Information on U.S. Army helicopter OH-6A tail number 67-16256
The Army purchased this helicopter 0868
Total flight hours at this point: 00001943
Date: 02/27/1971 MIA-POW file reference number: 1711
Incident number: 71022720.KIA
Unit: B/7/1 CAV
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY
This was a Recon mission for Armed Recon
While in Operations Area this helicopter was Unknown at UNK feet and UNK knots.
Laos
UTM grid coordinates: XD625208 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48QXD625208)
Count of hits was not possible because the helicopter burned or exploded.
Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. (7.62MM)
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL
Casualties = 02 DOI . .
The helicopter Crashed. Aircraft Destroyed.
Both mission and flight capability were terminated.
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense
Intelligence Agency Reference Notes. Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database.
Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center Helicopter database. Also: 1711, LNNF,
CASRP (Lindenmuth New Format Data Base. Casualty Report. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
OB SFC MOONEY FRED BNR
P 1LT BABCOCK RONALD LESTER BNR
REFNO Synopsis:
SYNOPSIS: On February 27, 1971, the Bravo Dutchmasters were airborne over
Laos, their pink teams doing low-level scouting in the AO of the ARVN 1st
Infantry Division. Lt. Ronald Babcock was flying one of the OH6A Loaches and
his door-gunner/observer, Fred Mooney was the scout platoon sergeant. A man in
his forties, Mooney was not required to fly, but he volunteered to show the
young draftees that old lifers could be as tough as they were.
Skimming low over the trees, the Loach was hit by NVA fire, and Babcock radioed
that they were going down. The Command and Control ship chased after the
descending ship and observed the Loach crash on a dirt road. Mooney and
Babcock jumped out and ran across a grassy clearing, whereupon they were cut
down by North Vietnamese in the treeline. The C & C ship commander dropped to
a ten foot hover and called on the radio that, from their appearance, the two
were dead. They were first listed Missing In Action, but status was changed
without tangible evidence to Killed/Body Not Recovered in less than a year.
Fred Mooney's tour was to be over in May and his plans were to return to
Killeen, Texas and continue his life with his wife and four children. Ron
Babcock graduated from college with a degree in forestry and was anxious to get
home and get on with his career.
This record was last updated on 08/22/2000
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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