Intruder & Prowler - Mishaps [History]

[mike bennett]

Dear Forum members,

I thought you may be interested in the latest update on my website with
information on the A-6 Intruder and Prowler.

Please visit

http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/Aircraft_by_Type/a6_prowler.htm

Regards

Mike Bennett
Project Get Out and Walk

 

[A4sForever]

I know some of these gents ... some personally; some tangentially.

Some were classmates, some Instructors ... some shipmates and/or squadronmates . You have several mistakes in your most recent A-6 "update" ... it has many ommisions and mistakes ... you list one guy who never ejected in the A-6 while I knew him (the date you put up would coincide with our mutual service) and you identified one B/N (a classmate and now dead) as a pilot ... if you can't get it right ... a suggestion: don't do it.

Just curious:

What IS the point of your "data", anyway ??? .... as it's full of mistakes ... and your constant stirring of the "ejection" pot with the attendant inaccuracies is also puzzling .... what ARE you attempting to accomplish, other than an odd, strange fascination with ejections .... huh ???

Just wondering.

 

[usmarinemike]

I can completely see being fascinated with the history of seats and chutes. I can also see having a tab of just numbers, but a by name roster is a little weird. To each his own, I suppose. It is a bit damaging though to have inaccuracies in a list with such gravity for the people on it. Also, the presentation of the data is a bit disarrayed. It would be best to clean up the fonts and bolds for it to be taken a little more seriously. But then it is a work in progress.

 

[Pugs]

I know some of these gents ... some personally; some tangentially. Just wondering.

As do I. Mike has a hobby and wants to pursue it. I can't begrudge him that.

Frankly to me it's kinda insulting that friends of mine that gave their lives in training mishaps or non-combat cruise mishaps are gone and forgotten. Go try and find the crew of a Prowler loss on any kind of official website and good luck. Great Americans like Dave Roberts, Chuck Gurley, Kevin Leslie or Jeff Mines (A-6) lost their lives in the service of their country and if it takes someone like Mike to remind folks there were live butts attached to those seats so be it.

Yes, I wish his site was a little more organized and neatened up and there's some errors there in nomenclature but don't try to compare my hobby projects to a pro's either.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[xnvyflyer]

The ejection on September 8, 1993...I was one of the pilots of Seasnake 21, an SH-2F in the Persian gulf off CG-33 Fox (Lincoln Battlegroup) and picked up Ltjg Gaze. Does anybody have the correct story on how this happened? My understanding was one A-6 approached the other A-6 from behind, hotdogging, flew beneath lead and pulled up into lead, the tail of one A-6 hitting the nose of the other. One missing a tail section, the other possibly lost both engines. FOD damage? Anybody?

 

[Frumby]

Mike,
Great reminder of the Price of Freedom. To help a little bit, your entry

Tuesday
3rd November 1992
Afternoon

The crew was: Lt Chuck Gurley (Instructor ECMO), 1stLt(Capt posthumosly) Pete Limoge(Pilot in command), Ltj.g. (Lt posthumosly) Dave Roberts (Pilot, but was the mushroom seated in ECMO 3 position)

Your entry on
8th March 1994: the Pilot in Command was Capt Hahn not Hawn

Your entry on
21st November 2001: The pilot in Command was Maj Mark "Willie" Nelson

Hope that helps. Keep up the good work

 

[A4sForever]

Sorry guys ... I don't buy it.

A memorial to our Brethren who are not with us any longer should at least be "correct" and accurate.

To do less honors no one .... and is not a memorial to "them" ... it's irritating to read the mistakes .... and it becomes just another compilation resulting out of strange obsession with the quick and the dead.

Again, if you can't get it right, don't do it. That applies to a lot of things. Especially the subject at hand, at least for me.

Borderline voyeurism is not a memorial; that's my take. Everyone else will have theirs ...

 

[Pugs]

A memorial to our Brethren who are not with us any longer should at least be "correct" and accurate.

Don't disagree with you. In fact, it would be nice if the Navy put out a link with an accurate and true list. Certainly the EA-6B memorial at NUW has a list. Until then Mike can keep working on his hobby.

Guess my hobby of creating and fooling fish with hooks laden with tiny bits fur and feather, or obsessing over punching holes in paper at a distance with bits of lead and copper or having thousands of dollar in tools and traveling a hundred miles to find unique wood and create something out of it when I could buy for cheaper is a bit odd. Frankly why should I still care about Naval Air? Yes, I did it for 20 years but I have no influence or role it any more yet here I am.

You don't have to help him with his hobby but it's no odder than many others and it's up to us to help if we insist on it being correct and true.

FWIW Dave Roberts was my next door neighbor and he and I spent a lot of time over at Skagit duck hunting. Chuck Gurley was the class ahead of me at 129.

 

[xnvyflyer]

Mike,
Great reminder of the Price of Freedom. To help a little bit, your entry

Tuesday
3rd November 1992
Afternoon

The crew was: Lt Chuck Gurley (Instructor ECMO), 1stLt(Capt posthumosly) Pete Limoge(Pilot in command), Ltj.g. (Lt posthumosly) Dave Roberts (Pilot, but was the mushroom seated in ECMO 3 position)

I know it's off topic but I noticed the name Pete Limoge. I met him in flight school and knew him as a super great guy. We had fun times in Corpus. Did anybody else in here know Pete?

 

[Flash]

The ejection on September 8, 1993...I was one of the pilots of Seasnake 21, an SH-2F in the Persian gulf off CG-33 Fox (Lincoln Battlegroup) and picked up Ltjg Gaze. Does anybody have the correct story on how this happened? My understanding was one A-6 approached the other A-6 from behind, hotdogging, flew beneath lead and pulled up into lead, the tail of one A-6 hitting the nose of the other. One missing a tail section, the other possibly lost both engines. FOD damage? Anybody?

I believe the LTJG you speak of is on this site, PM if you want his AW name.

 

[bunk22]

The ejection on September 8, 1993...I was one of the pilots of Seasnake 21, an SH-2F in the Persian gulf off CG-33 Fox (Lincoln Battlegroup) and picked up Ltjg Gaze. Does anybody have the correct story on how this happened? My understanding was one A-6 approached the other A-6 from behind, hotdogging, flew beneath lead and pulled up into lead, the tail of one A-6 hitting the nose of the other. One missing a tail section, the other possibly lost both engines. FOD damage? Anybody?

LT "Doby" Gillis (I think thats how is callsign was spelled) was one of my IP's at VT-4 back in 95-96. He was involved in this mishap. I think he was in the aircraft that was hit. He never really talked about it but as I recall, he used to say that was the reason he didn't flying forms. Regardless, a really good IP IMO.

 

[xnvyflyer]

I believe the LTJG you speak of is on this site, PM if you want his AW name.

Thanks. Wouldn't that be a hoot. Here comes the Private Message. We'll get his 2 cents worth.

 

[xnvyflyer]

LT "Doby" Gillis (I think thats how is callsign was spelled) was one of my IP's at VT-4 back in 95-96. He was involved in this mishap. I think he was in the aircraft that was hit. He never really talked about it but as I recall, he used to say that was the reason he didn't flying forms. Regardless, a really good IP IMO.

Roger. Thanks for the input. We only picked up 1 out of 4 in the water...Gaze.

I think we had about another 30 minutes of gas when our "Freddy" told us about the loss of radar on one of the aircraft and gave us the vector. I think it was about 20 miles from the ship. If memory serves me, CAG was the one flying a Hornet on his last flight, about 2000 feet. We were around 500 feet. We came upon wreckage and an oil slick, no survivors. CAG observed the green sea dye and vectored us to it. There was Gaze.

Our aircrewman (nameless) forgot his SAR gear that flight. If he wasn't going in, I was. He said he would go anyway. He did a great job. Our hoist failed electrically so our door gunner operated it hydraulically and got them both up. We landed back on Fox changed out crews during the hot pump and the other crew flew Gaze back to Lincoln.

The other guys were picked up by an H-60 and another SH-2F if I remember correctly.

 

[Flash]

Roger. Thanks for the input. We only picked up 1 out of 4 in the water...Gaze.

I think we had about another 30 minutes of gas when our "Freddy" told us about the loss of radar on one of the aircraft and gave us the vector. I think it was about 20 miles from the ship. If memory serves me, CAG was the one flying a Hornet on his last flight, about 2000 feet. We were around 500 feet. We came upon wreckage and an oil slick, no survivors. CAG observed the green sea dye and vectored us to it. There was Gaze.

Our aircrewman (nameless) forgot his SAR gear that flight. If he wasn't going in, I was. He said he would go anyway. He did a great job. Our hoist failed electrically so our door gunner operated it hydraulically and got them both up. We landed back on Fox changed out crews during the hot pump and the other crew flew Gaze back to Lincoln.

The other guys were picked up by an H-60 and another SH-2F if I remember correctly.

Great story, thanks for sharing.

 

[SteveG75]

I was one of the B/N's in the midair as others have surmised. I have sent xnvyfler a PM about the incident and also some corrected info to Mike so he can correct the website. I also have a copy of the JAG investigation at home so I may need to dig it out and read it again.

Actually, writing the PM to xnvyfler made me think about some things. I have been married and divorced. I had a chance to reconcile with my dad before he died. I have a gorgeous 10 year old daughter that I don't see enough of and a wonderful girlfriend.

None of that would have happened without the SAR guys. Life is precious and fragile. To quote Tim McGraw's song, "Live like you were dying." You never know what the future will hold.