1956 — Oct 10, USN MATS plane, UK to Azores (1st leg), lost ~250M SE of Land’s End, Eng.–59

— 59 307th Bomb Wing B-47/KC-97 Association. “History of the 307th Bombardment Wing.”
— 59 Baugher. US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (130265 to 135773). 10-7-2011.
— 59 Council Bluffs Nonpareil, IA. “Signals Spur Sea Search for Plane.” 10-13-1956, p. 1.
— 59 Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 65.
— 59 Ogden Standard-Examiner, Utah. “U.S. Airplane with 59 Vanishes….” 10-11-1956, 1.
— 59 Titusville Herald, PA. “Hope Fades for 59 Men Aboard Missing Airplane.” 10-12-1956, 1.
— 59 US Air Force. “307th Bomb Wing.” 1-13-2011.

Narrative Information

307th Bomb Wing B-47/KC-97 Association: “10 October 1956, Redeployment from Lakenheath. During the first leg of their redeployment back to Lincoln, fifty wing personnel are lost aboard a Navy MATS C-118 enroute from Lakenheath to the Azores. An air/sea search was held for a week, with the only trace being two empty life rafts found off the northwest coast of Spain. Nine Navy crewmembers were also lost. A stunned base attended a Memorial Service at Lincoln on 29 October.” (307th Bomb Wing B-47/KC-97 Association. “History of the 307th Bombardment Wing (Medium), and the 307th AREFS, Lincoln AFB, Nebraska, 1954-1965.”)

Baugher: “131588 (c/n 43691) disappeared off Lands End, UK Oct 10, 1956. 59 missing. Plane was filled with personnel from the 307th BW stationed at Lincoln AFB, NB [NE]. They were returning from England after a 90-day TDY. No trace of the plane was ever found.” (Baugher. US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (130265 to 135773). 10-7-2011.)

Gero: “
“Date: 10 October 1956 (c.22:00)
“Location: North Atlantic Ocean
“Operator: US Navy
“Aircraft type: Douglas R6D-1 (131588)

“Operated by MATS, the aircraft had taken off from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, Suffolk, England, with an ultimate destination of McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey, US. It was carrying 59 American servicemen, including a crew of nine Navy personnel; all the passengers were members of the US Air Force. With a planned stop at Lajes Air Base, in the Azores, the four-engine transport was on the first segment of the transatlantic flight when it met with disaster, the circumstances of which will probably for ever remain a mystery. Its last known position report was sent at 20:55 local time, at which time, and in accordance with its flight plan, the aircraft would have ben cruising in darkness at an approximate height of 15,000ft (5,000m). A search that began after it was reported missing failed to find any survivors or victims’ bodies. Subsequently, wreckage identified as belonging to the R6D, a life raft and a main undercarriage gear leg, with the two wheels still attached, were recovered 250 miles (400km) south-west of Land’s End England, and examination of the tyres [tires] revealed traces of post-impact fire. Two aircraft that had flown the same course before and after 131588 described the weather along the route as consisting of a scattered to broken overcast, with cloud tops at around 5,000ft (1,500m). With regard to the possibility of a malicious act, it was noted in the investigative report that normal security measures had been in effect at the Lakenheath air base before the departure of the transport.”

Lincoln Air Force Base Online Museum: “10 Oct 1956 C-118 Crash off Azores. Combined members of the 307th Bomb Wing flown by a U.S. Navy crew. A massive multi-national search ensued for weeks afterward bringing in dozens of ships and aircraft to search for the downed airmen and crew. Unfortunately nothing was ever found of the aircraft.

Captain Kenneth E Goodroe
Captain Robert W Ryan
MSgt William A Caisse
SSgt Thomas I DeCota
A1C Alton J Gaines
A1C Orest D Giancola
A1C Billy B Grogan
A1C Eugene D Gruenberg
A1C Richard K Hunter
A1C Ronald L King
A1C Robert Lada
A1C Joseph D Loontiens
A1C Michael C Macedonia
A1C Ronald F Mountain
A1C Stanley L Osgar
A1C Keith A Peterson
A1C James L Schorr
A1C Robert C Urban
A1C Earl F Vasey
A1C Herbert A Banks
A2C Albert L Beard
A2C Dale R Brockman
A2C Conrad J Buehler Jr
A2C Edmond R DeWolf
A2C John F Disanto
A2C Raymond E Drake
A2C Lyle C Giberson
A2C Gene O Godfrey
A2C Cloyse A Hepler
A2C Gerard A Hummel
A2C Robert H Lipina
A2C George F Luce
A2C William R Ray
A2C Leonard J Roman
A2C Henry J Schuver
A2C Robert D Spurling A
A2C James B Whitlock
A2C Frank C Williamson
A3C Roscoe F Deel
A3C Willie B Ferguson
A3C Ronald L Gardner
A3C Charles W Hannah
A3C Lloyd D Harding
A3C Lee R Kane
A3C Sherman W Lock
A3C Ralph M Pacelli
A3C Donald L Reynolds
A3C Abelardo Siller Jr
A3C Bruce B Stewart
A3C Earl E Tanner.”

(Lincoln Air Force Base Online Museum. “Those Who Gave the Ultimate Sacrifice.” 2011.)

USAF: “During the first leg of their redeployment back to Lincoln, fifty wing personnel are lost aboard a Navy MATS C-118 enroute from Lakenheath to the Azores. An air/sea search was held for a week, with the only trace being two empty life rafts found off the northwest coast of Spain. Nine Navy crewmembers were also lost. A stunned base attended a Memorial Service at Lincoln on October 29, 1956.” (USAF. “307th Bomb Wing.” 1-13-2011.)

Newspapers

Oct 11: “Lake Heath, England (AP) – A U. S. military transport plane with 59 aboard vanished over the eastern Atlantic today. Scores of planes and ships started a far-flung search. The missing craft, a giant C118 Liftmaster of the Military Air Transport Service, was carrying two Air Force officers and 48 Air Force enlisted men back to the United States after duty in England. Also aboard was a nine-man Navy [flight] crew of three officers and six enlisted men.

“The four-engine plane, military version of the civilian DC6, left this American base, 60 miles north of London at 6:26 p.m. (11:26 p.m. MST) yesterday on a 1,200-mile leg to the Lajes Air Force Base in the Azores. It was last heard from at 8:36 p.m., when it was approximately 180 miles southwest of Land’s End, Britain’s most westerly point. The transport was due at Lajes at 12:21 a.m. today (5:21 p. m. MST Wednesday). When it last reported back to base here it still had enough fuel to keep it airborne until 5:30 a.m. (10:30 p.m. MST). At 4 a.m., however, American and British military authorities ordered a gigantic search of the entire ocean area from England, to The Azores, on a presumption the plane was down somewhere in the Atlantic.

“Normally planes of MATS have three or more life rafts; each capable of carrying 20 men. Passengers are required to wear “Mae West” lifejackets to sustain them in the water in case of a crash at sea.

“The Liftmaster, believed to have arrived in Britain from its U. S. base two days ago, at first was believed to have been carrying some wives and children of U. S. servicemen on its return flight. This fear was dispelled by an Air Force spokesman, who said only military personnel were aboard.

“By noon today the planes engaged in the search had swelled to 20, including three six-engine U. S. B47 jet bombers flying at high altitude and using radar in an effort to pick up some clue. Other British, American, and Portuguese Air Force planes from Germany, France, North Africa and the Azores coursed the eastern Atlantic, and all shipping in the area was asked to be on the alert for signs of wreckage or survivors. The search was aided by excellent weather and visibility up to 18 miles. Rescue operations were being directed from St. Magwans, Wales.

“An Air Force spokesman said the Liftmaster would have flown on from the Azores to either Westover Field, Mass., or McGuire Field, N. J., depending on the weather.” (Ogden Standard-Examiner, Utah. “U.S. Airplane with 59 Vanishes Over Atlantic.” 10-11-1956, 1.)

Oct 12: “New York, Friday, Oct. 12 (AP) – Pan American World Airways reported early today three of its planes crossing the Atlantic heard distress signals from the missing U. S. Air Force plane.

“Lakenheath, England, Oct. 11 (AP) — An armada of aircraft, including giant jet bombers, crisscrossed Atlantic waters tonight in a great search for a U. S. military transport plane missing with 59 men aboard. The hours yielded only fading hope that the Air Force personnel and Navy crew of the huge C118 Liftmaster were alive. The missing plane is the military version of the civilian DC6.

“Even while the night searchers peered hopefully over the smooth waters for flares from possible
survivors, the mystery deepened as to just what happened to the missing plane. The homeward bound Liftmaster vanished sometime, somewhere, between Lands End and the Azores….

“Aboard the Liftmaster were 3 Air Force officers and 48 enlisted men returning to the Lincoln, Neb., Air Force Base in the United States after a tour of duty in Britain. The Navy crew consisted of three officers and six enlisted men….

“There had been no message from any of the radio sets which were included in the three survival
rafts known to be aboard the missing aircraft….

“Rescue operations were under command of U.S. Air Force. Maj. James Goodwin of Easthampton, N.Y. A total of 33 planes were taking part in the search, which was believed the largest such operation ever carried out over water. At one time today, 27 planes were in the air simultaneously.” (Titusville Herald, PA. “Hope Fades for 59 Men…Airplane.” 10-12-1956, 1.)

Oct 13: “Lincoln….Brig. Gen. Claude E. Putnam, commander of the [Lincoln AFB] 818th Air Division told newsmen….that if he had to ‘guess’ he would guess that the C-118 exploded in mid-air….” (Council Bluffs Nonpareil, IA. “Signals Spur Sea Search for Plane; No Hint of Success.” 10-13-1956, 1.)

Sources

307th Bomb Wing B-47/KC-97 Association. “History of the 307th Bombardment Wing (Medium), and the 307th AREFS, Lincoln AFB, Nebraska, 1954-1965.” Accessed 11-17-2011 at: http://www.307bwassoc.org/history.htm#1956

Baugher, Joseph F. US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (130265 to 135773). Oct 7, 2011 update. Accessed at: http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries15.html

Council Bluffs Nonpareil, IA. “Signals Spur Sea Search for Plane; No Hint of Success.” 10-13-1956, p. 1. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=4309095

Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.

Lincoln Air Force Base Online Museum. “Those Who Gave the Ultimate Sacrifice.” Accessed 11-17-2011 at: http://www.lincolnafb.org/crashes.php

Ogden Standard-Examiner, UT. “U.S. Airplane with 59 Vanishes Over Atlantic.” 10-11-1956, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com

Titusville Herald, PA. “Hope Fades for 59 Men Aboard Missing Airplane.” 10-12-1956, p.1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=102948540

United States Air Force. “307th Bomb Wing.” 1-13-2011. Accessed 11-17-2011 at: http://www.307bw.afrc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=17721