1952 — Apr 5, USAF B-29 weather plane airport approach crash, McClellan AFB, CA–all 10

–10 Air Weather Recon Assoc. “Gone, But Not Forgotten.” Accessed 12-23-2011.
–10 Aviation Safety Network. USAF WB-29 approach crash near McClellan AFB 4-5-1952.
–10 Daily Globe, Ironwood, MI. “Appleton Airman Dies in Crash of Superfort.” 4-7-1952, 13.
–10 European Stars and Stripes, Ger. “10 Victims Identified in B29 Explosion.” 4-8-1952, 12.
–10 Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA. “Superfort Blows Up, 10 Die.” 4-6-1052, p. 1.
–10 Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA. “Non-War Crashes Top Korea Air Toll.” 4-10-’52, A12.

Narrative Information

Air Weather Recon Association:
“WB-29 44-87756 5 Apr 52 55th SRS (M) Wea. McClellan AFB, CA

Maj Bruce Acebedo
Capt Guilford A. Hopkins
Capt Robert L. Kizer
Capt Leonard B. Winstead
2Lt August I. Lam
MSgt Edwin M. Fultz
TSgt George R. Shook
SSgt Elbert E. King
SSgt Hayden C. Shulz
SSgt Carlton J. Fose.”

(Air Weather Recon Assoc. “Gone, But Not Forgotten.” Accessed 12-23-2011.)

Aviation Safety Network: “This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information…

Narrative: “….Written off (destroyed) April 5, 1952: The crew was returning to…[its] base at McClellan AFB after a 19 hour mission consisting of weather reports. On final approach, one of the propellers went into reverse. The airplane went out of control and crashed in a huge explosion about three miles short of runway at McClellan AFB, North-East of Sacramento, California. The four-engine plane apparently caught fire in the air and smashed into a pasture at a 45-degree angle. The main sections of the craft remained intact, but the wreckage was a roaring mass of flames by the time crash crews from the air base reached the scene minutes later. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire and all 10 crew members were killed….

“Cause: Failure of a propeller which went into reverse on final approach.” (Aviation Safety Network. USAF WB-29 approach crash near McClellan AFB 4-5-1952.)

Newspaper

April 5: “Sacramento, April 5. (AP) A B-29 within sight of its landing field exploded and crashed tonight, and all 10 men aboard died in the wreckage. Lt. Roy Plato, public relations officer at McClellan Air Force Base, reported the 10 bodies had been recovered from the crash scene about 15 miles northeast of here….

“An eye-witness, Mrs. Mary Bost, said she saw the plane explode in the air and when it hit, she said, “a ball of fire went up.”

“Lt. Plato said the plane came down in a plowed ranch field as it was returning from a routine weather reconnaissance flight over the Pacific. It was based at McClellan, near here….

“The plane was demolished except for one part of the tail….Rose [?] said that actually there were two explosions – one before the plane piled into a plowed field and then again when it hit the ground. He said his wife felt the explosion in Roseville. The Roseville officer related that the B-29 crashed on the A. F. Barnett ranch about a half mile from the nearest road. Fire-fighting equipment had a hard time reaching the scene.

“McClellan Field is roughly mid-way between Sacramento and Roseville….

“The B-29 had radioed it was coming in for a landing at McClellan Air Force Base when it blew up… Sheriff’s Deputy Ray Bluning reported word from officers at the scene that there was a ‘terrific explosion’ and that it was ‘seen and heard for miles around.’ He said the crash occurred about 9:30 p.m. The sheriff’s office said flames leaped 30 feet into the air after the crash….

“McClellan Air Force Base is a training base for bombardier crews.” (Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA. “Superfort Blows Up, 10 Die.” 4-6-1052, p. 1.)

April 7: “Sacramento, Calif. (AP). S. Sgt. Carlton J. Fose, 22, radio operator from Appleton, Wis., was one of the 10 crewmen who perished Saturday night when a B-29 weather reconnaissance plane exploded in the air…A gasoline leak may have caused the explosion, authorities said….” (Daily Globe, Ironwood, MI. “Appleton Airman Dies in Crash of Superfort.” 4-7-1952, 13.)

April 7: “Sacramento, Calif., April 7 (AP) – A huge red tail-piece was all that remained today of a B29 weather reconnaissance plane which exploded in flight and carried its crew of 10 men to their deaths near here. The rest of the plane virtually was melted by terrific heat after it crashed in a field shortly after 9 pm Saturday. McClellan Air Force Base identified the victims as:

Maj Bruce Acebedo, 33, the pilot, of Sacramento.
Capt Guilford A. Hopkins, 31, weather observer, North Sacramento.
Capt Robert L. Kizer, copilot, Sacramento.
Capt Leonard. B. Winstead, 32, navigator, Hardy, Ark.
Second Lt August I. Lam, 26, navigator, San Francisco.
M Sgt Edwin M. Fultz, 39, radio operator, Milroy, Pa
T Sgt George R. Shook, 28, flight engineer, Sacramento.
S Sgt Elbert E. King, 23, drop-sound operator, Sacramento.
S Sgt Hayden C. Schultz, 31, flight mechanic, North Sacramento.
S Sgt Carlton J. Foss, 22, radio operator, Appleton, Wis.

“Lt Roy Plato, public information officer at McClellan AFB, said a gasoline leak may have caused the explosion.” (European Stars and Stripes, Ger. “10 Victims Identified in B29 Explosion.” 4-8-1952, 12.)

April 10: “Washington, April 10. (AP). A series of military air accidents this month is claiming many more lives than are being lost among U. S. fliers in Korea. The Air Force acknowledged today that non-combat flying currently is killing more air personnel than the war itself.

“More than 50 persons have been killed or are missing already this month in domestic military plane crashes. This total does not include the 10 or more killed in parachute mishaps or plane collisions in Exercise Longhorn, the military maneuvers just completed in Texas….

“April 5…a B-29 weather plane coming in for a landing at McClelland Air Force Base, Sacramento, exploded, killing 10.” (Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA. “Non-War Crashes Top Korea Air Toll.” 4-10-1952, A12.)

Sources

Air Weather Recon Assoc. “Gone, But Not Forgotten.” Accessed 12-23-2011 at: http://www.awra.us/gallery-may05.html

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. USAF WB-29 approach crash near McClellan AFB 4-5-1952 (ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 156271). Accessed 6-8-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/156271

Daily Globe, Ironwood, MI. “Appleton Airman Dies in Crash of Superfort.” 4-7-1952, 13. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=107780225

European Stars and Stripes, Darmstadt, Germany. “10 Victims Identified in B29 Explosion,” 4-8-1952, 12. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=133398078

Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA. “Non-War Crashes Top Korea Air Toll.” 4-10-1952, p. A12. Accessed at: http://www.newspaper.com

Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA. “Superfort Blows Up, 10 Die.” 4-6-1052, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=46271039