| Date: 13 April 1972 |
| Aircraft type: EA-6A Intruder |
| Serial Number: 156979 |
| Military Unit: VMCJ-1, MAG-15 |
| Service: USMC |
| Home Base: Da Nang |
| Name(s): |
| Capt David Leverett Leet (KIA) |
| 1Lt John Michael Christensen (KIA) |
| In response to the North Vietnamese invasion of the South, VMCJ-1 sent a detachment of EA-6As from Iwakuni to Cubi Point NAS in the Philippines on 3 April. From Cubi Point the aircraft flew to Da Nang each day to provide electronic warfare support to US aircraft operating over the northern provinces of South Vietnam before returning to the Philippines each evening. The EA-6A, which made its debut with VMCJ-1 in Southeast Asia as long ago as October 1966, was a highly modified ECM variant of the A-6 Intruder that carried a large radome on the top of its tail fin and could carry four underwing electronic pods. Its main role was stand off jamming and electronic location of enemy radars. Only 28 EA-6As were built, most of them were delivered to Marine Corps VMCJ squadrons to replace the EF-10 Skyknights.
The first of two EA-6As to be lost in Southeast Asia went missing during a jamming mission in support of a Navy air strike. The exact cause was unknown but it was thought possible that the aircraft may have been shot down by flak or a SAM as it left its orbit and headed for Da Nang at the end of the mission. |
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