crash 180M off Naha, Okinawa–29

lornajarrettblanchard September 22, 1960

–29 Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, pp. 78-79.
–29 Oneonta Star, NY. “Plane Crash Takes Lives of 29 Marines.” 9-23-1960, p. 1.
–29 Pacific Stars and Stripes. “Navy Probers Blame Blast for R5D Crash.” 9-25-1960, p. 8.
–29 Pacific Stars and Stripes. “No Survivors Found as R5D Crashes at Sea.” 9-24-1960, 24.
–29 Star-News, Pasadena, CA. “29 Marines Die in Crash.” 9-22-1960, p. 1.
–23 Baugher. US Navy…Marine…BuNos Third Series (50360 to 60009). 10-27-2011 rev.

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Douglas R5D-3….56541 (c/n 22191) ex-USAAF 43-17241. Crashed off Naha, Okinawa due to engine fire and fuel tank explosion Sep 22, 1960. 23 killed.” (Baugher. US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (50360 to 60009). 10-27-2011 rev.)

Gero:
“Date: 22 September 1960 (time unknown)
“Location: North Pacific Ocean
“Operator: US Marine Corps
“Aircraft type: Douglas R5D-3 (56541)

“The four-engine transport, carrying 29 American servicemen (23 passengers and a crew of six), had been en route from the naval base near Atsugi, Japan, to the installation at Subi Point, in the Philippines, when it sent a radio message reporting a fire in the No. 3 power plant and that it was diverting to Okinawa.

“In its last transmission, sent shortly after 14:00 local time, the aircraft was reported maintaining a height of 6,500ft (1,980m) and on a heading of 339 degrees, and also requested air/sea rescue assistance. Less than two hours later, floating debris was sighted from the air, the R5D having crashed at sea approximately 180 miles (290km) south of Naha, the capital of the island. Some 770lb (350kg) of wreckage from 56541 was subsequently recovered, much of it showing signs of flash burning, but no survivors or bodies were found.

“An investigative board could not determine the cause of the crash with certainty. According to available evidence, the most probable sequence of events was that the blaze reported in the No. 3 engine nacelle had been extinguished, but that a residual fire continued to burn, igniting one or both tyres on the right main undercarriage leg, and that one or both then exploded, rupturing the adjacent integral wing fuel tank. Fuel from the breached tank could then have created a combustible fuel/air mixture, resulting in a second explosion that either led to the break-up of the aircraft or significantly affected its airworthiness. The R5D probably disintegrated when it struck the surface of the water, with a flash fire possibly occurring on impact. The in-flight blaze was believed to have originated from an unidentified electrical or mechanical malfunction or from the detonation of an incendiary device that had been planted aboard prior to take-off. No unusual weather conditions were known to have existed along the route taken by 56541.” (pp. 78-79.)

Newspapers

Sep 22, UPI: “Subic Base, Philippines – UPI – A U.S. Marine Corps DC-6 airliner bound for the Philippines plunged into the sea 180 miles south of Okinawa today, killing all 29 persons aboard. Official Navy spokesman Dave Burckman said he had received word from authorities in Naha that there were no survivors among the 23 passengers and six crew members aboard the plane. He said one of the plane’s engines caught fire and the plane crash-landed in the Philippine Sea south of Okinawa. Authorities in Naha pinpointed the ditching scene 180 miles south-southeast of the island.

“The passengers were all Marines, Burckman said. They were bound for the U.S. Air Force base at Clark Field northeast of here.

“Air Force rescue authorities in Naha told UPI the ill-fated plane had departed from Atsugi Naval Air Station just outside Tokyo.

“The four-engine Marine transport broadcast a ‘May-day’ – the international radio distress signal – at 1:55 p.m. today. The radio operator told monitors at the 36th Air Rescue Squadron at Naha Air Base that the plane was trying to return to Okinawa for an emergency landing.

“It was the second plane disaster in the western Pacific involving American GIs within four days. Last Monday, a World Airways plane on a military charter flight slammed into the slopes of Mt. Barrigada on Guam, killing 78 of 94 persons aboard. That flight had left Clark Air Base near here in route to the United States via the Pacific island-hopping route.

“U.S. Air Force jet fighters ordered from Naha Air Base to the scene of the crash radioed they had ‘sighted bodies’. A destroyer from the U.S. 7th Fleet, the USS Perkins, was ordered to steam to the scene to pick up the bodies.” (Star-News, Pasadena, CA. “29 Marines Die in Crash.” 9-22-1960, p. 1.)

Sep 23, AP: “Naha, Okinawa (AP) – A four-engine U. S. Marine transport plane crashed into the Pacific Thursday, with 29 persons aboard. Ships and planes in the crash area 180 miles south-southeast of Okinawa found no sign of survivors. ‘There are a lot of bodies in life-jackets, and the destroyer Perkins is picking up the bodies,’ said Cmdr. John P. Crosby, operations officer of Naha naval air facility, after receiving a report from the carrier Oriskany. Planes from the Oriskany first spotted dye markers and debris, and directed surface rescue craft to the scene.

“Speculating, on the widespread wreckage, oil and dismembered bodies, a Navy spokesman at Naha suggested the plane may have exploded in the air.

“The Marine R5D transport, a military version of the DC6, was carrying 23 passengers and a crew of six from Atsugi, Japan, bound for Subic Point, Philippines. It flashed a distress signal, reported an engine afire and said it was ditching.” (Oneonta Star, NY. “Plane Crash Takes Lives of 29 Marines.” 9-23-1960, p. 1.)

Sep 24: “Naha, Okinawa – A Marine Corps transport plane en route from Japan to the Philippines with 29 persons crashed into the sea south of Okinawa Thursday afternoon, apparently killing all aboard. A Marine Corps spokesman said in Tokyo that the plane was carrying 23 Navy passengers and six marine crewmen.

“About 2 p.m. Thursday, radiomen at Naha AB, Okinawa, reported hearing a distress call from the plane. It said the No. 3 engine was afire and that there were 26 passengers aboard.

“Jets from the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing were sent to contact the plane but never found it. At the same time, SA-16 amphibious aircraft were sent from Naha AB, but they could not land at the crash scene because of rough seas.

“A few hours later, pilots returning from the area reported seeing bodies and debris scattered over a wide area. There were no signs of life. Navy Cdr. John T. Crosby of the Navy air facility at Naha said searchers reported seeing many bodies in life jackets, indicating that the pilot had planned to try to ditch the plane in the sea. Navy ships took up the search after darkness forced aircraft to turn back.” (Pacific Stars and Stripes. “No Survivors Found as R5D Crashes at Sea.” 9-24-1960, pp. 24 & 32.)

Sep 25: “S&S Okinawa Bureau. Naha, Okinawa – The head of a Marine Corps crash investigation board said Saturday that a R5D transport which crashed into the sea south of Okinawa Thursday apparently exploded in the air, killing all 29 aboard. Maj. James R. Coltrane, head of the investigating board, said it may have been that an engine exploded and sheared off a wing of the plane causing the four-engine transport to ‘drop like a rock.’

“Despite an intensive search by aircraft and ships of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, no bodies were recovered at the crash scene, about 180 miles south-southeast of Okinawa in the Philippine Sea. The navy earlier had reported that ships had picked up bodies from the crash.

“The destroyer Brown, one of the ships which participated in the search, arrived at Okinawa Saturday with wreckage from the crash scene. Lt. Cdr. William Beck, of San Diego, Cal., executive officer of the Brown, said, ‘We swept the area thoroughly, but sighted nothing but small pieces of the aircraft.’

“Search aircraft, dispatched to the area immediately after radiomen on Okinawa picked up a distress call from the stricken plane, reported seeing bodies in life, jackets floating in the water. However, by the time the first ships arrived at the scene—about two hours after the crash—there were no signs of survivors. The waters in the crash area were infested with sharks, Navy authorities said. Navy authorities said aircraft would continue to search the area although they consider chances very slight for finding any survivors.

“The 23 passengers aboard the plane were all assigned to the U.S. Navy Composite Photo Sq. 61, based on Guam. The six crewmen were marines assigned to Marine Transport Sq. 858 at Iwakuni MCAF, Japan.

“The plane, en route from Atsugi NAS, near Tokyo, to Cubi Point, P.I., was piloted by one of the few remaining enlisted pilots in the military, M/Sgt. R.F. Catlapp. Capt. F.H. Homewood was the co-pilot.” (Pacific Stars and Stripes. “Navy Probers Blame Blast for R5D Crash.” 9-25-1960, 8.)

Sources

Baugher, Joseph F. US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (50360 to 60009). Oct 27, 2011 revision. Accessed at: http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries6.html

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

Oneonta Star, NY. “Plane Crash Takes Lives of 29 Marines.” 9-23-1960, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=54132197

Pacific Stars and Stripes, Tokyo, Japan. “Navy Probers Blame Blast for R5D Crash.” 9-25-1960, p. 8. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=133185482

Pacific Stars and Stripes, Tokyo, Japan. “No Survivors Found as R5D Crashes at Sea.” 9-24-1960, 32. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=133185476

Star-News, Pasadena, CA. “29 Marines Die in Crash.” 9-22-1960, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=52914313