1960 — Dec 17, USAF C-131 Samaritan Takeoff Crash, Munich, Germany –20 US of 51-53

–50-60 Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, VA. “Munich Plane Crash Kills 50-60…” 12-17-1960
— 53 Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 79-80.
— 53 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 636.
— 52 Aviation Safety Network. USAF Convair C-131D, Munchen-Riem Airport, 17Dec1960
— 52 Baugher. 1955 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 rev.
— 52 Wikipedia. “1960 Munich Convair 340 crash.” 6-10-2011 modification.
— 51 Kebabjian, Richard. “1960.” Planecrashinfo.com
— 51 Ironwood Daily Globe, MI. “Jet Crash in Munich Claims 51st Victim.” 12-22-1960, 1.
— 50 Morgantown Post, WV. “50th Victim of Air Crash Dies.” 12-20-1960, 4.
— 49 The Sun, Yuma, AZ. “No Resentment Found in Munich Over…Tragedy.” 12-19-1960, 4

Narrative Information
Aviation Safety Network:
“Time: 14:10….
“Registration: 55-0291….
“First flight: 1955
“Crew: Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
“Passengers: Fatalities: 13 / Occupants: 13
“Total: Fatalities: 20 / Occupants: 20
“Ground casualties: Fatalities: 32….
“Location: 10 km (6.3 mls W of Munchen-Riem Airport…Germany….
“Destination airport: London-Northolt Airport…

“Narrative: A Convair C-131D military transport plane was destroyed when it crashed into a street in Munich, Germany. All seven crew members and thirteen passengers were killed. A total of 32 people were killed on the ground. The airplane had just taken off from München-Riem Airport (MUC) and overflew the Munich city centre at low altitude. It clipped the steeple of the St. Paul’s church and then crashed onto a streetcar at the corner of Bayer Street.” (Aviation Safety Network. United States Air Force Convair C-131D Munchen-Riem Airport, 17 Dec 1960.)

Baugher: “Convair C-131D-CO Samaritan…. 291 (c/n 212) was N8433H before USAF service. Crashed on takeoff Munich, West Germany Dec 17, 1960. 20 on board and 32 on ground killed.” (Baugher. 1955 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 rev.)

Gero:
“Date: 17 December 1960 (c.14:10)
“Location: Munich, West Germany
“Operator: US Air Force
“Aircraft type: Convair C-131D (55-291)

“Nearly all of the passengers on this flight to England were American college students, the children of American military personnel, who had been returning to their families for the Christmas holiday. Bound for Royal Air Force, Northolt, London, the twin-engine transport had been airborne for only about a minute when the co-pilot radioed that it was returning to Riem Airport, serving Munich, from where it had taken off, its left propeller having been feathered. Shortly thereafter, in response to a request by the radar controller to ascend to 3,000ft (1,000m), the same crewman reported that the aircraft, then at a height of 2,200ft (670m), was unable to climb. His voice sounding excited, he also requested the airport crash crew to stand by. Subsequently, and while on an approxi¬mate heading of 320 degrees and at a height of about 470ft (140m) above the ground, 55-291 struck, with its port wing, a steeple of St Paul’s Cathedral church, plummeted into a business section of the city, crashing in an almost inverted, left wing-low attitude, then exploded and burned. The disaster claimed the lives of 33 persons on the ground, nearly half of whom had been riding in a streetcar that was struck by an engine and gutted by fire, and all 20 occupants of the aircraft. Among the latter, one passenger and the seven crew members were American military personnel. About a dozen others suffered injuries.

“…with the temperature below freezing, the conditions were conducive to carburetor icing, which could have caused a power loss. Significantly, examination of the power plant that was reported to have malfunc¬tioned revealed a collection of water in the inlet side of the left fuel tank booster pump, and disas¬sembly of the pump disclosed even more water. It was further noted in the investigative report that difficulty had been experienced in starting both engines. However, the exact cause of the crash was not disclosed by military authorities.” (Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 79-80.)

Kebabjian: “Summary: The aircraft lost an engine on takeoff from Munich. Unable to maintain height, it crashed into St. Paul’s Cathedral church and into a business section of the city killing 31 on the ground. A collection of water was found in the fuel tank booster pump.” (Kebabjian, Richard. “1960.” Planecrashinfo.com)

Newspapers

Dec 17: “Munich, Germany (AP) – A U.S. Air Force transport plane carrying American students home for Christmas plunged into the heart of Munich today. Police said 50 to 60 persons perished.

“At least 30 Christmas shoppers in the busy streets of this ancient Bavarian capital suffered critical injuries in the fiery crash. Police expressed belief that all 20 persons aboard the plane, perhaps 35 persons on a crowded streetcar struck by the plunging plane, and 10 or 15 persons on the streets perished.

“The two-engine plane dove on the city four minutes after the take off from Munich-Rein Airport. Flying at low altitude and already burning it knocked off a church steeple and then crashed into a packed street car.

“Air Force headquarters in London said American students from the U.S. University of Maryland at Munich were believed among those killed.

“A spokesman said the students would have been dependents of U.S. military personnel stationed in England. The plane carried seven crew members and 13 passengers.

“An Air Force spokesman in Washington said the plane was attached to the 3rd Air Force and had just taken off for home base at Nordholt, England.

“It was the world’s second plane crash upon a city in two days. Friday, two planes collided and fell on New York City with a loss of 136 lives.

“Police said at least five persons strolling through Munich’s busy downtown section this pre-Christmas Saturday were killed by flying debris.

“….the plane…crashed near St. Paul’s church, corner of Bayer Street….A shop-owner near the crash scene said:

‘The big plane came down like a wartime German dive bomber. It made a horrible whining noise. We all dashed for shelter. Then came an explosion which threw us against the wall. We ran outside. There was a burning mass of plane and street car. People living in the neighborhood of the crash scene rushed to the rescue of those injured, laying moaning in the street. Firefighters and Red Cross ambulances arrived with sirens wailing. It was a terrible inferno.’

“The parish priest of St. Paul’s, Father Karl Froelign, 54, said: ‘It was terrible. The burning plane flew very low. It was visibly losing height. It shaved off the steeple and then plunged into a streetcar jammed with passengers…..

“`The fuselage burst like an exploding shell,’ said Miss Maria Tauber, 32, who saw the tragedy from St. Paul’s main gate.

“The nearby Spatenbreau beer-hall, where the U.S. Army stores furniture, caught fire….” (Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg VA. “Munich Plane Crash Kills 50-60 Today.” 12-17-1960, p.1.)

Dec 19: “….There still was no official explanation of what caused the recently overhauled twin-engined Convair C131, with experienced pilots in the cockpit to crash….

“They [German citizens interviewed for the article] gave thanks for quick expressions of condolence from President Eisenhower down to local U.S. military commanders for the 29 Germans killed. Another 16 Germans were injured, nine critically….

“Twelve of the victims aboard the plane were U.S. students who lived in Munich. They were enroute to England to join their parents. One passenger was a soldier who hitched a ride and the other seven were crewmen.

“Eighteen of the German victims were passengers in the trolley car. The others were passersby struck by wreckage or doused by flaming gasoline….” (The Sun, Yuma, AZ. “No Resentment Found in Munich Over Air Tragedy.” 12-19-1960, p. 4.)

Dec 20: “Munich, Germany (AP) – Another German injured in the crash of a U.S. military plane into a Munich street died today, bringing the total dead to 50. Police said of the 16 Germans still hospitalized as a result of the crash Saturday, several were in very critical conditions.

“A U.S. Air Force Convair developed engine trouble after taking off from a Munich airfield….

“…another German died Saturday night in the hospital.

“The American dead were the seven crew members of the plane, 12 children of U. S military personnel on their way to spend Christmas with their families in Britain, and a soldier going to London to visit his brother.” (Morgantown Post, WV. “50th Victim of Air Crash Dies.” 12-20-1960, 4.)

Dec 22: “Munich, Germany (AP) – The crash of a U.S. Air Force Convair jet into a streetcar packed with Christmas shoppers last Saturday claimed its 51st victim today with the death of Ingeborg Kraus, 19, a Munich clerk. Thirteen other Germans are still in the hospital with severe burns from the crash. All 20 Americans aboard the plane were killed.” (Ironwood Daily Globe, MI. “Jet Crash in Munich Claims 51st Victim.” 12-22-1960, 1.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network. Accident description. United States Air Force, Convair C-131D Munchen-Riem Airport, 17 Dec 1960. http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19601217-0

Baugher, Joseph F. 1955 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-29-2011 revision. Accessed 1-14-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1955.html

Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, VA. “Munich Plane Crash Kills 50-60 Today.” 12-17-1960, p. 1. Accessed 11-9-2022 at: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yKoRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=becDAAAAIBAJ&dq=munich&pg=1454%2C5387073

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

Ironwood Daily Globe, MI. “Jet Crash in Munich Claims 51st Victim.” 12-22-1960, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=11068226

Kebabjian, Richard. 1960. Planecrashinfo.com. Accessed 2-20-2012 at: http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1960/1960-61.htm

Morgantown Post, WV. “50th Victim of Air Crash Dies.” 12-20-1960, 4. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=34616216

Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours – A Narrative Encyclopedia of Worldwide Disasters from Ancient Times to the Present. New York: Pocket Books, Wallaby, 1977, 792 pages.

The Sun, Yuma, AZ. “No Resentment Found in Munich Over Air Tragedy.” 12-19-1960, 4. accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=5014602

Wikipedia. “1960 Munich Convair 340 crash.” 6-10-2011 modification. Accessed 2-20-2012 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Munich_Convair_340_crash