(Lavochkin LA-11 Fang fighter. Image copyright Militaryfactory.com.)

On the eighth of April 1950, Soviet Lavochkin LA-11 Fang fighters, shot down a US Navy PB4Y-2 Privateer (BuNo 59645) Turbulent Turtle of VP-26, Det A. Based from Port Lyautey, French Morocco, the Privateer was on a PARPRO mission launched from Wiesbaden, Western Germany. According to CINCNELM accounts, the incident happened over the Baltic Sea off the coast of Lepija Latvia.
 
The Soviets claimed the aircraft was intercepted over Latvia and had fired on the Soviet fighters during the interception. After the fighters engaged the Privateer, the Soviets reported that it descended sharply before crashing in international waters off the coast.
 
Wreckage was recovered, including two life boats that appeared to have been occupied. The crew of ten were never recovered, and presumed lost. In actuality, there is a distinct possibility some of them- maybe as many as eight- disappeared into the Soviet Gulag.
 
Nobody talked about it until and article years later appeared in der Speigel, which alleged that the incident may have occurred over German waters. The fate of the missing flyers was not directly addressed even in the joint reconciliation conference between the Russians and Americans after the Wall came down.
 
They were just gone in the cold sea. That is part of what Mac was up to, waging the struggle that went on, round the clock, for thirty-two years.
 
The young Lieutenant in Korea was part of it, too, only by then, things appeared to have gotten very strange indeed.
 
Copyright 2010 Vic Socotra
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