1952 — Oct 8, USAF B29 and F94 Collide Midair (all 11 on B29 killed) ~Portland, OR — 11

–11 Aviation Safety Network. USAF B-29A Superfortress collision 8 Oct 1952, near Wilsonville.
–11 Cumberland Sunday Times, MD. “Mid-Air Crash Killed 11 Men.” 10-12-1952, p. 6.
–11 Daily Chronicle, Centralia, WA. “11 Killed when Plane Crashes near Portland.” 10-9-52, 1.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network:
“Date: 08-Oct-1952
….
“Type: Boeing B-29A Superfortress
“Owner/operator: 1st BSqn/ 9th BGp USAF (1st BSqn /9th BGp United States Air Force)
“Registration: 44-62320
“MSN: 11797
“Fatalities: Fatalities: 11 / Occupants: 11
“Other fatalities: 0
….
“Location: 1.5 miles north of Wilsonville, Oregon…
“Phase: En route
“Nature: Military
“Departure airport: Travis AFB, California
“Destination airport: Travis AFB, CA
….
“Narrative:

“On 8 October 1952, this aircraft, from Travis AFB, was flying a simulated bombing mission against Portland, Oregon. An F-94A from 318th FIS, McChord AFB, 49-2574, collided with the B-29A during a simulated gunnery pass. The collision was near 45 19′ 40″ N, 122 44′ 21″ W, approximately 1.5 miles North of Wilsonville, Oregon. The F-94 was able to land at Aurora airport.

“The B-29 suffered serious structural failure and crashed in the vicinity of N 45 19′ 6″ W 122 46′ 14″.

“The pilot of F-94A 49-2574 survived, but all eleven crew members of B-29A 44-62320 were killed:

Sgt Billy Edward Butler,
Cpt William E. Cullen,
A1c Glen P. Daily,
Cpt Parker A. Goodall,
Maj Robert W. Head,
Lt Orval L. Huffman,
Maj Robert Cleveland Jobe,
S/Sgt Clarence Krohn,
A2c Charles E. Wovries
Plus two others (named not yet ascertained).”

(Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. USAF Boeing B-29A Superfortress collision 8 Oct 1952, near Wilsonville, OR.)

Newspapers

Oct 9, Associated Press: “Portland (AP) – An air force crew of 11 died late Wednesday [8th] in the explosion and crash of a B-29 bomber, 16 miles south of here. Debris showered down over a mile-square area after the plane from the Travis air force base at Fairfield, Calif., blew up in mid-air. Crews from the Portland air base searched through the wreckage throughout the night for bodies. An air base spokesman said there were no known survivors, but it might be difficult to complete identification, because of the mangling. Air Force personnel was expected Thursday from Dayton, O., to aid in identification. Investigators from Travis and the Portland bases also sought clues as to the cause of the accident.

“The plane, from the Ninth Bombardment Wing of the 15th Air Force, was making simulated bombing runs over the Pacific Northwest, leaving Travis at 8:55 a.m. It was due back at 4:30 p.m., a half hour before the crash. The plane had sent no distress messages.

“Parts of the plane, falling from an altitude estimated by some witnesses at 6,000 to 8,000 feet, ripped out a 51,000-volt power line, under construction in the area. A power lineman, Durell Belanger, Portland, said he barely got out of the way of the plummeting nose section of the plane. Belanger said he heard a muffled explosion, looked up and ‘saw the plane, come apart in the air right overhead.’ ‘I began to run,’ he said, ‘and I hadn’t gone 50 feet when the forward part of the fuselage hit right behind me.’

“E. E. Davis, Portland, another witness, said the explosion occurred as the plane passed over the Willamette River, nearly two miles from the timbered farm field where major parts of if fell. Davis, bridge foreman [? Unclear] of the new Willamette River bridge at the Wilsonville ferry, said the wings of the plane fell away as the plane plunged down.

“Six bodies were recovered from the tail section. Two were dragged out as flames broke out in the wreckage. Parts of bodies were scattered over a wide area.

“W. J. Hamilton, a Bonneville Power Administration employe at the Wilsonville sub-station, was the first to report the crash. He said he saw the plane coming in low. He said he saw an explosion in the vicinity of the tail. Then the tail fell off, and the rest of the plane disappeared over a timbered area. A moment later he heard a crash ‘like two automobiles coming together.’

“Rescue teams and ambulances were sent from nearby towns. A brush and timber fire set off by the burning wreckage was controlled by the Tualatin Fire Department.” (Daily Chronicle, Centralia, WA. “11 Killed when Plane Crashes near Portland.” 10-9-1952, p. 1.)

Oct 12: “Travis Air Force Base, Calif. – (AP) — A mid-air collision of a B29 and a jet fighter presumably was caused by loss of the F94’s right wing tank in a swift turn, the Air Force said today. All 11 crewmen on the Travis-based bomber were killed when the B29 crashed near Portland, Ore., Wednesday. The jet fighter made it back safely to McChord Field, Wash. Its left wing tank was damaged. The two crewmen were not injured.

“A spokesman said presumably the planes collided as the jet made a firing run on the bomber on a routine training maneuver. The Air Force previously said the B29 crash was caused by an explosion in flight.” (Cumberland Times, MD. “Mid-Air Crash Killed 11 Men.” 10-12-1952, 6.)

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. USAF Boeing B-29A Superfortress collision 8 Oct 1952, near Wilsonville, OR. Accessed 6-4-2023 at:
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/173530

Cumberland Sunday Times, MD. “Mid-Air Crash Killed 11 Men.” 10-12-1952, p. 6. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=97016989

Daily Chronicle, Centralia, WA. “11 Killed when Plane Crashes near Portland.” 10-9-1952, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=79553878