1969 EC-121 shootdown incident

EC-121 shootdown incident
Part of Korean Conflict, Cold War
USN EC-121 BuNo 135749, the aircraft involved in the incident
Date 15 April 1969 Location Sea of Japan, 90 nautical miles (167 km) off the coast of North Korea Result North Korean victory
Belligerents
North Korea	United States
Strength
2 MiG-21s	1 Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star
Casualties and losses
none	1 EC-121 Warning Star destroyed 31 killed

On 15 April 1969,^{[Note 1]} a United States Navy Lockheed EC-121M Warning Star of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One (VQ-1) on a reconnaissance mission was shot down by a North Korean MiG-21 aircraft over the Sea of Japan. The plane crashed 90 nautical miles (167 km) off the North Korean coast and all 31 Americans (30 sailors and 1 Marine) on board were killed, which constitutes the largest single loss of U.S. aircrew during the Cold War era.^[1]

The plane was an adaptation of a Lockheed Super Constellation and was fitted with a fuselage radar, so the primary tasks were to act as a long range patrol, conduct electronic surveillance, and act as a warning device.^[1]

The Nixon administration did not retaliate against North Korea apart from staging a naval demonstration in the Sea of Japan a few days later, which was quickly removed. It resumed the reconnaissance flights within a week to demonstrate that it would not be intimidated by the action while at the same time avoiding a confrontation.^[2]

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