ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 158680
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| Date: | Thursday 21 December 1972 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Grumman A-6A Intruder |
| Owner/operator: | VA-75, US Navy |
| Registration: | 152946 |
| MSN: | I-250 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Kein An Airfield, Haiphong, North Vietnam -
 Vietnam
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | USS Saratoga (CV-60), Gulf of Tonkin, North Vietnam |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A-6A Intruder BuNo, 152946/'AC-500' of VA-75, US Navy based on board the USS Saratoga (CVA-60). Lost on combat operations December 21, 1972: Attack on airfields at Haiphong and Kien An Airfield areas. Destroyed by Airborne explosion followed by a fire on the ground. Both crew - Lt. Commander Robert S. Graustein (pilot) and Lt Commander Barton S. Wade - were killed
According to published sources: "The defenders at Kien An claimed another of VA-75 'Sunday Punchers' aircraft on 21
December 1972 when 'CAG bird' AC-500 (BuNo 152946) was lost, possibly to AAA. Lt Commanders Bob Graustein and Bart Wade were both killed. For Wade, this had been a return tour to Vietnam, having made two previous deployments with VA-196. Graustein would subsequently receive a Silver Star posthumously for a 12 October mission over North Vietnam".
When Graustein and Wade failed to return, it was assumed that they had been lost in the target area and the crew was placed in MIA status.,None of the POWs repatriated in February/March 1973 had any knowledge of the two men, and they were continued in MIA status until the Secretary of the Navy approved Presumptive Findings of Death, for Graustein on March 3, 1975 and for Wade on August 24, 1976.
On March 7, 1986, the Government announced that the remains of the two air crewmen were among a group of remains turned over by the Vietnamese government on December 4, 1985.
Sources:
1. A-6 Intruder Units of the Vietnam War By Rick Morgan
2. http://web.archive.org/web/20180422222159/http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/A-6.html
3. http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries19.html
4. http://web.archive.org/web/20171103001143/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/a6_prowler.htm
5. http://www.virtualwall.org/dg/GrausteinRS01a.htm
6. https://www.findagrave.com/page=gr&GRid=93830560
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Aug-2013 07:56 | Uli Elch | Added |
| 20-Aug-2013 08:18 | Uli Elch | Updated [Date, Registration, Cn, Location, Narrative] |
| 26-Mar-2016 03:50 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
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