1956 — Nov 9, USN P5M Marlin Seaplane lost north of Bermuda, possibly off MD –all 10

–10 Bakersfield Californian. “Navy Bomber Missing With 10 Aboard.” 11-10-1956, p. 2.
–10 Corpus Christi Times, TX. “Navy Seaplane Hunt Continues.” 11-12-1956, p. 19, col. 8.
–10 Forbes, Keith A. Bermuda’s aviation history and pioneers (website). 11-3-2012 update.
–10 Hoffman, R. (USN Ret). “Martin P5M Patrol Seaplane.” Naval Fighters, N.74, 2007, 70-71
–10 Lowell Sun, MA. “Intensive Search for Navy Plane Feared Lost in Atlantic…” 11-11-1956.
–10 NFPA. “Large Loss Aircraft Fires of 1956.” Quarterly, Vol. 50, No. 4, April 1957, p. 319.

Narrative Information

Hoffman: “During 1956, VP-49 participated in the NATO exercises ‘Hourglass’, ‘New Broom’ and ‘Hunter-Killer’. On 9 November 1956, a VP-49 [Marlin] aircraft was lost during a patrol launched as part of the United States world-wide strategic response to the Anglo-French Suez invasion. The cause of the accident was unknown. The entire crew of ten was lost.” (Hoffman, R. (Capt. USN Ret). “Martin P5M Patrol Seaplane.” Naval Fighters, N.74, 2007, pp. 70-71.)

Forbes: “The Navy in Washington announced that missing from the aircraft were Petty Officer 3/C Wendell Frederick Beverly, son of Francis Louis Beverly, Ballou Lane, Williamstown, MA; Petty Officer 3/c Billy Gene Comer, son of James Vester Comer, Blossburg, AL; Petty Officer 3/C Jesse William Grable, son of Byford Otto Grable, 1305 Dover, Centralia, IL; Petty Officer 3/C Richard Woods Montgomery, son of Thaddeus Lemart Montgomery, 118 Colwyn Lane, Cynwyd, PA; Lieut. (jg) Charles William Patterson, husband of Billie Lawson Patterson, Naval Station, Bermuda; Petty Officer 2/C Lyle Freeman Quimby, husband of Karin Mae Quimby, Beachcrest Cottage, Rural Hill Paget, Bermuda, and son of Mrs. Earl Quimby, 3036 Colfax, North Minneapolis, MN; Leut.(jg) Cyrus Eugene Reid Jr., son of Mary Marshall Reid, Edgewater Drive, Dallas 5, TX; Airman Bobbie Lee Sanders, son of Mary Frye, 312 West 9th Street, Houston, TX; Comdr. John Milton Sweeney, husband of Mary Mathewson Sweeney, Mimosa Cottage, Warwick, Bermuda; Petty Officer 1/C Robert Wayne Taylor, husband of Shirley Marea Taylor, Elys Harbor Apartments, Somerset, Bermuda, and son of Mrs. Phillip Yedlik, Route 2, West Liberty, OH.” (Forbes, Keith Archibald. Bermuda’s aviation history and pioneers (website). 11-3-2012 update.)

Newspaper

Nov 10, Associated Press: “Norfolk, Va., Nov 10 (AP) – An intensive air and surface search was under way today for a Bermuda-based Navy seaplane with 10 persons aboard which reportedly crashed, at 8:16 p. m. Friday, 400 miles north of Bermuda.

“A spokesman for the Atlantic Fleet Air Force said here today that the plane was carrying a crew of seven enlisted men and three officers. The plane – a P5M seaplane — was assigned to Patrol Squadron 49 at Bermuda. It left Bermuda on a patrol flight with enough fuel to keep it aloft until 6:30 a. m. today. The Navy spokesman said the time of the crash was based on a report from the Liberian freighter Captain Lyras. Radio stations along the eastern seaboard received a radio message from the ship at 8:51 p. m., saying that it had seen a plane in flames overhead and felt a shock, presumably the crash of the plane in the area.

“Weather conditions at the time consisted of scattered clouds at 1500 feet and rain showers. Visibility was good and the seas moderate, the Navy reported.

“Navy and Coast Guard vessels in the area were diverted to the area where the plane was believed to have gone down. The Coast Guard cutter Chincoteague was scheduled to arrive about 10 a. m. A Coast Guard plane from Quonset, R. I., searched the area all night but with negative results. Planes from Patrol Squadron 49 were combing the area today.

“The Air Force Atlantic Fleet spokesman said the cause of the crash was not immediately known. The plane and its occupants are listed as ‘missing,’ he said. Identification of the plane’s crew members is being withheld pending notification of their next of kin.

“Search for the aircraft was being co-coordinated by the Commander Eastern Sea Frontier with headquarters in New York. The commander is Vice Adm. F. W. McMahon, USN, who formerly
headed the Atlantic Fleet Air Force.” (Lowell Sun, MA. “Intensive Search for Navy Plane Feared Lost in Atlantic Crash.” 11-11-1956, p. 6.)

Nov 10, United Press: “Hamilton, Bermuda (U.P.) – A U.S. Navy patrol bomber with 10 men aboard is missing in the Atlantic Ocean north of Bermuda, the Navy announced today. The P5M bomber, on a routine training flight, was last heard from Friday night [Nov 9].

“In New York, the Coast Guard said a Liberian freighter had reported Friday night that a plane exploded and crashed in flames off he Maryland coast. Poor visibility was reported in the area. The freighter said it had spotted a life raft with a light on it, but had lost it in heavy seas and rains.” (Bakersfield Californian. “Navy Bomber Missing With 10 Aboard.” 11-10-1956, p. 2.)

Nov 12: “New York (AP) – Naval aircraft and ships, searching for a missing seaplane with 10 men aboard, expected today to contact a Spanish freighter which reported sighting a white flare in the Atlantic. The freighter, the S.S. Astro, said it saw the flare some 300 miles northwest of Bermuda.” (Corpus Christi Times, TX. “Navy Seaplane Hunt Continues.” 11-12-1956, p. 19, col. 8.)

Sources

Bakersfield Californian. “Navy Bomber Missing With 10 Aboard.” 11-10-1956, p. 2. Accessed 11-5-2012 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=154153479

Corpus Christi Times, TX. “Navy Seaplane Hunt Continues.” 11-12-1956, p. 19, col. 8. Accessed 11-5-2012 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=85758621

Forbes, Keith Archibald. Bermuda’s aviation history and pioneers (website). 11-3-2012 update. Accessed 11-5-2012 at: http://www.bermuda-online.org/aviation.htm

Hoffman, Richard (USN Capt. Ret). “Martin P5M Patrol Seaplane.” Naval Fighters, Number 74. Ginter Books, 2007. Accessed 11-5-2012 at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/89414147/Naval-Fighters-74-Martin-P5M-Patrol-Seaplane

Lowell Sun, MA. “Intensive Search for Navy Plane Feared Lost in Atlantic Crash.” 11-11-1956, p. 6. Accessed 11-5-2012 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=55261220

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