| Date: 29 January 1973 |
| Aircraft type: A-7E Corsair |
| Serial Number: 156837 |
| Military Unit: VA-147 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Constellation |
| Name(s): |
| Cdr Thomas Addison Ricks Wilkinson (KWF) |
| On the day that the cease-fire came into effect, the Navy lost another aircraft in Southeast Asia. The commanding officer of VA-147 disappeared in a Corsair after being launched on a training flight north of the Philippines. The cause of the loss of the aircraft and its pilot was never determined. Cdr Wilkinson was the last of about 50 naval squadron commanders involved in aircraft losses during the war, 27 of whom were killed. Five air wing commanders were also shot down during the war. Cdr Wilkinson had been shot down near Dong Hoi and rescued on 17 May 1972. The Constellation remained in Southeast Asia until it finally returned to North Island, California, on 11 October 1973. The carrier was decommissioned in 2003. |
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