1962 — May 27, Dover AFB USAF C133 Cargomaster Crash, Atlantic off Dover, DE — 6

— 6 AP. “Search for Lost Place Continues.” Republican-Courier, Findlay, OH. 5-29-1962, p. 1.
— 6 Aviation Safety Network. USAF C-1331 Cargomaster, 27May1962, off Dover AFB, DE, 6.
— 6 Baugher, Joseph F. 1957 USAF Serial Numbers. 1-21-2012 revision.

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Douglas C-133A-35-DL Cargomaster c/n 45508…1611 crashed near Shad Intersection (in Atlantic off Dover, DE, 32 min after takeoff from Dover AFB, DE May 27, 1962. 6 crew killed.” (Baugher, Joseph F. 1957 USAF Serial Numbers. 1-21-2012 revision.)

Newspapers

May 27, NYT: “Dover, Del., May 27 (AP) – The Air Force reported tonight that a C-133 cargo plane had been officially listed as missing on a flight from Dover Air Force base to Lajes in the Azores. An Air Force spokesman said the plane had taken off from Dover at 8:18 A.M. today and had last been heard from about fifty miles east of Dover. The plane, commanded by First Lieut. James Higgins of Dover, was due at Lajes at 5:09 P.M. The search was begun at noon, the Air Force said, when the plane filed to make a compulsory radio report about 150 miles east of Dover.

“Isolated thunder storms were reported in the area where the last contact was made with the plane, the Air Force said. The plane had fuel for a little more than twelve hours.” (New York Times. “Air Force Hunting Plane Missing on Azores Flight.” 5-28-1962, p. 56.)

May 29, AP: “Dover, Del. (AP) – Coast Guard vessels arrived late Monday at a spot in the Atlantic Ocean where two empty life rafts and a piece of wreckage had been sighted in a continuing search for an Air Force plane that disappeared Sunday with six crew members aboard. The Coast Guard said the sea-going tug Cherokee and a 95-foot patrol boat had rendezvoused with a German freighter which had been standing by the rafts. The Coast Guard’s vessels immediately began an exhaustive search of the area.

“The rafts were sighted, said the Coast Guard, about 70 miles southeast of Cape May, N.J., and 50 miles east of the Delaware coast.

“The C133, reportedly carrying classified cargo on a trip to the Lajes Air Force Base in the Azores, left the Dover Air Force Base Sunday….

“The Coast Guard at New York said one of 47 search planes had spotted the rafts and what appeared to be the nose gear of the missing aircraft. One raft was picked up by the German freighter, Sankt Marien, en route from Jacksonville, Fla. To New York. The other raft sank, and the nose-wheel wreckage turned out to be one double tire. The Coast Guard said the tire was tentatively identified as one from the missing plane….

“Dover AFB said the crew members were: 1st Lt. James Higgins, 28, the pilot, Worcester, Mass.; 1st Lt. Robert J. Faller, 24, co-pilot, Harrisburg, Pa.; 1st Lt. Danny Hawkins, 27, navigator, Fairmont, W.Va.; M. Sgt. William P. Wert, 40, flight engineer, Poland, Ohio; T. Sgt. Fred Parson, 31, flight engineer, Portland, Ore., or Grant’s Pass, Ore.; and S. Sgt. Clifford A. Parker, 32, load master, Devine, Tex.” (Associated Press. “Search for Lost Place Continues.” Republican-Courier, Findlay, OH. 5-29-1962, p. 1.)
Sources

Associated Press. “Search for Lost Place Continues.” Republican-Courier, Findlay, OH. 5-29-1962, p. 1. Accessed 10-1-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/findlay-republican-courier-may-29-1962-p-1/

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. USAF C-1331 Cargomaster, 27May1962, off Dover AFB, DE, 6 fatalities. Accessed 10-1-2022 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19620527-0

Baugher, Joseph F. 1957 USAF Serial Numbers. 1-21-2012 revision. Accessed 2-22-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1957.html

New York Times. “Air Force Hunting Plane Missing on Azores Flight.” 5-28-1962, p. 56. Accessed 10-1-2022 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1962/05/28/82765074.html?pageNumber=56