NASA'S YO-3A TO GO TO OSU-UML FOR ACOUSTIC STUDIES Bruce Elliot donates YO-3A 69-18005 to Seattle Museum of Flight Western Museum of Flight is selling YO-3A 69-18007
Colleen Gossman lost her husband Irv Gossman recently. Irv was a YO-3A Technical Observer. Colleen has sent a substantial donation to extend this YO-3A Website. She has also sent the webmaster, Kurt Olney, rare and never before seen photos of the YO-3A Platoon in Vietnam. I am currently scanning those photos to DVD and will include photos in our on going "YO-3A Quiet Aircraft Association Traveling Photo Albums." I wish that Irv Gossman was around to be with us at the 40th reunion. His wife Colleen has been a super trooper for our group and for her husband Irv. I will be sending out copies of the photos to our group as I get them. I need help in identifying some of our Platoon members in these potos. After all, 40 years can fade the photos and the memories of when we were young and soldiers once.
YO-3A Facts
The YO-3A is a low altitude SILENT STEALTH night reconnaissance airplane that was developed for the U.S. Army for use in the Vietnam War, 1970-71. The YO-3A mission was to interrupt and direct destruction of enemy night operations. The YO-3A was not armed. It's only protection was its silence. The YO-3A was equipped with following mission equipment:
Lockheed Missiles and Space Company built 11 YO-3As in 1969. 9 of these YO-3As saw service in Vietnam. No YO-3A ever took a round or was shot down during 14 months of operation in Vietnam 1970-71.
After Vietnam, 2 YO-3As saw service with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and later with the FBI.
Nasa acquired a YO-3A in the mid 70's and converted it to a flying microphone. The NASA YO-3A is still flying today.
The following presentation is a large PDF file--9MB. Be patient downloading:
Night Stalkers by Roger WarnerU.S. soldiers in Vietnam heard rumors of ghosts; the Viet Cong chalked it up to bad luck. In reality, the startling pinpoint attacks depended on secret, silent spyplanes.
In 1966, the U.S. Navy sent a young lieutenant named Leslie J. Horn to South Vietnam to evaluate the use of night-vision devices in combat. Horn, a pilot and physicist, soon found himself in a patrol boat looking for Viet Cong in the canals and waterways of the Mekong Delta in the southern end of the country. With his Starlight scope, a handheld light amplifying device, he could see in the dark, but not through the thick foliage that lined the waterways.
We have extensive connections with Pilots, Observers, Mechanics, Crew Chiefs, Lockheed Engineers involved with the YO-3A, QT-2PC, Q-Star.
If you are looking for someone involved with the YO-3A please contact Kurt Olney at k.olney2@cox.net
