1950 — Aug 5, USAF B-29 with nuke component crash and explos. ~Fairchild-Suisun AFB, CA–19

Compiled by B. Wayne Blanchard, 8-23-2023, for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–19 Baugher. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-83886 to 44-92098). 10-15-2011 rev.
–12 B-29 Superfortress crew and passengers (8 survivors)
— 7 On-the-ground.
–19 Center for Defense Information. “U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accidents: Danger in our Midst.”
–19 Check-Six.com. “The Crash of the B-29 on Travis AFB, CA, August 5, 1950.”
–12 B-29 (10 in rear compartment, one in forward compartment, and General Travis.)
— 7 on ground after explosion 20 minutes after crash heard over 30 miles away.
–19 Flight International. “US Accidents,” July 4, 1981, p. 42. (Aircrew and rescue personnel.)
–19 Gero. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, 47. (Servicemen.)
–19 Gibson. Nuclear Weapons of the United States – An Illustrated History. 1996, p. 56.
–19 National Fire Protection Assn. “Large Loss Fires of 1950.” Quarterly. 44/3, Jan 1951, 250.
–12 of the 20 flight crew aboard
— 7 fire fighters.
–19 Wikipedia. “List of Accidents and Incidents Involving Military Aircraft (1950-1974).

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Boeing B-29-85-BW Superfortress….87651 (B-29MR) crashed on takeoff with bombs loaded Fairfield (later Travis) AFB Aug 5, 1950. 20 on board, 8 survived, but 7 on ground also died.” (Baugher. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-83886 to 44-92098). 10-15-2011 revision.)

Center for Defense Information: “[Event] No. 4, August 5, 1950/B-29/Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base, (Fairfield) California…. A B-29 carrying a weapon, but no capsule, experienced two runaway propellers and landing gear retraction difficulties on takeoff from Fairfield-Suisan Air Force Base (now Travis Air Force Base). The aircraft attempted an emergency landing and crashed and burned. The fire was fought for 12-15 minutes before the weapon’s high explosive material detonated. Nineteen crew members and rescue personnel were killed in the crash and/or the resulting detonation, including General Travis.

“CDI: The aircraft crashed near a trailer camp occupied by 200 service families. The explosion of 10-12 500 lb. conventional explosive bombs shattered more than half of the fifty automobiles and trailers, blasted a crater 20 yards across and six feet deep and was felt 30 miles away. The fire could be seen for 65 miles. There were also 60 people hurt.” (Center for Defense Information. “U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accidents: Danger in our Midst.” The Defense Monitor, 1981.)

Check-Six.com: “On August 5th, 1950, Communist troops came across the Naktong River to southwest and northwest of Taegu on the Korean peninsula. They began filtering troops to the rear of American lines, forming a tense political situation. The perimeter around Pusan was forming. The increasing hostilities, and the north Koreans numeric superiority left few options for the United Nations and American ground forces….On that day, a Mark IV nuclear bomb was dispatched to the eastern Pacific. It would travel in two parts. One part, the dense uranium core, and the other, the high explosive outer casing, would each be carried to the area via separate aircraft, routes, and times. A B-29 bomber left Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base on August 5th, 1950, carrying the high-explosive portion of the Mark IV. However it would…[not] travel very far.

“According to the USAF Accident Report Summary

“On 5 August 1950, B-29, SN 44-87651, crashed, burned, and exploded 5 minutes after takeoff from Fairfield-Suisun AFB, CA, causing fatal injuries to 12 crewmen and passengers. Eight crewmen and passengers received minor injuries. Extensive damage to private and government property and injuries to both civilian and military personnel were caused by a subsequent explosion of the bomb on the aircraft. The pilot, Captain Eugene Q. Steffes, was at the controls, with Brigadier General Robert F. Travis acting in command pilot capacity. At 2200 PST, the aircraft was cleared for takeoff on runway 21 left, which is 8,000 feet long. The wind was 17 knots from the southwest. A full power check (2,800 ROM and 48 inches) was made, and the brakes were released for takeoff. Just prior to liftoff, the number two engine propeller malfunctioned, and the aircraft commander ordered the number two propeller be feathered. After liftoff, the pilot actuated the gear switch to the up position, and the gear did not retract. Due to the increased drag (feathered number two engine and the lowered gear), the rising terrain ahead and to the left, and the inability of the aircraft to climb, the aircraft commander elected to make a 180-degree turn to the right back toward the base. Upon completion of the turn, the left wing became difficult to hold up. The aircraft commander allowed the aircraft to slide to the left to avoid a trailer court. A crash landing was imminent as the altitude of the aircraft was only a few feet above the ground. The aircraft struck the ground with the left wing down at approximately 120 mph. All ten people in the rear compartment were fatally injured. General Travis and one passenger in the forward compartment received fatal injuries; all other crewmembers and passengers escaped with only minor injuries.”

“About twenty minutes after the crash occurred, the high explosives in the bomb casing ignited. The blast, felt and heard over 30 miles away, caused severe damage to the nearby trailer park on base.

“In addition to those killed or injured in the initial crash, as a result in large part to the explosion that occurred shortly after the crash, 180 military, civilian and dependents were killed or injured.

(Seven people were killed, 49 were admitted to the hospital and 124 others received superficial injuries.)” (Check-Six.com. “The Crash of the B-29 on Travis AFB, CA, August 5, 1950.”)

Flight International: “August 5, 1950 A Boeing B-29 carrying a [nuclear] weapon but no capsule had two runaway propellers and was unable to retract the undercarriage on takeoff from Fairchild-Suisun AFB, California. The B-29 crashed and burned. Nineteen aircrew and rescue personnel were killed (including Gen Travis, after whom the base was renamed). The weapon’s HE element detonated 12-15 min after the crash.” (Flight International. “US Accidents,” July 4, 1981.)

Gero:
Date: 5 August 1950 (c.22.00)
“Location: Near Fairfield, California, US
“Operator: US Air Force
“Aircraft type: Boeing B-29MR (46-87651)

“This crash and subsequent explosion involving a four-engine bomber, which was operated by the Strategic Air Command (SAC), wreaked havoc at Fairfield-Suisan Air Force Base and the surround¬ing community, 40 miles (65km) north-east of San Francisco. The first hint of trouble came during the pre-flight run-up, when the two in-board propellers did not return to normal speed when the master control was decreased. The discrepancy was dismissed by the pilot and flight engineer as merely incorrect propeller settings. Nor did the aircraft commander express concern when his radio malfunctioned during the taxi phase, as the pilot was not experiencing the same difficulty. Take-off was then begun, but after the B-29 had used approximately three-quarters of Runway 21 and reached an indicated air speed of 125mph (200kph), the No 2 propeller started to overspeed. An attempt to correct the anomaly was unsuccessful, so the commander activated the feathering switch. The No. 2 propeller feathered just as the 46-87651 became airborne and, additionally, the aircraft’s undercarriage would not retract.

“Soon afterward, the No. 3 propeller began to overspeed, but was brought under control through a reduction in manifold pressure. With the bomber unable to climb due to its configuration and reduced power condition, and with rising terrain ahead, the commander elected to make a 180-degree turn to the right, back towards the base. Upon completion of the turn, he experienced difficulty in holding up the left wing and asked the co-pilot for assistance with the controls. Shortly thereafter, the flight engineer advised the pilots that the No. 3 was running away again, and the aircraft began to shudder.

“Realizing a crash was imminent, the commander allowed it to slide to the left to avoid a trailer park directly in its path, and the B-29 finally stalled and slammed into the ground along the boundary of the military installation. Impact was at a speed of around 120mph (190kph), with the left wing slightly down and the nose raised, upon which the aircraft broke apart and caught fire. Some 25 minutes later, after crash personnel and equipment had arrived on the scene, the load of bombs being carried aboard 46-87651 detonated. A total of 19 American servicemen were killed in the disaster, including 12 of the 20 who had been aboard the aircraft. About 180 others suffered injuries, among them the eight survivors of the crash and several dozen civilians. Numerous trailer caravans and vehicles were damaged, as the second explosion threw debris and burning gasoline over an area of some 2 square miles (3 sq km)….

“It was of the opinion of personnel investigating the accident that a fault existed in the electrical circuit of the undercarriage that prevented the gear from being retracted, but the nature or identity of the problem could not be determined. Significantly, the radio trouble experi-enced prior to take-off could have been a manifestation of this fault. It was further ruled that the No. 2 propeller may have oversped due to the improper adjustment of the propeller control brush block assembly. Brush tracks revealed they had been rubbing against one side of the slip ring separators. Examination also revealed badly burned decrease, feather and common slip rings, with the automatic decrease ring indicating the worst damage. As the No. 3 engine/propeller assembly had been destroyed, no similar examination on it was pos¬sible. However, in view of the condition of the No. 2 slip rings, the same condition may have also brought about its malfunction. An important opera¬tional factor in the crash was the failure of the pilot to follow standard operating procedures in the event of a runaway propeller, in that he left the propeller selector switch in the automatic position. Had he placed it in the fixed position, it would probably not have run away a second time….

“In accordance with another recommen¬dation made in the accident report, the number of persons allowed aboard on any B-29 flight opera¬tion was reduced to 16. Overloading of men, baggage and equipment and an insufficient number of safety belts probably factored in the loss of life, since 10 of the occupants killed had been trapped in the rear cabin section. Also killed was the aircraft and base commander, Brigadier General Robert E Travis. The installation where the disaster occurred on that summer night in 1950 was later re-named in his honor, becoming Travis Air Force Base.” (Gero 1999, p. 48)

Gibson: “During its nuclear testing the B-29 was…involved in two nuclear a accidents. The first of these accidents occurred on 11 April 1950 at Kirtland AFV, New Mexico….

“The other accident occurred four months later when, on 5 August, a B-29 experienced two runaway propellers and landing gear problems during its takeoff at Travis. During its emergency landing at Travis AFB it crashed, igniting a fire that completely enveloped the aircraft. Twelve to fifteen minutes after the fire began the bomb’s high explosives detonated. In all, 19 crew members and rescue personnel were killed in either the crash or the explosion.” (Gibson, James N. Nuclear Weapons of the United States – An Illustrated History. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 1996, p. 56)

National Fire Protection Association: “Aug. 5, near Fairfield-Suisun Air Base, Calif. U.S. Air Force B-29. $800,000. 19 killed.

“Bomb loaded aircraft crashed soon after takeoff near trailer camp and burst into flames. Flames communicated to trailer camp. Approximately ten minutes after the crash, the bombs exploded, killing seven fire fighters. Twelve of the twenty flight crew aboard perished. Sixty persons were injured.” (NFPA. “Large Loss Fires of 1950.” Quarterly. 44/3, Jan 1951, p. 250.)

Wikipedia: “5 August – A USAF B-29-85-BW Superfortress, 44-87651, carrying a Mark 4 nuclear bomb, suffers two runaway propellers and landing gear problems on takeoff at Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base, Fairfield, California, United States. The crew attempts an emergency landing but crashes, causing a huge explosion that kills 19 aboard the plane and on the ground, including mission commander Brig. Gen. Robert F. Travis….Numerous nearby mobile homes are severely damaged and many civilians, firefighters, and USAF ground crew are injured–60 required hospital treatment and 47 suffered superficial injuries according to newspaper reports, but other sources place the total as high as 173. The USAF attributes the explosion to ten or twelve conventional 500-pound HE bombs aboard the B-29 and claims that the nuclear bomb’s fuel capsule was aboard a different aircraft, but admits that the bomb casing contained depleted uranium used as ballast, and later orders a public health assessment of the crash site.” (Wikipedia. “List of Accidents and Incidents Involving Military Aircraft (1950-1974).)

Sources

Baugher, Joseph F. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-83886 to 44-92098). Oct 15, 2011 revision. Accessed 12-31-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_6.html

Center for Defense Information. “U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accidents: Danger in our Midst.” The Defense Monitor, 1981. Reposted, with comments, on MILNET, 14 pages, at: http://milnet.com/cdiart.htm. [An 8-23-2023 check showed the URL to be inoperative.]

Check-Six.com. “The Crash of the B-29 on Travis AFB, CA, August 5, 1950.” Accessed 10/16/2009 at: http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/Travis_B-29_crash_site.htm

Flight International. “US Accidents,” July 4, 1981, page 42. Accessed at: http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1981/1981%20-%202194.html

Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.

Gibson, James N. Nuclear Weapons of the United States – An Illustrated History. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 1996.

National Fire Protection Association “Large Loss Fires of 1950.” The Quarterly, Vol. 44, No. 3, January 1951.

Wikipedia. “List of Accidents and Incidents Involving Military Aircraft (1950-1974). 10-16-2009 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_military_aircraft,_1950-1974