Aircraft by type

B-52 Stratofortress
DRAFT LISTING

   53‑0384

   53‑0393

   52‑8716

It is believed between 1 and 4 of the crew ejected but only one of the crew survived
 

FEEDBACK

The article also mentions the 11 Feb 1958 crash at Ellsworth. Just adding to your info, Kenneth Kaipler was the Radar Navigator and John O’Connell was the navigator. The aircraft crashed short of the southeast runway and “demolished a small building containing equipment for the instrument landing approach system”. Those killed were A1C Ronald R. Mitchell, A1C James E. Ferrell and Mr. Glen M. Allen (civilian). It mentions six others aboard the airplane were injured as well but gave no details. . .

Jay
in email 9th February 2010

   55‑0102

   55-0093

Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, Washington

This crash you have listed crashed into my grandparents farm in Minnesota not Wisconsin. The following is a list off the memorial of the crew members
 
Captain Wm G Horstman, pilot, Kansas City , MO
Captain Richard J Cantwell, navigator, Phoenix, AZ
Major S.O. Gillespie, Jr radar observer Atlanta CA
1st Lt Wm F Huskey, engineer, Norman OK
T/sgt Leon R Lew, tail gunner Skokie IL
Captain James D Taylor, instructor, Dixon KY
Captain Bernard D Lanois, instructor, San Diego, Ca
 
only survivor Captain Jack D Craft, Purvis, MS

in email 2nd March 2009
 

Crashed in Ochoca National Forest, Burns and Walla Walla Wash, Or. Horizontal stabiliser suffered turbulence‑induced failure at low‑level

One report states lost in accident at Larson AFB, Wa (aircraft was probably flying from there).

Major Henry Luscomb flight instructor ejected*	Capt William T. Combs pilot  ejected*	1st Lt James Saravo co pilot ejected*	Capt Ronald D. Little navigator ejected while aircraft descending to low­ level route*	1st Lt George M. Davis electronic warfare officer ejected	Staff Sgt Pierre "Pete" Maheux gunner ejected died Remains found 4th July 1961	Major Carl E. Keyes radar operator ejected*	Airman 1st Class Charles E. Morris EWO ejected [photo taken in 2008  via his daughter]

Thanks to Brian Lindner for providing photos*.

The B 52 started its flight in  Springfield Mass at Westover AFB and did what they called the watertown bomb run in mid NY. They travelled as far north as the St. Lawrence seaway passing over Massena NY. During the night the bomber rolled over and lost altitude.
 The navigator thinking she was breaking up ejected without direction from the pilot.
 When he did there was a loud noise and the pilot thinking she was breaking up ordered the crew to eject.
 The plane had righted itself and the instructor on board yelled to the pilot and co pilot to stay with the bird.
 In the end the instructor was the only one left so he ejected as well. The plane continued to fly on making large up and down spirals and crashed in Plainfield Vermont 50 miles from where the crew left her.

All survived,  except for  Sgt Maheux , they were injured and had frost bite due to cold and snow in the area of the Adirondac Mountains.
 Maheaux was found seven months later and either the chute hadn't opened or he landed on a rock killing him instantly.
 
 The plane crashed and burned in an open field making a crater 350' long, 30' deep and 30' wide.
 There were no deaths or injuries on the ground.

Bill Lyon
in emails April 2008

KC-135 landed at Fairchild AFB

Additional details provided by Ed Mirmak, Westminster CA
in emails during February 2009

Additional details provided by Ed Mirmak, Westminster CA
in emails during February 2009

Re. the 14 MAR 61 crash of B-52F 57-0166, the aircraft was assigned to the 4134th Strategic Wing at Mather AFB, not Beale AFB.  I was stationed at Beale at the time.  The rest of the facts appear to be correct.  There was only one fatality and it was a Beale AFB fireman who was hit and killed by a motorist passing by the crash site.

Cheers,
Wes Bender
(former Staff Sergeant, USAF)
 

or

15/ 10/61

In reference to the B-52F which crashed near Columbus, MS on December 23, 1963. There were no ejections! I was stationed at the base at the time and participated in the recovery efforts. The belief is that maintenance had been performed on the flight attitude position indicator and the check out was one of the objectives of the flight. Rumor was that the  indicator mal-functioned shortly after takeoff, and the A/C (Funk) received incorrect flight attitude reading. There was a heavy fog at the time and no chance for visual ground orientation.

Former Airman 1/c Charles M. Neal, Jr.
454th AMMS (1963-64)
in email 27th November 2008

Thanks to Lori Ann Haire web author of the Salisbury, Pennsylvania Historical Web Site that contains a detailed account of the loss for her help with extra information on this B-52 crash

My Father:

Major Francisco Bautista, USAF (RET), (Navigator) Veteran WWII - 65 Missions, Korea, Vietnam

Stationed at Castle Air Force Base, Atwater, California.

Ejected from a burning B-52, on 05 Feb. 1964. Major Bautista (Navigator) ejected at 28,000' feet (night mission). Bautista suffered a broken arm upon ejection, hospitalized with injuries - 'Survived'.

Pilot set aircraft on a heading to open sea, however the bomber crashed in a farmers field in the area of Tranquility, California.


Thank You,

Sincerely,

Andrea Bautista-Duke
in email 9th October 2011 (added same date)

    55‑0108

Thanks to John Koza who has provided extra information concerning the loss of 55-0108 including a photo of the memorial to the crew and newspaper cuttings of the event.
in emails 6th June 2008

  57‑0179

Mid‑air collision with B‑52F 57‑0047
over the South Pacific Ocean while circling approximately 250 miles
offshore at the point of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)  awaiting KC-135As for pre-strike air refueling.

The crew was from the 441^st BS, 320th BW, Mather AFB, CA which was attached to the 3960^th SW.

1Lt. James A. Marshall; MIA
Maj. James M. Gehrig Jr.; MIA
Capt. Tyrrell G. Lowry; MIA
Capt. Robert L. Armond; MIA
MSgt. Harold J. Roberts Jr.; MIA
Capt. Frank P. Watson  MIA
Joe Carrol Robertson, Capt, KIA.
TSgt. William Edward Neville KIA

http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/Aircraft_by_Type/b52_stratofortress.htm identifies B-52F, 57‑0179 as 441 BS, 7 BW attached to 3960 Sw, USAF, Andersen.

The crew was from the 441^st BS, 320th BW, Mather AFB, CA which was attached to the 3960^th SW.

Based upon 1957 USAF Serial Numbers, Last Revised March 13, 2009,
(Source:  http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/1957.html,)
the aircraft was assigned to the 7^th BW, Carswell AFB, TX then attached to the 3960^th SW.  AFHSO Research afhso.research@pentagon.af.mil confirms this.

http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/Aircraft_by_Type/b52_stratofortress.htm identifies B-52F, 57‑0047 as 441 BS, 7 BW attached to 3960 Sw, USAF, Andersen.

The crew was from the 441^st BS, 320th BW, Mather AFB, CA which was attached to the 3960^th SW.

Based upon 1957 USAF Serial Numbers, Last Revised March 13, 2009,
(Source:  http://home.att.net/~jbaugher/1957.html,)
the aircraft was assigned to the 320^th BW Mather AFB, CA which was then attached to the 3960^th SW..  AFHSO Research afhso.research@pentagon.af.mil confirms this.

http://www.ejection-history.org.uk/Aircraft_by_Type/b52_stratofortress.htm identifies the following crew members from the midair collision of B-52F, 57-0179 and B-52F, 57-0047.

1Lt. James A. Marshall; MIA

Maj. James M. Gehrig Jr.; MIA

Capt. Tyrrell G. Lowry; MIA

Capt. Robert L. Armond; MIA

MSgt. Harold J. Roberts Jr.; MIA

Capt. Frank P. Watson MIA

Joe Carrol Robertson, Capt, KIA.

TSgt. William Edward Neville KIA

The Guam Memorial shows the ARC LIGHT MEMORIAL PLAQUE (dedicated to) SAC PERSONNEL LOST IN SOUTH EAST ASIAN OPERATIONS
(Source: http://www.306thbw.org/306thhistory/history_GuamMemorial.htm)  and documents their crew positions as:

1Lt. James A. Marshall, Copilot (CP); MIA

Maj. James M. Gehrig Jr., Pilot (P); MIA

Capt. Tyrrell G. Lowry, Radar Navigator (RN); MIA

Capt. Robert L. Armond, Electronics Warfare Officer (EW); MIA

MSgt. Harold J. Roberts Jr., Gunner (G); MIA

Capt. Frank P. Watson, Navigator (N); MIA

Capt Joe Carrol Robertson, Pilot (P); KIA.

TSgt. William Edward Neville, Gunner (G); KIA

320^th BW Special Order P-33, 27 February 1964 shows Capt. Watson, (N) and MSgt. Roberts (G) on the same crew at that date.

Two of the four survivors are:

Lt Col Charles Paul Andermann, Radar Navigator (RN). Personal knowledge and documented in Looking for Charles P. Andermann,
(Source: http://www.axpow.org/files/bulletins/sept2008.pdf.)  He retired as a Colonel.

Don Harten, Copilot, (CP), Position deduced from losses included two pilots and one copilot leaving a copilot to survive and the source documented his rating as a pilot.  Rank at time unknown retired as a Major.  Documented in Mekong Express Mail Vol 7, Issue 1, Thailand Laos Cambodia Brotherhood.
(Source: http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org/MEM/72%20MEM%20Jun%2006.pdf.)

 This accident occurred one year and ten days after I left this squadron having served in it or its predecessor as a navigator, radar navigator, and instructor navigator for ten years.

Al Malmsten
[this section is used with Al's permission]

One of the crew ejected but died later - (who ??)

        "The survivors were located and taken on board an HU‑16 Albatross amphibian (51‑4287) but on attempting to take off in a heavy swell the aircraft was damaged and the survivors had to be transferred to a Norwegian freighter. The Albatross sank minutes after the crew were taken off by a Navy vessel" - Hobson

The first B-52 mission over Vietnam on 18 June 1965. Two B-52s collided in mid-air prior to mid-air refuelling.  My neighbour James A Marshall was
killed and lost at sea. His widow sold her house to the widow of a fellow crew man, Joe Robertson. Joe's widow was my babysitter when I was
ten.  I have two brothers and a sister, and we adored her. She was a blessing while my father was TDY in Okinawa and later in Bangkok.

My father was a KC-135 aircraft commander of the 905th AREFS whose KC-135s were based together with the B52 SAC squadron at Mather AFB in
Rancho Cordova, California. He was stationed in Okinawa at the time, but did not participate in the firstarc light mission

Joe Robertson ejected from his B-52 after the collision. The story I was told at the time was that he lost his leg and bled to death in the life raft occupied by other crewman who also ejected.

It was an awful tragedy from a close-knit Air Force community whose main purpose was strategic bombing in the Cold War. How brave they must have been. I wish I knew of the other crewmen.

Tom Huff
Bealeton, Va
in email 13th September 2008

68 BW
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, N.C

Collided with KC‑135A during air‑to‑air refuelling.Near Palomares, Spain.  A total of four nuclear weapons fell from wreckage.

[personal testimony January 2007] 

Thanks to Orlando Gallardo, Jr. for locating the following details to help complete the crew listing in email dated 21st December 2011

"   .   .   .Captain Erwin Cowart was the co-pilot aboard the B-52G (#57-6494) that crashed on take off from Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico on 5 July 1967. The aircraft and crew served with the 72nd Bomb Wing at Ramey AFB (Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, USA).

Incident report from: http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=74619

"Crew S-05. Aircraft climbed straight out on the runway heading and it appeared normal until it reached an altitude of approximately 3000 feet and a distance of 5 miles from the take-off position. At this time a steep nose-over maneuver was noticed and the aircraft continued down in a steep dive until it disappeared below the horizon. Three crewmen ejected and survived. The aircraft struck the ocean at a steep angle. Later analysis indicated that the life raft stowed behind the co-pilot inflated, pushing him into the control yoke."

The aircraft crashed into the water. Military divers recovered the remains of those killed in the incident."
 

   56‑0627

   56‑0595

The photo of the rear gunner of 595, MSGT Olen Burke McLaughlin, originally of Portland, Indiana, was kindly provided by Matthew P. Simmons, Board of Directors, Museum of the Soldier, Inc. Portland, Indiana, via the McLaughlin family

[Lt Col Toki R. Endo Toki R. Endo, Lt Col, USAF(Ret.), Yorba Linda, CA]
 

   56‑0601

A/c from 22 BW.
USAF, Andersen

   61‑0030

21st January 1968

Here is one I didn't see on your site. It involved 6 ejections and one
unsuccesful manual bail-out attempt:

(quoted from http://www.semp.us/biots/biot_404.php)

A nuclear weapon/air disaster rapidly evolved on January 21, 1968 when pilots of a SAC B-52G ("Stratofortress") from the 328 Bomb Wing
(Plattsburgh Air Force Base, New York) flying the "Butterknife V" route detected smoke in the navigator’s compartment. "The smoke came from a malfunctioning cabin heater, and it resisted all attempts to be extinguished," notes one report. To remain within radio range, the big bomber made a turn back towards Thule about ninety miles magnetic south ofthe base. The fire in the cabin cut off electrical power. When lights of Thule appeared ahead a few minutes later, the fire became too intense to allow controlled flight, so Captain Haug ordered the evacuation of the plane. Co-pilot Svitenko was told to make it out the hatch, but apparently his path was blocked by the flames and he died in the ensuing crash. The reminder of the crew (five men) drifted down over the base area and sustained only slight injuries. The doomed aircraft continued to descend  until it impacted and exploded into three-foot thick ice about five miles beyond the Thule port area.

=============================
I recall this accident - I was a navigator on B-52G's at Barksdale AFB, LA at the time. I had flown one 24-hour airborne alert mission with nuclear weapons - "Chrome Dome" - in the vicinity of Greenland in 1967. I flew another in 1968, but without weapons: SAC changed the missions to airborne alert "indoctrination" because of this embarrassing accident.  (We didn't know if we were to carry bombs or not until we arrived at the aircraft and found the bomb-bay was empty.)

Incidently, for these missions an extra pilot was carried to increase the maximum crew duty day to 30 hours. This aircraft had 7 crew members aboard. The six crew members in ejection seats ejected successfully, but the extra pilot - whose primary escape exit was the hole left by the jettisoned main entrance hatch door through which the navigator ejected - was killed when he hit the array of "scimitar" ecm antennae immediatel behind the hatch.

The "cabin heater" was an air duct that funnelled a mixture of extremely hot bleed air from the engine compressors and cold outside air. A
malfunction in the mixing process allowed the extremely hot air to enter the cabin.
===================
Also, I recall the 17th February 1973 A-7D bailout near Nakhon Phanom RTAFB, Thailand. I was the navigator on a ABCCC C-130 orbiting off the Nakhon Phanom VORTAC and listened to the guard channel communicatin between the pilot and the ground. He stayed with the aircraft until he crossed the Mekong river out of Laos, then bailed out just as he reached the Thailand side of the river. His last words before bailout were "assuming the position......going."

I was stationed at Korat RTAFB for the year, and I remember the 2nd November 1973 A-7D bailout. The pilot was on initial for an overhead approach to Korat and flamed out.  A "RAT" (Ram Air Turbine) would deploy automatically after flame-out to produce hydraulic pressure, but a peculiarity of the A-7 was that if the RAT failed the aircraft could pitch hard over and crash from that low altitude. The procedure was to bailout immediately. The plane slowly glided away from the base and crashed. By the time a team from the base arrived at the site, local Thais had beaten them to it and carried of large parts of the wreck.

Lt Col Thomas M Sanders
USAF Retired

==================================

I discovered your site in a Google search for info on a Carswelll B-52F lost on a run on Matagorda island - good info!

I flew B52F's at Carswell in 66 and 67, pulled alert many times with Major Salavarria's crew that went down off Matagorda. Another combination of hazards there - the combination of lights from oil platforms and fishing boats, scattered to broken clouds at the low level flight altitude, sight of moon and stars through the broken clouds, gave pilots a severe case of the 'leans' - spatial disorientation - made you not want to beleive your attidude indicator. We traded the controls frequently on low level.
combine this with a bird strike - we hit a seagull one dark night low level on that route, fortunately it hit the upper nose radome, not our windshield. If it hit a windshield and broke it, combine that with spatial disorientation, and you have another possible cause of the loss of 57-173.

scrolling through the rest - Capt Sipes crew, lost 10 May 1969, was in my squadron, knew them well.

 I saw mention of the B-52D takeoff accident at U-Tapao, where the crew all survived. I was at either Guam or Kadena at the time, and I beleive we were briefed that this was a takeoff in a heavy rainstorm - the runway had a high 'crown' down the center because of the frequent heavy rains, but the plane gor off centerline and was hydroplaning, could not steer back onto centerline, ran off the runway. If this is posted, perhaps others will come up with details and crew name. Might also find information from the site for the B52 stratofortrress association.

The 27 July 1969 takeoff accident at Anderson happened in daylight, was witnessed by a C-141 crew - the 10 May 1969 accident happened at night, and it was surmised that it had been the same wing failure that caused the 10 May 1969 crash. My crew was returning to Anderson from a night mission on 27 July 1969, and we couldn't raise the Anderson command post on UHF at the normal point about 200 miles out. We continued on in and contacted Guam center, and as we approached the island we could see the column of smoke off the end of runway 06R



Thanks for putting the info online!!

Fred Wagner
Captain, USAF retired
in email 7th March 2011
 

FEEDBACK

in email 22nd July 2012

Hello
I found your website and went through the files on B-52s. GREAT WORK.
I noticed that on B-52H 60-0027 you have it listed as 15th Bomb Wing
It was assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot. I was up early that morning getting ready to fly to Omaha to visit my parents. I was outside loading my car. At the time I was living at Surrey ND just east of Minot. I heard the aircraft approaching and it did not sound right. Sounded  like the engines were cutting out. Moments later the sky to the north lit up.

Mike Hil
Minot ND
in email 21st April 2012
entry amended to 5th Bomb Wing 22nd April 2012

Exact date needed

04:15

TDY operation at Anderson AFB, Guam

After the ejection the aircraft dropped its bomb load into South China Sea and landed at  Ching Chuan Kwang AB, Taiwan.

In 1968, I was station in Castle A.F.B. Calif. My rank at the time was A2 class training on the B-52 in
the hydraulics section. I remember the name, Sgt. DeCante who was assigned as my crew chief on a
B-52 that crashed in '68, all crew members perished. Afterwards, I was reassigned to another base.
I have checked and the only listing for a B-52 crash near Castle A.F.B. was Oct. 1969. I have not been
able to locate this incident which occurred in 1968. I was stationed at Andersen A.F.B. in Guam in '69.
I remember this, because the crew chief there would not allow us to view the moon landing on the tv.
I would like to acknowledge the men who lost their lives in a B-52 at Castle AFB in 1968.
Thanks

J. Garza
In email 12th June 2011 from

Attached is a picture of 1Lt. Maurice E. Lundy.  Ed was the navigator on B-52 56-0593 when it crashed on May 10, 1969. 

Maurice (Ed) Lundy and I were classmates and roommates during undergraduate Nav and Nav-Bomb schools.  A true friend and gentleman, who always had a smile on his face.  When it came time to pick assignments after nav-bomb school, he chose Fairchild because of the base’s heavy Vietnam involvement.  

This picture of Ed was taken on the day he received his Navigator Wings. God Bless, Ed.

Please use this information to continue his memory.

Bill Parkinson
in email 2nd May 2009

in email 9th February 2009
*Minimal Interval Take Offs, **Organizational Readiness Inspection

". . . I was a kid on the base and my dad was working in the command post that day and says he was the one who had to tell the Wing Commander one of his jets had crashed. I’ve got copies of the Rapid City Journal for 4 and 5 April 1970 so I can nail down the crew for you:

Capt Wesley G. Swann, A/C, smoke inhalation

Capt Gary C. Christensen, Copilot, fractured breast bone

Maj Ralph P. Smiley, Radar Navigator, fractured ankle and ribs, injured vertebrae (coincidentally was my Sunday school teacher)

Capt Curtis L Christy Navigator, leg fracture

1Lt James L. Welch, Electronic Warfare Officer, no injuries

Staff Sergeant Charles E Adkins, Gunner, Chip fracture and burns. Was freed from aircraft by fire truck ramming the tail section to break it loose.

Maj Harry D Meehan, Instructor Navigator, dislocated shoulder, leg fracture. He spent 56 minutes in the burning wreckage before being freed. (coincidentally was a neighbor, played with his kids)

Lt Col Paul R Houser, 28^th Bomb Wing Chief of Operations, fractured tibia

A1C Randall Hart, avionics maintenance, no injuries

I became an Air Force pilot later and flew B-52s and B-1s. My dad once told me that the crew had been practicing engine out approaches with one engine actually shut down due to failure. When I flew for SAC, we were not allowed to practice anything with engines out (even if you had 7 left), a result of this accident.

The article also mentions the 11 Feb 1958 crash at Ellsworth. Just adding to your info, Kenneth Kaipler was the Radar Navigator and John O’Connell was the navigator. The aircraft crashed short of the southeast runway and “demolished a small building containing equipment for the instrument landing approach system”. Those killed were A1C Ronald R. Mitchell, A1C James E. Ferrell and Mr. Glen M. Allen (civilian). It mentions six others aboard the airplane were injured as well but gave no details. . .

Jay
in email 9th February 2010

Saw the feedback on B-52 tail number 089 and have no idea what this person who sent additional information is talking about. I was crew chief on that plane and on site when it crashed and throughout the incident. The events were as presented on your web site. No one died, crew, passengers or ground.

".   .   . I too was there for that B-52 crash at Ellsworth. Ellsworth was my first assignment from 60-70. I worked as a supply personel in the control tower in the basement with the 2029 Com Sq. We took care of the radar and nav aids equipment. We viewed the crash scene from the tower.
Thanks to the heroics of the base fire dept all were saved."

Louis A. Nieves
in emails April 2012

". . . My father, Major Donald F. Rousseau,   was killed in a B52 explosion over Lake Michigan on January 7, 1971. 
I discovered your website on the 39th anniversary of his death while   I was searching the internet for information about the accident. I 
saw there were only 2 photos of  crew members and thought it would be nice to honor my father by providing you with his photo. .
Thank you."

Jennifer Westover Rousseau
in email 21st January 2010
photo added 21st January 2010

Jennifer sent the following on 13th January 2012

"In Oct of 2010, my family and I flew to Charlevoix,MI for the first time together and had the honor of participating in the 40th anniversary memorial service for the crew members. The event took place at the Memorial on the shore of Traverse Bay and was coordinated by Rick Wiles, author of "Fire Ball In the Sky". Rick was instrumental in helping my family to learn about and understand the cause of the accident. We are forever grateful for the gift he has given our family.

These photos are of the rededication Taps played this past Oct 2011 (the date of the 40th anniversary memorial
service was Oct 4, 2010,  the re dedication Taps were played on Oct 4, 2011.) Bob Esford blew taps in honor of the one year rededication of the Memorial. The wreath was provided by Jackie Burrel of Sky's the Limit, Petosky, MI."

I have some info on this Westover AFB 99 BW crew and B-52C 542666.
 
I was a good friend of Bill Lemmon who was killed in that crash. BTW, he was a pilot. He and I had flown as copilots at Ellsworth and Sheppard in the D-model, were upgraded to AC at Sheppard. Later I was reassigned to Westover, long gone by the time he and his family arrived there.
 
At the time of the accident, I was stationed at Carswell in FB-111s. I was called that night by Maj Jim/Smoky Overton who told me the news. I flew to Westover to be with the Lemmon family.
 
My old AC was MA at Kincheloe AFB, Col Vic Sandacz, also a friend of Lemmon's. He led the recovery effort out to Lake Michiigan, and I think served on the accident investigation board. Several ironic coincidences here. He did not know Lemmon was on board 666 until after they gave up the recovery effort.
 
The aircraft was never recovered from those cold dark waters of Lake Michigan. I read the accident report, and it while the board determined the accident was "undetermined," it speculated that the accident was due to wing failure. The airplane was on a low level bomb run on the Iron Man Oil Burner route making a night RBS bomb run. The RBS site reported that communications with the crew and the aircraft route appeared normal until the point at which the crew would execute a "pop-up" maneuver. At that point radar contact was lost. You can draw your own conclusions from there as the board seemed to.
 
Bill Lemmon was superb officer, pilot and husband and father and one of my closest friends. He was re-qualifying in the BUF after tours in SEA and at PACAF. He had just completed CCTS at Castle. I think he was commanding one of the 99 BW squadrons, or was about to.
 
I am still in touch with his family in the Sacramento area.
 
I get choked up writing about my old buddy. RIP, good friend and for the other crewmembers.
 
Steve Fish, USAF retired
in email 23rd November 2009

I am indebted to Richard A.  “Rick” Wiles* for providing extra photos of the crew and sharing his researches on this written in,

“Fireball in the Sky”
A 40^th Year Commemorative White paper on the January 7^th,1971 Tragic Event in Little Traverse Bay Lake, Michigan
January, 2011-01-05 submitted to the Petoskey Public Library, Petoskey, Michigan

More information can be found at the following links
http://www.westoveryesterday.com/InMemoriam.html
http://articles.petoskeynews.com/2009-10-05/lake-michigan_24016911

 *in correspondence throughout 2009  -- 2011

Crashed near air field 

While trying to find information regarding my dad and an incident he was in while in the Air Force 38 years ago I came across the B-52 Stratofortress DRAFT LISTING.  Regarding the 30^th July 1972 (?? survived) Crashed after lightning strike and fire knocked out aircraft instruments and started a fire in the port wing,  ?? is my  dad, Eugene C Gries Ret Msgt.  Dad was the tail gunner and ejected from the plane, we were very fortunate as he was the only survivor in this crash.   I am happy to say my dad is healthy and living at age 74 in Las Vegas, NV. 

Regarding the 30 Jul D model crash out of U-Tapao, the only living witness was the gunner. He is the only person who presented any evidence—testimony or empirical—that there was ever a wing fire as claimed in the report. There were some extremely credible reports, never officially published, that the navigator reached the ground alive, but died of wounds before he could be rescued. The radar navigator crashed with the airplane, apparently never actuating the ejection system on his seat.
in email 18th January 2010

details ???