1952 — Apr 8, USAF B-25 flies into Golden Peak, near Golden, CO –all 11

— 11 Aviation Safety Network. USAF B-25 crash 8M NW of Golden CO, 8 Apr 1952.
— 11 Baugher. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-30911 to 44-35357). 10-28-2011 revision.
— 11 Corpus Christi Times, TX. “Bodies of 11 Air Dead Taken Down Mountainside.” 4-11-’52
— 11 Northwest Arkansas Times, Fayetteville. “11 Bodies Taken From Mountain…” 4-11-’52, 1

Narrative Information

Baugher: “North American B-25J-30/32-NC Mitchell….31015 (TB-25J) crashed into a mountain in Colorado Apr 8, 1952. All 11 on board killed.” (Baugher. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-30911 to 44-35357). 10-28-2011 rev.)

Newspaper

April 11, Associated Press: “Golden, Colo., April 11. (AP) — Bodies of 11 men killed in the crash of a B-25 bomber near here Tuesday were taken down a mountainside on horseback today. Sheriff Carl Enlow of Jefferson County, Colo., said 10 horses were used to wade through waist-deep snow to transport the bodies to a Denver mortuary.

“Wreckage of the craft was found yesterday against the side of 9,763-foot Golden peak, eight miles northwest of here and about 25 miles west of Denver. Three air policemen stood guard at the scene of the disaster last night.

“The plane, based at Randolph Air Force Base at San Antonio, Texas, apparently smacked into the timbered peak going at full throttle. Bodies were sent hurtling into spruce trees as the bomber exploded.

“It is believed the plane passed over Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, its destination out of Fairfax Field at Kansas City, Kan., in cloudy weather and continued west on a radio beam signal for a landing, crashing into the mountain as it followed the signal.

“One of the victims still was unidentified today. Randolph AFB identified 10 of the dead. They were:
Lt. Col. Merrill E. Smith, 30, Kansas City. Mo.;
Capt. Eugene V. Markel, 32, Canton, Ohio;
Capt. Hilton B. Wilcox Jr., 26 Decatur, Ill.;
Maj. William-R. Haughy, 29, Los Angeles;
Capt. Andrew F. Celovsky, 36, Chicago;
Capt. Lorence C. Ellenberg, 31, Montgomery, Ala.;
Capt. Franklin T. Wicks, 32, Payette, Ida.;
Lt. Boyce A. Bransington, 30, Darlington, S.C.;
T. Sgt. John M. Altgelt, 30, San Antonio; and
Dr. Donald A. Vestel, San Antonio.”

(Corpus Christi Times, TX. “Bodies of 11 Air Dead Taken Down Mountainside.” 4-11-’52, 6-C.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. USAF B-25 crash 8M NW of Golden CO, 8 Apr 1952 (ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 173503(. Accessed 6-8-2023 at:
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/173503

Baugher, Joseph F. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-30911 to 44-35357). Oct 28, 2011 revision. Accessed 12-22-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_2.html

Corpus Christi Times, TX. “Bodies of 11 Air Dead Taken Down Mountainside.” 4-11-1952, p. 6-C. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=8601230

Northwest Arkansas Times, Fayetteville. “11 Bodies Taken From Mountain Crash Scene.” Apr 11, 1952, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com