1955 — Aug 11, two USAF C-119 Flying Boxcars collide over Edelweiler, Germany –all 66

lornajarrettblanchard August 11, 1955

–66 American Forces Press Svc. “Germans, Americans Honor Fallen U.S. troops.” 10-10-2008.
–66 Aviation Safety Network. “1955.” USAF Flying Boxcars, Edelweiler, Germany.
–19 Registration No. 53-3222
–47 Registration No. 53-7841
–66 Edwardsville Intelligencer, IL. “Army Gathers Bodies of Plane Disaster Victims.” 8-12-‘55
–66 Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, pp. 62-63.
–66 Socrata, the Open Data Co. Airplane_Crashes_and_Fatalities_Since_1908(1).
–66 Wisconsin Rapids Tribune, WI. “66 American Soldiers and Airmen Killed.” 8-11-1955, 1
–61 Baugher. 1953 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-27-2011 rev.

Narrative Information

American Forces Press Service: “Stuttgart, Germany, Oct. 10, 2008 — An eyewitness never forgets. So was the case on Aug. 11, 1955. On that day, two C-199 Flying Boxcar planes collided in midair 45 miles south of here. One crashed in a field close to the village of Edelweiler. The other spiraled into the woods near Grömbach. Sixty-six American airmen and soldiers died. “It was the worst aviation disaster in Europe since the end of the Second World War,” James McNaughton, U.S. European Command historian, said.

“No one survived. What did survive, though, was the memory that many residents still hold today. “A lot of people here are connected to this tragedy,” Edelweiler Deputy Mayor Thomas Sannert said. “It happened in front of their eyes. The accident is part of our town’s local history.”

Karl Bross, a farmer from Edelweiler, was 36 years old when the two planes collided 4,000 feet above his fields. Since that ill-fated day, he has not farmed the place on his land where one of the planes came down. Steel parts still are embedded in the ground, and during heavy rains, oil seeps up to the surface, leaving a purplish, damp residue, he said.

“For decades after the accident, local farmers would take relatives of the fallen to the crash site. To this day, many residents still stay in touch with grandchildren of the fallen soldiers and airmen by mail, said Gudrun Kaper, a U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart host nation liaison. “There has always been a feeling of closeness since the accident,” she said.

“In 1993, Karl Ziegler, a local forest ranger, planted an oak tree near the crash site. Village officials later set it aside as a memorial. “They have always treated it like a cemetery,” Kaper said.

“Several years ago, a large stone was placed near the tree. And last year, a steel plate was added to the stone, etched with the names of the 66 fallen Americans.

“In each case, Germans and Americans gathered to honor the dead by name in a religious ceremony marked by reflection and prayer.

“This year – 53 years after the crash – the unfinished work continues. A stone similar to the one just outside Edelweiler was placed at the site where the second plane spiraled into the forest.”
(American Forces Press Svc. “Germans, Americans Honor Fallen U.S. troops.” 10-10-2008.)

Aviation Safety Network: [1st plane]
“Date: Wednesday 10 August 1955
“Type: Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar
“Operator: United States Air Force – USAF
“Registration: 53-3222
“MSN: 11238
….
“Crew: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
“Passengers: Fatalities: 14 / Occupants: 14
“Total: Fatalities: 19 / Occupants: 19
“Collision casualties: Fatalities: 47
….
“Location: Edelweiler Germany
“Phase: En route (ENR)
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Stuttgart-Echterdingen Airport…Germany
“Destination airport: ?
“Narrative:

“A flight of nine USAF planes departed Echterdingen on a training mission with troops. Initial reports said that one C-119 developed engine trouble at an altitude of 4,000 feet. The plane lost altitude momentarily, then pulled up abruptly, striking another C-119 aircraft in the formation. Both Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcars (53-3222 and 53-7841) crashed.”

Aviation Safety Network: [2nd plane]
“Date: Wednesday 10 August 1955
“Type: Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar
“Operator: United States Air Force – USAF
“Registration: 53-7841
“MSN: 11258
….
“Crew: Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6
“Passengers: Fatalities: 41 / Occupants: 41
“Total: Fatalities: 47 / Occupants: 47
“Collision casualties: Fatalities: 19
….
“Location: Edelweiler Germany
“Phase: En route (ENR)
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Stuttgart-Echterdingen Airport…Germany
“Destination airport: ?
“Narrative:

Baugher: “Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar….3222 (c/n 11238). With 10th TCS, in midair collision with 53-7841 over Edelweiler, Germany Aug 11, 1955 during training exercise. Total of 61 killed.” (Baugher. 1953 USAF Serial Numbers. 10-27-2011 rev.)

Gero:
“Date: 11 August 1955 (c.14:20)
“Location: Near Edelweiler, West Germany

“First aircraft
“Operator: US Air Force
“Type: Fairchild C-119G (53-3222)

“Second aircraft
“Operator: US Air Force
“Type: Fairchild C-119G (53-7841)

“The two aircraft involved in this disaster were members of a flight of nine ‘Flying Boxcar’ transports participating in a joint US military exercise out of Echterdingen Air Base, located near Stuttgart, their passengers all army soldiers.

“Proceeding in a westerly direction in good meteorological conditions, with a visibility of more than 10 miles (15km) and layers of scattered clouds at 3,000ft (1000m) and at 20,000ft (6,000m), the group had begun a left turn back towards the east at a height of 4,000ft (1,200m), or about 2,000ft (600m) above the terrain, when 3222 reported losing its left power plant and that it was leaving the formation. Shortly thereafter, that C-119 collided with 7841. Both transports then plummeted to the ground 30 miles (50km0 west of the city of Stuttgart, disintegrated and burned.

“Ad total of 66 American servicemen perished in the accident, 46 aboard 7841 and 20 aboard 3222; 10 of the victims were Air Force personnel, the two five-member crews assigned to each aircraft. There were no survivors.

“After its final message had been acknowledged by the lead aircraft, which then cleared it to a heading of 80 degrees, 3222 started a descending turn to the left, but as it was passing under 7841, the latter inexplicably also began to descend in a left bank, resulting in the collision. The underside of the nose section of 7841 struck the left vertical stabilizer of 3222, the impact severing the latter’s starboard boom and tail section. The collision could have rendered the controls of 7841 inoperative, and/or sent flying debris into the cockpit, incapacitating the two pilots. Falling into a spin, 3222 crashed into a wooded area in a flat attitude, while 7841 continued straight-and level for a few seconds before going into a right turn, finally crashing into a field in a steep nose-down, inverted attitude. Whereas 3222 used the correct procedures in exiting the group, 7841 had failed to maintain its position in the formation.” (Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, pp. 62-63.)

Socrata: “Forty-six aboard 7841 and 20 aboard 3222 were killed.” (Socrata, the Open Data Co. Airplane_Crashes_and_Fatalities_Since_1908(1).)

Newspapers

Aug 11, AP: “Stuttgart, Germany (AP) – Two Flying Boxcar transports collided in the air and crashed into the Black Forest today [Aug 11]. The U.S. Air Force announced 66 men were killed. The Air Force said the death toll included the crews of the two American aircraft as well as soldiers being transported. The flying Boxcars have a normal seating capacity of 67, with a maximum capacity of 78.

“Police said the two planes were taking part with eight other aircraft in a transport exercise and had taken off from the U.S. Airfield at Echterdingen, at Stuttgart.

“The crash occurred near Edelweiler, a village in the Black Forest near Freudenstadt.

“The Air Force announcement said:

Initial reports said that one plane developed engine trouble just after takeoff, after reaching a cruising level of 4,000 feet. The crippled plane lost altitude momentarily, then pulled up abruptly across the front of another aircraft in the formation. The crippled plane went down immediately. The second plane flew level for almost one minute, then went out of control and nosed into the ground.

“The announced death toll would make this the fourth worst air disaster in history. A total of 129 U.S. servicemen died in the flaming wreckage of a C-124 Globemaster near Tokyo in 1953. In 1952 another C-124 crashed on taking off from Larson Air Force Base, in Washington state, killing 87. In 1950, a commercial plane carrying soccer fans crashed at Cardiff, Wales, with death toll of 80 persons.

“Today’s was West Germany’s biggest postwar air disaster and also the biggest military death toll in an air-crash in western Europe..

“The Air Force said today’s crash occurred less than 15 minutes after take-off in mid-afternoon.

“The announcement said there were 41 passengers, a crew of 5 plus one loadmaster in one plane, and 14 passengers, a crew of 4 and a loadmaster in the second.” (Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, WI. “66 American Soldiers and Airmen Killed.” 8-11-1955, 1)

Aug 12, UP: “Edelweiler, Germany (UP)….All of the men wore parachutes but none got a chance to use them. The planes broke up when they hit and some of the bodies may have been thrown clear. Both the Army and Air Force began investigation of the crash which happened at 2:18 p.m. Thursday….

“One plane crashed into a wheat field and the other against a thickly wooded hillside. Both exploded and burned and Army authorities said any survivors aboard could not have lived for more than a few minutes.

“The toll could have been higher but one plane carried a three-quarter ton truck and had room for only 19 passengers and crewmen. The other, carrying troops only, had 47 men aboard. They were engaged in a troop-carrying exercise, flying to get the feel of it.

“Reporters…reached the scene after a 21-mile trip through back country roads and logging trails…” (Edwardsville Intelligencer, IL. “Army Gathers Bodies of Plane Disaster Victims.” 8-12-1955, 1)

Sources

American Forces Press Service, DOD. “Germans, Americans Honor Fallen U.S. troops.” 10-10-2008. Updated 7-3-2014 by Brandon Beach. Accessed 4-9-2023 at:
https://www.army.mil/article/129375/germans_americans_honor_fallen_u_s_troops

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. “1955.” 1-9-2012 update.
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19550810-0 and at:
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19550810-1

Baugher, Joseph F. 1953 USAF Serial Numbers. Oct 27, 2011 revision. Accessed 1-12-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1953.html

Edwardsville Intelligencer, IL. “Army Gathers Bodies of Plane Disaster Victims.” 8-12-1955, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=9372038

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

Socrata, the Open Data Co. Airplane_Crashes_and_Fatalities_Since_1908(1). Accessed at: http://www.socrata.com/ [Link broken when checked 4-9-2023.]

Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, WI. “66 American Soldiers and Airmen Killed.” 8-11-1955, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=365629