1956 — June 26, USAF KC-97 tanker fire / crash after takeoff, 10M ~Walker AFB, NM–all 11

–11 AP. “Eleven on Aerial Tanker Die in Crash South of Roswell.” Albuquerque, Journal, NM, 6-27-1956, 1.
–11 McAndrew, James. The Roswell Report: Case Closed. Headquarters USAF, 1997, p.3.
–11 NFPA. “Large Loss Aircraft Fires of 1956.” Quarterly, Vol. 50, No. 4, April 1957, p. 319.

Narrative Information

McAndrew: “Claims of bodies at the Roswell Army Air Field hospital were most likely a combination of two separate incidents:

1) A 1956 KC-97 aircraft accident in which 11 Air Force members lost their lives; and,
2) A 1959 manned balloon mishap in which two Air Force pilots were injured.

(McAndrew. The Roswell Report: Case Closed. Headquarters United States Air Force, 1997, p.3.)
Newspapers

June 27, AP: “Roswell (AP) – A gigantic Air Force refueling tanker crashed late Tuesday [June 26] just after takeoff in an open field ten miles south of nearby Walker Air Force base, killing all 11 men aboard. Word of the crash was not released by the Air Force until more than three and a half hours after the flaming tragedy, on orders of Col. George W. Porter, the base commander.

“The tanker, a KC97, caught fire shortly after it took off at 6:50 P.m. on what the Air Force said was a routine training flight. Observers at the Walker Air Force Base flight line said it spun into the ground and exploded. Wreckage was scattered over what an Air Force spokesman described as a ‘small area.’

“The Air Force said 11 bodies were recovered but that identification of some of them was ‘going slowly considering the circumstances.’ It said the names of the victims would not be released until identification is completed and next of kin are notified….

“The plane was assigned to the 509th Air Refueling Squadron of the 509th bomb wind.” (AP. “Eleven on Aerial Tanker Die in Crash South of Roswell.” Albuquerque, Journal, NM, 6-27-1956, 1.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Eleven on Aerial Tanker Die in Crash South of Roswell.” Albuquerque, Journal, NM 6-27-1956, 1. Accessed 3-23-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/albuquerque-journal-jun-27-1956-p-1/

McAndrew, James. The Roswell Report: Case Closed. Headquarters United States Air Force, 1997. Accessed 3-23-2023 at: https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/FOID/Reading%20Room/UFOsandUAPs/RoswellReportCaseClosed.pdf?ver=2017-05-22-113519-430

National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Aircraft Fires of 1956.” Quarterly, Vol. 50, No. 4, April 1957. Boston, MA.