Century Wings 778979 1:72 Diecast Model, Grumman A-6E Intruder, USN VA-115 Eagles, NF500, USS Independence, Japanese Navy JDS Yuugiri Shoot-down, June 4th 1996

RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific Excercise) is the world's largest international maritime exercise, hosted by the US Navy with participation by Pacific Rim nations including Japan, Canada, Australia and more. It was during a live-fire gunnery excercise as part of RIMPAC 1996 that the Japanese Asagiri class destroyer "Yuugiri", accidentally shot-down the US Navy A-6E Intruder, BuNo 155704, of VA-115 Eagles. The aircraft was towing a target drone approximately three miles behind it when the Yuugiri inadvertently targeted the towing aircraft, rather than the target, with its 20mm Phalanx Close In Weapons System. The Pilot, Lt. Cmdr. William Royster and Bombardier-Navigator, Lt. Keith Douglas, ejected and were immediately rescued. Since this aircraft had been specially painted as the "CAG Bird", a replacement aircraft, BuNo 155662 was subsquently re-painted in the same scheme.

US Navy Attack Squadron 115 (VA-115) Eagles was the new designation given to VA-12A on July 15th, 1948. The squadron transitioned from the AD (A-1) Skyraider to the A-6 Intruder in February, 1971. The Eagles deployed many times with the A-6 on the USS Midway and later, the USS Independence. The squadron finally flight traded its A-6s for the F/A-18 Hornet in 1996 and was re-designated Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 115 (VFA-115) on September 30th, 1996.