1950 — Nov 16, USAF KB29 Tanker and B-50 Collide/Crash near Sil Nakya village, AZ–13

–13 Baugher. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-40049 to 44-70254). 8-6-2023 revision.
–13 Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT. “13 Airmen Die When Two Big Planes Collide.” 11-17-50
–13 Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT. “Air Collision Cause Unknown.” 11-18-1950, p. 2.
–13 National Fire Protection Assoc. “Large Loss Fires of 1950.” Quarterly. 44/3, Jan 1951, p250.
–13 Sinclair. “Tragic Aerial Crash…Nightmare Come True.” Avalanche-Journal, 11-19-50, 19.

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Boeing B-29-75-BW Superfortress….70024 converted to KB-29. Crashed Nov 16, 1950 53 mi w of Davis Monthan AFB, AZ in midair collision with B-50A 46-097. 6 of 10 aboard the KB-29 were killed.” (Baugher. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-40049 to 44-70254). Oct 28, 2011.)

“Boeing B-50A-25-BO Superfortress….47 (43rd BG, 63rd BS) crashed Nov 16 1950 53 mi W of Davis Monthan AFB, AZ after midair collision with KB-29 44-70024. 7 of 13 crew killed.” (Baugher. 1946-1948 USAAF Serial Numbers. 10-15-2011 rev.)

National Fire Protection Association: “

Newspaper

Nov 17: “Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 17 – (AP) – A collision in flight of two giant planes engaged in the U. S. Air Forces newest refueling operation has ended in flaming death for 13 airmen. Ten others parachuted to safety after the four-motor craft smashed together yesterday afternoon 50 miles west of Tucson over the southern Arizona desert. The planes, a B-29 tanker and a B-50 bomber, engaged in a routine refueling operation, were seen to erupt in flames and plunge to the ground five miles north of the Papago Indian village of Silnakya [Sil Nakya] on the Sells reservation. The tanker is believed to have exploded.

“Some of the crew members jumped and may have reached the ground safely, but were apparently caught in a deluge of flaming gasoline that sprayed over the area. Another airman was unmarked on the upper part of his body while the lower portion had been crushed by a heavy piece of debris. The Air Force listed some of the 13 men as missing since identifications had not been completed, but they were presumed dead.

“Robert Moore, a reporter for the Tucson, Arizona Daily Star who flew to the scene, reported there were indications all of the airmen attempted to get out of the flaming craft. Their blackened and smashed bodies, most of them wearing portions of parachutes, were scattered over an area a half mile around the crash scene. Bits of flaming debris were found as far away as a mile.

“An air rescue team rushed to the scene found some of the dazed survivors standing in two groups. Five of them were a short distance west of the fallen planes. Two others east. The remainder were scattered. All were rushed to the base hospital at Davis-Monthan field. Eight suffered only minor scratches and could walk. Two had broken ankles but were otherwise reported all right.” (Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT. “13 Airmen Die When Two Big Planes Collide.” 11-17-1950, p. 1.)

Nov 18: “Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 18. – (AP) – Survivors were unable to explain why two huge Air Force planes spun to the ground during aerial refueling operations. Thirteen crewmen were killed in the crash onto the Arizona desert and 10 others bailed out and landed safely Thursday.

“The survivors, none seriously hurt, related their experiences in getting out of the crashing planes today at Davis-Monthan Air Force base here. All agreed the refueling operation, a new Air Force technique, seemed to be progressing normally when the planes began their plunges. The flow of gasoline between the B-29 aerial gas station and the B-50 bomber had not begun. Both planes exploded upon hitting the ground.

“Not all of the 13 men in the B-50 and the 10 in the B-29 were able to take to their parachutes. Shroud lines of some chutes were burned away. As the airmen swung toward earth in their parachutes they descended into what looked like a deadly inferno. Only chance saved some of the survivors from perishing in a sea of flaming gasoline.

“This was the first crash during refueling operations at Davis-Monthan, where the method was pioneered.” (Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT. “Air Collision Cause Unknown.” 11-18-1950, p2.)

Nov 18: “Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 18. – It was a nightmare come horribly true for men who work Uncle Sam’s mid-air gas stations. Two huge planes, practicing the Air Force’s newest refueling operation, crashed Thursday in flight. It was the first crash at Davis-Monthan Air Force base, which with little public attention has pioneered this new adventure of the skies and provided the first aerial “fill ‘er up” teams.

“In the crash. High octane gasoline exploded. Flames flashed through the B-29 tanker and the B-50 bomber. Thirteen men died. Some almost escaped, but the flames reached down and caught them in their open parachutes.

“It is work that is increasing the flight range of America’s medium bombers, the 29’s and 50’s, a tricky job that is now daily routine with the US Air Force. Much of the work is secret, but this is how and why that is permitted to be told. Hoses have become the umbilical cords from which mother tankers pour flight-giving strength into gas-hungry bombers. The Air Force has announced that each of nine medium bomber groups will soon be supplied with 20 tanker planes each. With them the Superforts have become intercontinental bombers.

“Figure for yourself the skill needed in this refueling job. You have two planes traveling hundreds of miles per hour hooked together with a few feet of hose down which is pouring high octane gas. If the hose breaks there are eight engines which could send out a spark that might ignite the spraying fuel.

“The 43rd air refueling squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force base provided the first aerial gas station attendants. This was the outfit that refueled the B-50 “Lucky Lady II” on its non-stop flight around the world last year. It also performed the first full-fledged operational mission with the 43rd bomb group on a training mission to Europe.

“Some of the newer outfits are equipped with the new flying-boom system, which feeds bombers
at higher speed, higher altitudes and higher rates of flow. So far the 43rd is sticking to the original hose-type refueling operations. It is more difficult because the tanker pilot can see only part of the plane he is feeding. The exchange is directed by two scanners, with the radar operator frequently acting as one of them.

“Sgt. Harold Hall, Boston, was with the 43rd when it was formed. He’s an old timer, and an expert. But he still sweats out every takeoff. ‘That’s always the worst part,’ he explains. Here’s what happens in a refueling operation. The tankers of the 43rd. they may number more than a dozen, are instructed to rendezvous with bombers at a given place. It may he close to the base, or hours flying time away. The bombers, may be from Davis-Monthan or another base.

“The tankers fly in formation and reach the meeting place ahead of the planes they are to feed. When the bombers arrive both groups break formation…We fly beside and above the receiver, Sgt. Hall, a left scanner explains. ‘The bomber lets out a long cable with a sox [socket?] attached that straightens out behind the plane. We let down a weight. The scanner tells the pilot the location of the weight in relation to the sox. When they touch, a grappling hook on the weight catches to the sox. We hook up the hose with a cable inside the sox. The operator on the receiver pulls the hose into his plane. He signals when he wants the fuel to flow. When he’s got all he wants he signals again. I turn off the gas. He lets out the hose and cable which contains a weak link. He tells us when the weak link is out and we peel off and the cable breaks at the weak link. Everybody in the plane is busy every second during refueling. There is no kidding between the planes. It’s a serious business.’

“The lower the altitude the bumpier the air and harder work for the pilots. The higher the planes go the colder it becomes and there is less oxygen. But it is smoother flying.

“There is no agreement as to which the men would rather fly, a load of bombs or a load of gasoline. Sgt. Hall says he would rather be on the tanker.

“Capt. Ralph D. Sensenbrenner, Paris, Ill., assistant operations officer of the 43rd, would rather be on the bomber. ‘If you have to crash land during a takeoff I’d rather have a load of bombs under me than those thousands of gallons of gas,’ he says. ‘On the whole, we have been lucky. Hoses have broken, and naturally they spray gas. Problems do arise, but we try to work them out and prevent them happening again…Everybody in the squadron makes at least one refueling mission a month. If they don’t they get rusty and lose their touch. This is a job that takes lots of practice and confidence.’

“Four steps make up the training routine.

“New crews practice formation flying and cross-overs. Reel operators learn their trade. Radar equipment is checked out.

“Then they make their first hook-up and a short fuel transfer.

“Next time they transfer a full load to a B-50.

“With the basic requirements out of the way, the crew makes a maximum distance run and transfer of a full load of fuel. They make one of the long trips at least every three months.

“The 43rd Air Refueling squadron was formed in January, 1949. Lt. Col. William C. Sipes, Jr., Yuma, Ariz., is commanding officer.

“At first crew members painted flowery names on their tankers. There was ‘Gracious Oasis’ and ‘Sky Octane.’ But even the names are disappearing. As Sgt. Hall says, ‘There’s no funny stuff, this is a serious job – all of it’.” (Sinclair, Murray, AP. “Tragic Aerial Crash was a Nightmare Come True.” Avalanche-Journal, Lubbock, TX. 11-19-1950, 19.)

Sources

Baugher, Joseph. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-40049 to 44-70254). 8-6-2023 revision. Accessed 8-19-2023 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_4.html

Baugher, Joseph F. 1946-1948 USAAF Serial Numbers. Oct 15, 2011 revision. Accessed 1-3-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1946.html

Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT. “13 Airmen Die When Two Big Planes Collide.” 11-17-1950, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=85089702

Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT. “Air Collision Cause Unknown.” 11-18-1950, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=85089715

National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1950.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association. Vol. 44, No. 3, January, 1951, p. 250.

Sinclair, Murray (AP). “Tragic Aerial Crash was a Nightmare Come True. Refueling of Giant Air Force Bombers With Tanker Planes is Very Dangerous Operation.” Avalanche-Journal, Lubbock, TX. 11-19-1950, 19. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=107742093