• 53-2833 US Army #1376. L-20 No. 377. Delivered 28-Apr-1954. Built as L-20A and re-designated U-6A in 1962. Later converted to RU-6A.
• 53-2833 Served in Japan. Based at Tachikawa. Circa 1961.
• 53-2833 Served with 3rd RRU (Radio Research Unit).
Accident: SW of Da Nang. 19-Dec-1965. On the morning of the 15-Dec-1965 whilst flying a mission in support of US Marines engaged in Operation Harvest Moon, a search operation through the valley south of Da Nang, the aircraft from the Da Nang detachment of 3rd RRU crashed. About an hour into the mission whilst flying near some mountains southwest of Da Nang the crew encountered some ground fire. A hit was sustained in the engine, which caused the aircraft to lose all oil pressure-and eventually the engine seized up. Initially Maj. Moffett attempted to fly to a landing strip at Chu Lai, but once the engine quit he attempted to glide it to a landing on a small road that traversed through some rice paddies. The crew did not make a successful landing. After escaping from the wreckage and subsequent fire, they spent about a half of an hour evading the Viet Cong. Eventually two USMC helicopters that were escorting a convoy south of the aircraft’s location noticed the smoke from the crash and came to investigate. While one laid down ground cover, the other rescued the crew and then returned them to the Da Nang detachment. The crew, consisting of Maj. David H. Moffett, pilot; co-pilot, CWO Cisco; DF Operator, and SP4 James (Jim) E. Hoppa, only sustained minor cuts and bruises. It should be noted that at this particular time 53-2833 was the only aircraft at Da Nang. A replacement aircraft was received from Saigon on the next day.
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