ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 84589
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| Date: | Friday 1 June 1951 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Republic F-84E Thunderjet |
| Owner/operator: | 522nd FES, 27th FEG, USAF |
| Registration: | 49-2324 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | near Mundung-ni, Province of Kangwon-do, North Pyongan -
 North Korea
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Itazuke AB, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan (FUK/RJFF) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
Republic F-84E-15-RE Thunderjet 49-2324, 522nd FES, 27th FEG, USAF: Written off (destroyed) June 1 1951 when failed to return from combat operations. On napalm bombing run, crashed into hillside near near Mundung-ni, Province of Kangwon-do, North Pyongan, North Korea, no egress noted, SAR effort negative. Pilot - 1st Lt Lester K Sweat (Service Number: AO1908971) - presumed missing in action/killed in action. Pilots body not found/not recovered.
According to the pilots official USAF biography (see link #5):
"First Lieutenant Lester Keith Sweat entered the U.S. Air Force from Florida and was assigned to the 522nd Fighter-Escort Squadron, 27th Fighter-Escort Wing. On the morning of June 1, 1951, he departed Itazuke Air Base, Japan, piloting an F-84E Thunderjet (tail number 49-2324) as the number two pilot in his flight. The briefed mission was an armed reconnaissance operation in the area of Mundung-ni.
The flight arrived in the area of operations without incident, and following several diversions by air-controllers, was instructed to drop napalm on a cluster of huts along the edge of a valley south Mundung-ni.
The flight leader began his attack, followed by 1st Lt Sweat. After dropping his payload, the flight leader pulled up and turned to observe the effects of his drop. 1st Lt Sweat followed on a similar pass, but shortly after he began his attack, other pilots on the mission noticed a larger-than-expected explosion near the flight leader’s drop.
After making several passes, the pilots concluded that 1st Lt Sweat’s aircraft had crashed immediately after dropping his napalm. The pilots continued to circle the crash site but saw no evidence that 1st Lt Sweat had survived the incident. He was never reported to be alive in enemy hands, and was not seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. He is still unaccounted-for. Today, First Lieutenant Sweat is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Active Pursuit."
Sources:
1. http://forgottenjets.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/F-84.html
2. https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1949.html
3. https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/dbSearchAF55.asp
4. http://www.accident-report.com/Yearly/1951/5106.html
5. https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000Ghy8xEAB
6. https://www.koreanwar.org/html/29325/korean-war-project-florida-ao1908971-1lt-lester-keith-sweat/
7. http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/korea/reports/air/
8. https://www.getamap.net/maps/north_korea/p_yongan-namdo/_mundongni/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
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