1953 — Mar 18, 10-eng. USAF Convair RB-36H flies into hilltop, Random Isl., Nfld., Canada–all 23

–23 Aviation Safety Network. USAF Peacemaker crash, Burgoyne’s Cove, Newfoundland, 3-18-1953.
–23 Baugher. 1951 USAF Serial Numbers. 11-7-2011 revision.
–23 Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “2 Bombers Fall, Believe 33 Dead,” Mar 19, 1953, p. 1.
–23 Gero. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 56.
–23 Planecrashinfo.com. “1953…Accident Details…Mil-USAF…18Mar1953…Random Isl.”

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation:
“Date: 18-MAR-1953
“Time: 04:10
“Type: Convair RB-36H-25 Peacemaker
“Owner/operator: United States Air Force (USAF)
“Registration: 51-13721
“MSN: 257
“Fatalities: Fatalities: 23 / Occupants: 23
….
“Location: Burgoyne’s Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador – Canada
“Phase: En route
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Lajes Airdrome, Azoren
“Destination airport: Rapid City AFB, South Dakota, US
….
“Narrative:

“During low-altitude flight over Atlantic Ocean, plane struck 896-foot tall ridge at altitude of 800 feet. Pilots were off course and had misjudged speed, arriving at the coast of Newfoundland 1.5 hrs. early. Plane exploded on impact killing all 23 aboard.” (Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. USAF Peacemaker crash, Burgoyne’s Cove, Newfoundland, 18-MAR-1953.)

Baugher: “Convair RB-36H-25-CF Peacemaker….13721 of 28th SRW crashed on Random Island near St. Johns, Newfoundland Mar 18, 1953 due to unexpected low-altitude landfall. All 23 aboard killed, including Brig. Gen. Richard E. Ellsworth. Rapid City base renamed Ellsworth AFB to honor the general.” (Baugher. 1951 USAF Serial Numbers. 11-7-2011 rev.)

Gero: “Operated by the Strategic Air Command, the 10-engine strategic reconnaissance bomber had been on a simulated combat mission that originated in the Azores and was to have terminated at Raid City Air Force Base, in South Dakota, US, when it crashed and burned near Smith Sound, and its 23 crewmen perished. Operating under instrument flight rules, the aircraft had flown at a low altitude over the Atlantic Ocean and was to have initiated a climb 20 miles (30km) from land. However, position reports received from the crew and known changes in the weather indicated that it encountered unexpected tail-winds during the last half of the let and reached landfall about 1½ hr before the navigator’s estimated time of arrival. The resulting accident occurred in darkness and during a low overcast, with a ceiling estimated at only 50 to 100ft (15-30m), which was accompanied by sleet, freezing drizzle and fog, conditions that had reduced the horizontal visibility of from less than 700ft (200m) to zero. Its ground speed estimated to have been around 230mph (370kph), 51-13721A was in level flight when it struck a hill at an approximate height of 800ft (250m), only about 100ft (30m) below its crest, the initial impact shearing off the left wing. Later that same day, a US Air Force B-29 that was searching for the missing RB-36 itself crashed in St Georges Bay, between Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island, and its 10 crewmen were also killed. The installation where 51-13721A had been based was later named in honor of its then-commanding officer, Brigadier General Richard Ellsworth, one of the victims of the RB-36 accident.” (Gero. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 56.)

Planecrashinfo.com: “Azores – Rapid City AFB…. The aircraft, flying low over the Atlantic Ocean, was to have flown higher when it reached the coast. Tail-winds caused the aircraft to arrive earlier and the plane hit a hill in low cloud cover.” (Planecrashinfo.com. “1953… Accident Details…Mil-USAF…18Mar1953…Random Isl.”)

Newspaper

March 19, AP: “St. John’s Newfoundland (AP)—Two U.S. Air Force planes crashed in Newfoundland yesterday. All 33 men aboard the two planes were believed dead, including an Air Force general. A giant 10-engine bomber, an RB-36, hit a hilltop on the Isolated east coast of Newfoundland. It carried 23 men, including Brig. Gen. Richard E. Ellsworth, 42, of Erie, Pa., commanding general of the Rapid City, S. D. Air Base. Woodmen found 10 bodies today near the wreckage of the plane— reconnaissance version of the B-36 able to deliver blows from bases in the U. S. to almost any point in the world….” (Charleston Daily Mail (WV). “2 Bombers Fall, Believe 33 Dead,” Mar 19, 1953, p. 1.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. USAF Peacemaker crash, Burgoyne’s Cove, Newfoundland, 18-MAR-1953. Accessed 5-22-2023 at:
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/178829

Baugher, Joseph F. 1951 USAF Serial Numbers. Nov 7, 2011 update. Accessed 1-5-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1951.html

Charleston Daily Mail, WV. “2 Bombers Fall, Believe 33 Dead,” 3-19-1953, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=39293805

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

Planecrashinfo.com. “1953…Accident Details…Mil-USAF…18Mar1953…Random Island, Newfoundland.” Accessed at: http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1953/1953-15.htm