Patch - AIR ATTACK - GRUMANN A-6 INTRUDER - US NAVY - Vietnam War - 2822

Description

United States Navy - 7th Fleet - Vietnam War
DA NANG - CHU LAI - NAM PHONG
A-6 Intruder - Grumann - Air Attack
Patch - Measures - 4 x 3.2 inches (10 x 8 cms)
United States Navy - Aircraft Carrier Group - Tonkin Gulf
INTRUDER – Gruman A-6
A-6 Intruders first saw action during the Vietnam War, where the craft were used extensively against targets in Vietnam.
The aircraft's long range and heavy payload (18,000 pounds or 8,200 kilograms) coupled with its ability to fly in all weather made it invaluable during the war. However, its typical mission profile of flying low to deliver its payload made it especially vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire, and in the eight years the Intruder was used during the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps lost a total of 84 A-6 aircraft of various series.
The first loss occurred on 14 July 1965 when an Intruder from VA-75 operating from USS Independence, flown by LT Donald Boecker and LT Donald Eaton, commenced a dive on a target near Laos.
An explosion under the starboard wing damaged the starboard engine, causing the aircraft to catch fire and the hydraulics to fail. Seconds later the port engine failed, the controls froze, and the two crewmen ejected. Both crewmen survived.
Of the 84 Intruders lost to all causes during the war, ten were shot down by surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), two were shot down by MiGs, 16 were lost to operational causes, and 56 were lost to conventional ground fire and AAA.
The last Intruder to be lost during the war was from VA-35, flown by LT C. M. Graf and LT S. H. Hatfield, operating from USS America; they were shot down by ground fire on 24 January 1973 while providing close air support.
The airmen ejected and were rescued by a Navy helicopter.
Twenty U.S. Navy aircraft carriers rotated through the waters of Southeast Asia, providing air strikes, from the early 1960s through the early 1970s. Nine of those carriers lost A-6 Intruders: USS Constellation lost 11, USS Ranger lost eight, USS Coral Sea lost six, USS Midway lost two, USS Independence lost four, USS Kitty Hawk lost 14, USS Saratoga lost three, USS Enterprise lost eight, and USS America lost two.
Although capable of embarking aboard aircraft carriers, most U.S. Marine Corps A-6 Intruders were shore based in South Vietnam at Chu Lai and Da Nang and in Nam Phong, Thailand.
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Cheesecloth backed Vietnam War patch - Filler - made for collecting, swapping, made during conflict and through to mid-late 1980's in Vietnam - Pieces were made in Vietnam.
More recent, similar pieces are felt backed (I do not sell felt back) - if you have any questions about anagrams used, translations, unit location etc please ask – I am always happy to answer.
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