P-3 accident VP-26 1968 off Phu Quoc Island

[JD]

The above P-3 (BUNO 153440) crashed into the ocean, killing all crewmembers,
during a Market Time patrol over the Gulf of Siam. It was just after I got
out of the Navy and I never heard the cause of the accident. We did hear
the accident was the result of "combat action", but as is so often the case,
no details followed. I knew some of the guys and would like to know what
happened.

Any thoughts or rumors appreciated.

JD

[Don McIntyre]

When I was in VP-26 from 76-81, I heard that they'd apparently taken
a hit in one of the wings causing a wing fire, and as the PPC was
lining up to land (or ditch, I don't recall which), the fire burned
through the mainspar and collapsed the wing. I seem to remember also
that he was making his second attempt to line up on the correct heading
and that if he'd taken the landing opportunity on the first approach
they'd have proably made it.
I can't vouch for the truth of the above story, but that's what I
remember hearing anyway.

Don McIntyre
Clarksville, TN

[Don McIntyre]

JD,
Also try the following sites:

http://www.vpnavy.com
(http://www.vpnavy.com/vp26mem.html)
and
http://www.vpinternational.ca
(http://www.vpinternational.ca/BOOK/accidents/united_states.htm)

I just did a advance Google search with the BuNo on the "All The Words"
line and VP-26 in the "Exact Phrase" line.

The VP Navy site is very graphics intensive so if you're using a
dial-up connection you'll need to be patient.

HTH

Don McIntyre
Clarksville, TN

[~^ beancounter ~^]

THOMPSON, MELVIN CARL

Name: Melvin Carl Thompson
Rank/Branch: E6/US Navy
Unit: Patrol Squadron 26, U Tapao Airbase, Thailand
Date of Birth: 24 May 1935
Home City of Record: Colquitt GA
Date of Loss: 06 February 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam/Over Water
Loss Coordinates: 093050N 1040730E (VR040520)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 5
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: P3B
Refno: 2022

Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S.
Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families,
published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 1998.

Other Personnel in Incident: Armando Chapa, Jr.; William F. Farris;
Donald
L. Gallagher; Roy A. Huss; Thomas P. Jones; Homer E. McKay; James C.
Newman,
Jr.; Donald F. Burnett; Lynn M. Travis (all missing)

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: At 0900 hours on February 5, 1968, a P3 "Orion" aircraft
assigned
to Patrol Squadron 26 at U Tapao Airbase, Thailand, left on a "Market
Time"
mission over the Gulf of Thailand (Gulf of Siam). They were scheduled
to
return to their base at about 0900 hours the following morning.

The crew on board the aircraft included Lt. Thomas P. Jones; LtJg. Lynn
M.
Travis; LtJg. Roy A. Huss; AXCS Donald F. Burnett; AX3 Armando Chapa
Jr.;
AX3 William F. Farris (AX designates Antisubmarine warfare technicians
and
related duties); AOC Donald L. Gallagher; AMH2 Homer E. McKay; ADR1
James C.
Newman Jr.; AE1 Melvin C. Thompson (A designates in many cases,
aviation
personnel, i.e. AE1 is Aviation Electrician's Mate First Class).

As antisubmarine warfare was all but unknown in Vietnam, there were a
variety of duties handled by those trained in antisubmarine warfare. As
marking submarines, and/or destroying them involved the use of marking
buoys, electronic "ears" and other technical equipment suited for
target
marking, antisubmarine teams were frequently used for search missions.
They
also sometimes assisted in attacks on small enemy water craft.

Shortly after midnight on February 6, the Orion reported a surface
contact.
Some two hours later it reported another contact somewhat further east.
The
last report received from the Orion was after 0300 hours. No subsequent
communication was received.

An emergency communication alert for the aircraft was declared shortly
after
daybreak and a full search and rescue (SAR) was declared. In the late
afternoon of February 6, wreckage and debris were sighted and
identified.

On February 7 search and rescue operations were terminated at sundown.
Salvage operations were conducted from February 11 through March 21.
The
investigating officer concluded that the Orion had impacted with the
water,
and that the aircraft had been completely destroyed, and that all of
the
crewmembers had died instantly.

The Orion went down about 50 miles off the shores of South Vietnam's An
Xuyen Province in the Gulf of Thailand. Presumably, all the crew aboard
are
"buried" at sea - an honorable burial for a naval man. This crew is
listed
with honor among the missing because no remains were ever found.

For the crew of the Orion, death seems a certainty. For hundreds of
others,
however, simple answers are not possible. Adding to the torment of
nearly
10,000 reports relating to Americans missing in Southeast Asia is the
certain knowledge that some Americans who were known to be prisoners of
war
were not released at the end of the war. Others were suspected to be
prisoners, and still others were in radio contact with would-be
rescuers
when last seen alive. Many were known to have survived their loss
incidents,
only to disappear without a trace.

The problem of Americans still missing torments not only the families
of
those who are missing, but the men who fought by their sides, and those
in
the general public who realize the full implication of leaving men
unaccounted for at the end of a war.

Tragically, many authorities believe there are hundreds of Americans
still
alive in captivity in Southeast Asia today. What must they be thinking
of
us? What will our next generation say if called to fight if we are
unable to
bring these men home from Southeast Asia?