On August 22, 1956, Chinese fighters shot down U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane over Shegsi Islands, killing all 16 crew members.
Communist China proved that it could be just as aggressive as the Soviets. PRC fighters regularly tailed Naval reconnaissance aircraft and, on occasion, had opened fire, but they did not shoot down an SESP platform until August 22, 1956, when a P4M-1Q Mercator was downed in an unprovoked attack 32 miles off the coast of China and 180 miles north of Taiwan. The aircraft radioed that it had encountered hostile fighters and was not heard from again. All 16 crewmen were missing:
AT2 Donald W. Barber
AO2 Warren E. Caron
AT3 Jack A. Curtis
LTJGJames B. Deane
LTJGFrancis A. Flood, Jr.
AT1 William F.Haskins
AO3 William M. Humbert
LCDR Milton Hutchinson
AD1 Harold E. Lounsbury
AT1 Albert P.Mattin
AT2 Carl E. Messinger
LCDR James W. Ponsford
AE2 Wallace W. Powell
AT3 Donald E. Sprinkle
AT2 Leonard Strykowski
AD3 Lloyd L. Young
The VQ-1 aircraft (BuNo 124362) was lost at night and, despite an intense search and rescue operation, the body of only one of the 16 missing crewmen was recovered by the destroyer USS Dennis J. Buckley (DD 808). The remainder were presumed dead (the PRC would later return the bodies of three crewmen). It was the costliest Naval reconnaissance loss to date. Unfortunately, the secrecy of the mission, combined with the Navy’s lack of hard information about what happened to the aircraft, gave rise to rumors among families and the “secret sailors” of the SESP program that some of the missing aircrew were in Chinese captivity. Yet no credible evidence ever came to light to substantiate such rumors.
Although none of the crewmembers were cryptologists, this unprovoked attack by the PRC needs to be told and remembered.
Source: A Dangerous Business: The US Navy and National Reconnaissance During the Cold War.”
Station HYPO 
23 August 2017 at 14:15
Nice to see remembrance of my cousin, Donald E. Sprinkle. His mother never completly recovered from her grief.
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11 December 2020 at 05:56
Payback for the usual spying activity by the USA.
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13 December 2020 at 20:34
I have to correct your info ! It was the USS Taussig DD 746 that recovered the body of LCDR James W. Ponsford , not the USS Buckley! I was there and witnessed it, and we knew his name not long after he was brought on board. He was later ” high lined ” to a Carrier. We also discovered the wreckage, but before the salvage ship could have any success we all had to abandon the site because of an approaching Typhoon. I cant speak for the confused info. That could probably be a simple mistake, since there were many engagements recorded with the Chinese and also losses due to weather, and “Un-knowns” .That was a long time ago and I’m an old man ( 83 ) with a fast fading memory, but some things are never forgotten. That was a sad time for us young Sailors, and a big awakening too, since it was suppose to be “Peace Time”. Fact is, the “Cold War” was much much “Hotter” than most people realize, and only recently have the records been released that show just that. Tin Can Sailor
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13 December 2020 at 21:42
Mr. Fowler, Thank you for the correction and your service.
Sincerely, Mario
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30 May 2021 at 20:32
AT1 Albert P. Mattin was my father. My mother never really recovered from her grief either. I was 3 years old at the time. I only found out much later about the incredible dangers in what they were doing and the many similar tragedies of the Cold War. Thanks Tin Can Sailor
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