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The Year 1961

1962 >>>

January

Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	photo	seat
3rd January 1961	USN	Crusader YF-8C	BuNo 147040	NATC PAX	in US	Pilot ejected		Vought
11th January 1961	USMC	Crusader F-8B	BuNo 145447	VMF-312	in Japan	Pilot ejected		Vought
11th January 1961	USN	Crusader F-8C	BuNo 147017	VF-103, CVA-59		Pilot ejected		Martin-Baker
9th January 1961	RAF	Vampire T11	XD431	Flying Training Command	went missing over the Wash	Pilot Officer Leonard Dalton
9th January 1961	[possible ejection] RAF Vampire T11 XD431 of Flying Training Command. Following engine malfunction pilot radioed intention to eject. No trace of pilot or aircraft found. [dfsr/no 40/ May 1962]
	Mike I came across your site whilst researching what happened to the aircraft my brother (Pilot Officer Leonard Dalton) was flying when it was lost in 1961. I know this was XD431 and it actually went missing over the Wash on 9 January 1961 (your notes say 19 Jan). Can you tell me what your reference 'dfsr/no 40/ May 1962' refers to as it may help in my investigations. Thanks and congratulations on an interesting website. Regards Mike Dalton
20^th January 1961	USAF	F-100	2850	48th TFW/492nd TFS	crashed 1 mi SE of Grove farm, Gissing, England hydraulic failure during climbout from Lakenheath on training mission to Holland	Pilot ejected safely		NAA
23rd January 1961	RAF	Vampire T11	XE882	1FTS	unable to recover the aircraft from a practice spin. Aircraft crashed at Aysgarth, North Yorkshire	Flt. Lt. G.Richards ejected and seriously injured landing heavily on frozen ground.		Martin-Baker
23rd January 1961	RAF	Vampire T11	XE882	1FTS		Lt. M. J .M. Wilkin ejected and seriously injured landing heavily on frozen ground.		Martin-Baker

February

Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crash / test	crew	photo	seat
1st February 1961	RAF	Jet Provost T3	XN460 / 26	2 FTS	Crashed at Syerston. Notts after failing to recover from a spin	Student Plt. Off.I. F. Mitchinson ejected safely		Martin-Baker
1st February 1961	USN	Crusader F-8A	BuNo 145366	VF-51	in US	Lt. Cdr. A. C. O'Neal ejected		Martin-Baker
8th February 1961	RN	Sea Vixen FAW1	XJ527/H 242	890 Sqn HMS Hermes	Crashed into the sea off Tengah, Singapore	Lt. G. W. G. Hunt		Martin-Baker
8th February 1961	RN	Sea Vixen FAW1	XJ527/H 242	890 Sqn HMS Hermes	Crashed into the sea off Tengah, Singapore	Lt. J. S. Morris		Martin-Baker
17th February 1961	Stanley	AT-6 Texan	N7704C	Stanley Aviation Company	Live Test of Parachute Extraction System	FIRST LIVE YANKEE TEST Harry W. Schmoll [personal testimony]		Stanley YANKEE Parachute Extraction
20th February 1961	IDF / AF	Super Mystère B.2	No. 32	No. 105 Squadron	bird strike	Sub‑Lt Zvi Umshweif ejected successfully
22nd February 1961	USN	Crusader F-8C	BuNo 146923	VF-103, CVA-59		Pilot ejected
23rd February 1961	USN	Crusader F-8C	BuNo 146988	VF-124	in US	Pilot ejected
24th February 1961	Neth	Hunter				1st Lt. T. De Jager		Martin-Baker
24th February 1961	USN	Demon				Lt. F. A. Grant		Martin-Baker
9th February 1961	USAF	F‑104A	56‑0761	Edwards AFB, CA, USA	lost engine power due to maintenance errors	pilot ejected safely		Lockheed
25th February 1961	USAF	F‑89J	53‑2581	123rd FIS OR ANG	lost attitude gyro during instrument flight	ejected		Northrop
25th February 1961	USAF	F‑89J	53‑2581	123rd FIS OR ANG	lost attitude gyro during instrument flight	ejected		Northrop

March

Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crash / test	crew	seat	photo
1st March 1961	Sweden	Hunter				Flg. Off. B. I. Berglund		Martin-Baker
4th March 1961	USN	Crusader F-8A	BuNo 143808	VF-51	in US	Pilot ejected
9th March 1961	USSR	Vostok capsule	Vostok 3KA s/n 1	Baikonur	Russia	Ivan Ivanovich "test mannequin" "ejected" and made successful parachute descent Chernushka [live dog] landed in the capsule		Zvezda Vostok Seat
10th March 1961	Sweden	Hunter				Flg. Off. J.O.Bminan		Martin-Baker
13th March 1961	USAF	F‑104A	56‑0859	157th FIS SC ANG	engine failure after main fuel control failure, caused loss of power in engine. crashed near Congaree Al SC, USA	pilot ejected safely		Lockheed
14th March 1961	USAF	B‑52F	57‑0166	4134th SW	nr Yuba City, ran out of fuel; with two nuclear weapons on board , CA, USA	crew ejected/bailed out ???????
23rd March 1961	RAF	Jet Provost T3	XM347 / 13	2 FTS	Engine failure. Crashed at Syerston, Notts	student P.O J. B. Fardell ejected.		Martin-Baker
24th March 1961	RAF	Vampire T11	WZ513	8 FTS	Collided with RAF Vampire T11 XE944 of 8 FTS during formation loop which crashed near Swinderby	S.Lt. L. A. Boyer ejected over Binbrook		Martin-Baker
24th March 1961	RAF	Vampire T11	XE944	8 FTS	Hit by RAF Vampire T11 WZ513 of 8 FTS during formation loop which crashed near Swinderby	begin ejection sequence by jettisoning canopy but left it too late to eject		Martin-Baker
25th March 1961	USSR	Vostok capsule	Vostok 3KA s/n 2	Baikonur	Russia	Ivan Ivanovich "test mannequin" "ejected" and made successful parachute descent Zvezdochka [live dog] landed in the capsule		Zvezda Vostok Seat
27th March 1961	USN	FJ‑4B	143633	VA‑216	South China Sea	pilot ejected safely
28th March 1961	RAF	Jet Provost T3	XM477	1 FTS	Fire warning Crashed two miles from Dishforth, Yorkshire	Mid.Shpm. M.Dugan		Martin-Baker
28th March 1961	RAF	Jet Provost T3	XM477	1 FTS	Fire warning Crashed two miles from Dishforth, Yorkshire	Flg. Off. A. F. Marshall		Martin-Baker
31st March 1961	USAF	F-100	56-3257	49th TFW/7th TFS	engine failure crashed 48 miles west-south-west of Wheelus AB, Libya	Pilot ejected safely		NAA

April

Date

Air Force

A'cft

Unit / Serial

based

crash / test

crew

photo

seat

1st April 1961

USAF

RF‑101C

38th TRS/66th TRW

lost control when flight of two aircraft was jumped by French Mirage Ills near Reims, France

pilot ejected safely

Weber

USAF M-D F-101C Voodoo of 66th TRW, 38th TRS at Laon, France. Two F-101C Voodoos were slowing preparing to start down an approach chute from 30,000ft. near Rheims towards Laon in France. Two French Mirage fighters of the l'Armee de l'Air jumped them and the lead F-101 pilot decide to pursue them. In doing so he applied throttle and speed brakes and pitched his aircraft upwards. Despite attemptes to recover the pilot was advised by his wingman to, "Eject!" which he finally did at 10,000ft. He landed about 200 yards from his aircraft.[f-101, p. 122]

1st April 1961

Martin-Baker

none

Chalgrove

Doddy Hay ejects from ground rig zero - zero

Martin-Baker

12th April 1961

USSR

Vostok 1 capsule

Vostok 3KA s/n 3

Baikonur

Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin ejected after re-entering earth's
atmosphere

Zvezda
Vostok
Seat

The reason for this deception was to satisfy the rules of the FAI⁷, which stated that a pilot had to take off and land in his machine for a record to be officially recognised. If it became known that Gagarin had ejected before touchdown, the Soviets were concerned that his achievement would be wiped from the record books.

But Gagarin certainly did eject, and came down in a field near Smelovaka, not far from Saratov, watched by a woman planting potatoes with her six-year-old daughter. Legend has it that she asked him: 'Have you come from outer space?' after observing his pressure suit⁸ and space helmet.

Gagarin replied: 'Yes, would you believe it? I certainly have!' He then hastily added: 'I'm Soviet!' as if to reassure the woman that he was not the advance guard of an interplanetary invasion force!

17th April 1961

Den

F-86 Sabre

2.LTF.P.T.Horne

Martin-Baker

17th April 1961

Den

F-86 Sabre

2.LTP.Schever-1-men

Martin-Baker

24th April 1961

RAF

Vampire T11

XK584

4 FTS

Spin. Crashed on Anglesey, North Wales

Flt. Lt. Winspear

Martin-Baker

P.O Greenland

Martin-Baker

27th April 1961

USMC

Crusader F-8B

BuNo 145428

VMF-312, CVA-41, USS Midway

Pilot ejected

Vought ?

28th April 1961

USMC

Crusader F-8A

BuNo 145377

VMF-333

in US

Pilot ejected

Vought ?

?? April 1961

USAF

M-D F-101C Voodoo

66th TRW, 38th TRS, Laon, France

Pilot ejected 10,000ft.
Landed about 200 yards from his aircraft

Weber

May
Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	photo	seat
1st May 1961	USN	Crusader F-8B	BuNo 145452	VF-154	in Philippine Islands	Pilot ejected
1st May 1961	USMC	Crusader F-8B	BuNo 145427	VMF-312, CVA-43, USS Coral Sea		Pilot ejected
1st May 1961	USN	Demon				Hamilton		Martin-Baker
2nd May 1961	USN	Cougar				I.LTP-S.Moore		Martin-Baker
2nd May 1961	USN	Cougar				Lt. W.S.Kelly		Martin-Baker
3^rd May 1961	USAF	F-100	56-3292	49th TFW	crashed 3.25 miles south-west of Zabrata, Libya	Pilot ejected safely		NAA
3rd May 1961	USMC	Cougar				Capt. J.A.Rogers		Martin-Baker
3rd May 1961	USMC	Cougar				LTW.J.Smith		Martin-Baker
4th May 1961	RAF	Hunter F6	XG238/F	92 Sqn	The aircraft crashed into the Mediterranean two miles off Pomos Point, Cyprus	pilot F/O J Cleaver reported he was ejecting - never found he had ejected from a Hunter previously in 1960 also in Cyprus		Martin-Baker
4th May 1961	Hello Mike, I came across your website recently and thought you may be interested in the following:- May 4th 1961-Hunter F6 XG238/F. I was on duty in flight operations at RAF Nicosia when this flight was planned and the aircraft and pilot subsequently sadly lost. I seem to recall that this was a test flight following repairs and I believe that the pilot was F/O J Cleaver who had ejected from a Hunter previously in 1960 - also in Cyprus. Regards Alan Suckley in email 29th January 2007
5th May 1961	RAF	Jet Provost T3	XM469/12	1 FTS	Spin five miles from York	MID.SHPC.A.Skillett		Martin-Baker
5th May 1961	RAF	Jet Provost T3	XM469/12	1 FTS	Spin five miles from York	Flt. Lt. W. A. Langworthy		Martin-Baker
5th May 1961	Irish Air Corps	Vampire T-55		Baldonnel	Entered a spin. Given instructions to bail out over Co. Cavan, and landed safely		via Eddie Duggan
5th May 1961	Irish Air Corps	Vampire T-55		Baldonnel		Comdt. J. B. O'Connor recovered the aircraft and landed aircraft safely at Baldonnel	Cadet Ron McPartland ejected	Martin-Baker
6th May 1961	USN	Crusader F-8B	BuNo 145424	VF-124	in US.	Ensign P.D.Farley ejected		Martin-Baker
8th May 1961	USN	F-8 Crusader				Lt. Cdr. P.Montilardi		Martin-Baker
9th May 1961	RAF Hunter 6 XG238. Following engine malfunction pilot radioed intention to eject. Aircraft turned sharply to port and dived into sea. No trace of aircraft or pilot found though inflated dinghy found during search., believed to have separated on impact.
FEEDBACK	Regarding Hunter 6 of 92 Squadron Nicosia May 1961. Although I can not help with the date (you list two) I think everything else is correct. I was working on this aircraft one day before the accident and spoke to the pilot. The reason why it was being repaired is that 92 was in Cyprus working up for the display season and XG238 had suffered slight damage to its wing top surface while doing formation areos and contacted another Hunter in the team. This had been fully repaired (I believe) by the local MU. Best Regards Phil Hosey in email 5th February 2006
9th May 1961	Switz	Venom				Sgt. P.Ruggaber		Martin-Baker
9th May 1961	USAF	F‑104C	56‑0885	476th TFS/479th TFW Moron AB, Spain	horizontal stabilizer power control servo failed, causing stick to lock in full aft position. Aircraft climbed to 35,000 ft, stalled and dove to the ground	pilot ejected safely	Lockheed
17th May 1961	Indian A. F.	Toofani(Dassault Ouragon)	IC 870	2 Sqdn Halwara	While doing aerobatics went into a flat spin and the a/c would not recover Took a decision to abandon at 8000ft	F/O K C Shekhar ejected around 3000ft - no injuries		manual separation SNCASO
12th May 1961	Den	F84				Flt Lt. O.M.Nielsen		Martin-Baker
15th May 1961	RAF	Hunter F6	XG188/C	19 Sqn	Aircraft spun into the ground near Pocklington, York	Flg. Off. P. A .Bacon ejected at 5,000ft		Martin-Baker
18th May 1961	Sweden	Hunter				P.O. P. G. Nordgren		Martin-Baker
19th May 1961	RAAF	Vampire		76(F) Sqn	Fire. Crashed at Williamstown, New South Wales	Plt. Off. K.G. Smith ejected at 1,500ft, 300 mph		Martin-Baker
22nd May 1961	USN	Crusader RF-8A	BuNo 146839	VFP-62, CVA-42, USS Franklin D. Roosevelt		Pilot ejected		Martin-Baker
30th May 1961	Nor	F-86 Sabre				Sgt. Y. Tungesvik		Martin-Baker

June
Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crash / test	crew	seat	photo
3rd June 1961	Martin-Baker	Ground Test Rig			Le Bourget	Doddy Hay ejected at zero - zero. Test site moved from scheduled position and he landed heavily [personal testimony]		Martin-Baker
3rd June 1961	USN	A4D‑2	142938 WL	VMA‑311 USS Midway	caught fire 25 M from USS Midway crashed into sea off Japan	pilot ejected safely		Douglas
5th June 1961	USMC	Skyray				1st Lt. D. E. Auten		Martin-Baker
12th June 1961	USN	Crusader F-8C	BuNo 147003	VF-124	in US			Martin-Baker
14th June 1961	USN	Skyray				Pilot ejected		Martin-Baker
15th June 1961	RAN	Sea Venom FAW.53	WZ927	724 Sqn Nowra	Crashed on landing at Nowra	Lt. Cdr. C. E. Dorris		Martin-Baker
15th June 1961	USAF	F‑104C	56‑0897	476th TFS/479th TFW Moron AB, Spain	engine compressor stalled during take‑off nr	pilot ejected safely		Lockheed
18th June 1961	USAF	F‑102A	56‑1060	525th FIS	hydraulic system failure between Badern & Erdorf, 5 NM from Hahn AB, West Germany	pilot ejected safely		Convair
16th June 1961	USN	Demon				Crew ejected [see 2nd October 1962]		Martin-Baker
17th June 1961	Den	F84				Flt. Lt. S. B. Henriksen		Martin-Baker
19^th June 1961	USAF	F-100	2971	20th TFW/77th TFS	in-flight fire after takeoff from Wethersfield AB Crashed 2.5 miles north-east of Duxford, England	Pilot ejected		NAA
22nd June 1961	USN	F-8 Crusader				Pilot ejected safely		Martin-Baker
26th June 1961	USAF	F‑104C	56‑0923	436th TFS/479th TFW	collided with F‑104 57‑0917, Charlottesville, VA, USA	1 pilot killed, 1 ejected - confirmation of who was in which aircraft		Lockheed
26th June 1961	USAF	F‑104C	57‑0917	436th TFS/479th TFW	collided with F‑104 56‑0923, Charlottesville, VA, USA			Lockheed
28th June 1961	RAF	Lightning F1A	XM185/C	111 Sqn	Crashed at Lavesham near Wattisham, Suffolk	Flg. Off. P. J. Ginger		Martin-Baker
29th June 1961	USN	F4H‑1	145314	NATC NAS Patuxent River	lost control and entered unrecoverable flat spin. Crashed into Atlantic Ocean 50 M SE of NAS Patuxent River, MD, USA	pilot ejected safely		McDonnell
29th June 1961	USN	F-8 Crusader				Cdr. C.M. Cruse ejected.		Martin-Baker
?? June 1961	USAF	B-58 Hustler		43rd Bomb Wing, Little Rock, Arkansas	[possible ejections] USAF B-58 of 43rd Bomb Wing at Little Rock, Arkansas had flown to Le Bourget from an air display at Torrejon AFB, near Madrid. At first it was thought it had collided with other aircraft as there were two distinct fires and many aircraft were in the immediate vicinity. It appears though the B-58 had undershot the runway, struck the fairly steeply rising ground, bounced and broke in two. It is not clear whether the crew used their rescue capsules to escape or whether they were rescued from the fire.

July

Date	Air Force	A'cft	Unit / Serial	based	crashed	crew	photo	seat
6th July 1961	USN	Demon		VF-92 NAS Alameda	San Francisco Bay	LTJG Jack D.Bishop		Martin-Baker
FEEDBACK	Jack took off from the westerly heading runway at NAS Alameda and turned left down San Francisco Bay. A baseball announcer at Candlestick Park in southern San Francisco told the fans that an aircraft was on fire over the bay, so hundreds saw the ejection. Jack pulled his feet back as the Flight Manual instructed but got a few crushed vertebrae -- because the Manual was out-of-date. Later we got an updated Manual which said to leave your feet on the rudder pedals. Zeke Wilson Cdr USN Ret I was the VF-92 Squadron Safety Officer investigating this accident -- Turbine Failure. in email 20th November 2007
11th July 1961	Switz	Venom				Lt. R.Meylan		Martin-Baker
12th July 1961	Italy	F.G91				TEN B.Giuliani		Martin-Baker
15th July 1961