1956 — Aug 31, Eielson AFB AK WB-50 plane crash 50 miles north of Anchorage AK–all 11

— 11 Air Weather Recon Assoc. “Gone, But Not Forgotten.” Accessed 12-23-2011
— 11 Arlington Nat. Cemetery. “United States Air Force–Aircrew 31 August 1956. 3-15-2023.
— 11 Baugher. 1949 USAF Serial Numbers. 8-17-2011 rev.
— 11 Logansport Pharos-Tribune, IN. “Weather Plane Plunge Kills 11 in Alaska.” 9-1-1956, 11

Narrative Information

Air Weather Recon Association: “WB-50 49-315 “The Golden Heart” 31 Aug 56 58th WRS Eielson AFB, AK

Maj Dale Richardson
Capt Leonard N. Chapman, Jr.
Capt Everett E. Dyson
1Lt William J. Wolters, Jr.
2Lt William W. Faustlin
MSgt Fred T. Gregg, Jr.
TSgt Richard K. Brown
SSgt Ronald R. Ragland
A2C Melvin O. Lindsey
A2C Elijah Spencer
A3C Douglas W. Maxon”

(Air Weather Recon Assoc. “Gone, But Not Forgotten.” Accessed 12-23-2011.)

Arlington National Cemetery: “Cold War Warriors Honored
“Questions remain as to the air worthiness of their planes.

“It was the late summer of 1956. The Korean War was over. But, the Cold War was in full swing. The Soviet Union and United States were locked in a nuclear chess game, each trying to checkmate the other without turning the world into an orbiting cinder.

“One of the strategies was to use every means possible, short to military confrontation, to find out where the other was in nuclear technology. Above ground testing of nuclear weapons was still taking place. Those tests often filled the upper atmosphere with telltale particles.

“Capturing and analyzing those particles was central to building that store of clandestine knowledge. And, what better way to perform such a task than with so-called weather reconnaissance flights close to the Soviet border, out of Alaska, and over the Bering Straits.

“August 31, 1956 “The Golden Heart,” a WB-50D weather reconnaissance plane, actually a modified World War II B29, took off from Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. An hour into the flight it crashed killing all 11 on board. Among those were co-pilot Major Dale Richardson, of Arlington; First Lieutenant William John Wolters Jr., of New York; and Airman Melvin O. Lindsey, of the Gum Springs community in Mount Vernon. They are all buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

“Last Saturday, to mark the 50th Anniversary of their deaths, families of the three gathered at the cemetery’s Old Amphitheatre to mark the occasion and celebrate their lives. At the time of their funerals, Cold War warriors passed silently into eternity so as not to admit one side or the other had lost a pawn on the chess board international intrigue….

“Three other planes of the same configuration crashed within one month of the Golden Heart… There were 72 men killed while flying those modified B29’s…..

“The particles captured by the plane were returned to the United States for analysis of the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons capabilities. Like many others assigned to the 58th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, the Golden Heart crew was well aware of their true mission….”

Baugher: “Boeing B-50D-115-BO Superfortress…315 converted to WB-50D weather recon aircraft. Assigned to 58 WRS at Eielson AFB, AK. Crashed 1 hr after takeoff Aug 31, 1956. 11 killed.” (Baugher. 1949 USAF Serial Numbers. 8-17-2011 revision.)

Newspaper

Sep 1, United Press: “Anchorage, Alaska (UP) – Nine of the 11 men killed in Friday’s crash of a B50 weather plane 50 miles north of Anchorage have been identified, the Air Force at Elmendorf Air Force Base said today….

“Ken Whittaker of the Anchorage Daily News staff flew over the crash scene on an island in the Susitna River in a light plane Friday. Whittaker said the wreckage was in a small clearing near the water and that nearby trees, which probably would have been damaged had they been struck by the falling plane, were unharmed. Earlier the Air Force said it appeared the giant four-engined plane pancaked into the island.

“Maj. John Orr, public information officer at Eielson AFB, said the plane was on a routine weather flight from Eielson when it crashed. However, officials at Eielson said the craft was on a special mission for the 58th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron.

“Friday’s crash was the second in less than 30 hours in Alaska. A Canadian Pacific airliner with 22 persons aboard crashed at Cold Bay on the Alaskan Peninsula Thursday, killing 15 persons.

“Earlier this week eight men bailed out of a tanker plane near here and seven of them were still missing and learned to have perished in the icy waters of Cook Inlet.” (Logansport Pharos-Tribune, IN. “Weather Plane Plunge Kills 11 in Alaska.” 9-1-1956, p. 11.)

Sources

Air Weather Recon Assoc. “Gone, But Not Forgotten.” Accessed 12-23-2011 at: http://www.awra.us/gallery-may05.html

Arlington National Cemetery, Michael Robert Patterson. “United States Air Force–Aircrew 31 August 1956. 3-15-2023. Accessed 3-20-2023 at: https://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/aircrew-08311956.htm

Baugher, Joseph F. 1949 USAF Serial Numbers. Aug 17 2011 revision. Accessed at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1949.html

Logansport Pharos-Tribune, IN. “Weather Plane Plunge Kills 11 in Alaska.” 9-1-1956, 11. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=85059083