ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 158684
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| Date: | Friday 6 September 1968 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Grumman A-6B Intruder |
| Owner/operator: | VA-85, US Navy |
| Registration: | 154127 |
| MSN: | I-262 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | SE of Song Ca River near Vinh/Ben Thuy, North Vietnam -
 Vietnam
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | USS America (CVA-66) Yankee Startion, Gulf of Tonkin |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A-6B Intruder BuNo. 154127 of VA‑85, US Navy, USS America: lost on combat operations September 6 1968 during night low‑level attack on targets near the city of Vinh. Aircraft was on a night AMTI Mission gear Vinh, VFR conditions, straight and level at 4,000 feet, when it was hit by 37mm and 144mm ground fire. Aircraft came down on an island in the Song Ca River near Vinh/Ben Thuy, North Vietnam at approximate Coordinates: 18'39.002"N 105'43.00"E
Both crew members - Commander Kenneth Leon Coskey (pilot) and Lt Commander R G McKee (bombardier/navigator) - ejected. The pilot sustained leg injuries and was captured and the Bombardier/Navigator was rescued with minor injuries.
On October 31, 1968, Commander Coskey's status was changed to Prisoner of War. He had been captured by the North Vietnamese and for the next five years, was held in various prisoner of war camps in North Vietnam. He was released in Operation Homecoming on March 14, 1973. He returned to Navy duty and retired in 1982 as deputy director of the Naval Historical Center at the Washington Navy Yard. From 1987 to 1999, he was executive director of the Naval Historical Foundation. He died June 29 2013 at the Avalon assisted living facility in McLean, where he had resided for the last four months. He was 83.
Sources:
1. http://web.archive.org/web/20180422222159/http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/A-6.html
2. http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries19.html
3. http://web.archive.org/web/20171103001143/http://www.ejection-history.org.uk:80/aircraft_by_type/a6_prowler.htm
4. http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/c/c096.htm
5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/kenneth-l-coskey-former-navy-pilot-and-pow/2013/07/16/0075bea8-ee2d-11e2-9008-61e94a7ea20d_story.html?noredirect=on
6. https://www.intruderassociation.org/squadrons/va85.html
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_VA-85_(U.S._Navy)#History
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Aug-2013 08:33 | Uli Elch | Added |
| 20-Aug-2013 08:36 | Uli Elch | Updated [Date, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Location, Narrative] |
| 20-Mar-2016 01:45 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 20-Mar-2016 01:45 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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