song Ca River about five miles southwest of Vinh. The Intruder (call sign Ray Gun 503) approached the waterway at 250 feet and 420 knots when it encountered anti-aircraft fire. A shell burst in the cockpit, injuring the pilot and causing the aircraft to roll uncontollably. The NFO ejected but Lt Carpenter is thought to have died in the aircraft. Lt Mobley broke his leg when he was shot down and was then tied to a post, beaten and put on public display where he was pelted with sticks and stones thrown by villagers. He had to set his leg himself although a North Vietnamese medic later put a splint on it. Joseph Mobley was released from North Vietnam on 14 March 1973 and eventually attained the rank of Vice Admiral. |
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