11) 12

lornajarrettblanchard October 13, 1949

–12 Aviation Safety Network. USAF B-50 crash after takeoff .5M SC of Isleham, Eng., 10-13-1949.

–12 Baugher. 1946-1948 USAAF Serial Numbers. 10-15-2011 revision.

–12 Daily Capital News, Jefferson City, MO. “US B-50 Crashes in England…” 10-14-1949, p2.

–12 Statesville Daily Record, NC. “12 US Airmen Killed in Crash of Bomber.” 10-13-1949, 15

–11 Aviation Heritage. “USAF History – 1949.” May 8, 2011.

–11 Charleston Gazette, WV. “Fliers Sacrificed to Save Village.” 10-16-1949, p. 42.

Narrative Information

Aviation Heritage: “October 13: A 43^rd Bomb Group B-50 operating from RAF Sculthorpe,^[1] England crashes near the town of Isleham. The twelve 500lb bombs being carried detonate, with the explosion being felt for miles. All eleven USAF personnel and an RAF observer onboard are killed.” (Aviation Heritage. “USAF History – 1949.” May 8, 2011.)

Baugher: “Boeing B-50A-25-BO Superfortress….60 (43^rd BW, 65^th BS) based at RAF Lakenheath crashed near Isleham, UK Oct 13, 1949. Crew of 12 killed.” (Baugher. 1946-1948 USAAF Serial Numbers. 10-15-2011 revision.)

Newspapers

Oct 13, Associated Press: “Isleham, Eng., Oct. 13 – (AP) — A U. S. air force B-50 bomber with a load of live bombs, dived into a wheat field, today and exploded with a roar heard 12 miles away. All 12 crew members were killed. The plane, designed as the atom bomb carrying version of the B-29, was on a 180-mile practice mission to the North sea island of Helgoland with twelve 500-pound bombs. Villagers said the plane appeared to burst into flames just before it dropped through a light ground fog and struck the field. Flaming bits of the four-engined craft were blown hundreds of yards in all directions from the huge central crater dug by the blast.

“Burning gasoline set fire to a ring of farm buildings and to 60 tons of stacked wheat. Windows shattered and plaster ceilings fell in Isleham houses. Fire equipment was summoned from nearby Newmarket, 60 miles northeast of London, and from Cambridge, Mildenhall and Oxfordham.

“The U. S. third air division in London said the plane crashed at 9:25 a.m., local time (2:25 a.m. CST), only a few minutes after it left Lakenheath airfield, seven miles away in adjoining Norfolk

county, for its Helgoland mission. Both British and American aircraft regularly use Helgoland for live bombing practice. Helgoland was a Nazi submarine and antiaircraft base during the war.

“The third air division said this was the first accident involving a B-50 since the 43^rd group of these craft arrived Aug. 18 from their Tucson, Ariz., base. The group is stationed at Scolthorpe, Norfolk county, for 90 days of operational training. A B-50 bomber crashed near Fairbanks, Alaska, last Dec. 22, killing all ten men aboard.

“The third air division withheld the names of today’s dead until next of kin are notified. It also declined to furnish nickname of the plane, since this would serve to identify the crew to persons familiar with the 43^rd group when it was in Tucson. The B-50’s usually have nicknames, the most famous of which is “Lucky Lady,” which flew non-stop around the world earlier this year.

“A Royal Air Force rescue squadron recovered the 12 bodies from the smoking, twisted wreckage within two hours after the crash. The plane, one of the newest types in the U. S. air force, is designed to carry conventional bombs as well as the atom bombs. The RAF threw a guard around the wreckage to protect secret equipment.

“There was no immediate indication of the cause of the crash. Air force headquarters said weather in the area was foggy, with visibility of about an eighth of a mile.” (Daily Capital News, Jefferson City, MO. “US B-50 Crashes in England with Live Bomb Load.” 10-14-1949, p. 2.)

Oct 13, United Press: “Isleham, England, Oct. 13. – (UP) – A U. S. Air Force B-50 bomber carrying six tons of bombs crashed and exploded with a deafening roar in a field near here in heavy fog today. All 12 crewmen aboard the big four-engined plane were killed. The bomber plunged to earth at 3:25 a. m., only minutes after it had taken off from the U. S. air base at Lakenheath for a practice bombing run across the North Sea to Heligoland.

“The blast shook the countryside, blew a woman off a bicycle on a nearby country road, and shattered windows and cracked walls of houses. Miss M. Clark, a clerk in the Isleham post office, said the tail of the plane was on fire and ‘shooting sparks’ as it passed over the village. ‘The pilot appeared to be making an effort to avoid houses,’ she said. ‘As soon as it cleared the village, the plane came down in a corn field and blew up with a terrific explosion. It was terrifying.’ Her story seemed to spike a theory that fog caused the crash. Visibility was only an eighth of a mile at the time the plane dived into the field a mile southeast of Isleham and about seven miles from Lakenheath base. Other witnesses said the crew fired several warning rockets before the plane crashed.

“Although the B-50 is a modified version of the B-29 designed especially to carry atom bombs, the plane carried only conventional bombs. They blew up when the bomber crashed and dug a huge crater. The crewmen apparently were killed instantly….

“The B-50 has a range of 6,000 miles, but one recently flew nonstop around the world, refueling

in flight.

“The crash brought back wartime memories to the countryside ‘It sounded like the war all over again,’ said Abel Watkins, a farmer who Jives six miles away.” (Statesville Daily Record, NC. “12 US Airmen Killed in Crash of Bomber.” 10-13-1949, p. 15.)

Oct 15, AP: “Isleham, Eng., Oct. 15 – (AP) A British coroner said today the crew of a bomb-laden U. S. B-50 plane which crashed near here Thursday died gallantly trying to save this village from disaster. The coroner, V. O. D. Cade, said the pilot, identified as Maj. George H. Ingham, of Tucson, Ariz., ‘took every step he could’ to avoid death and destruction. Eleven U. S. airmen and one Briton were killed. Had the plane landed in the village, Cade said, the death toll and damage ‘would have been colossal.’ Cade conducted an inquiry into the death of the one Briton aboard, David James Garrett, 26. His verdict was accidental death. The hearing was held in the village school whose walls and ceiling were damaged by the blast, only 400 yards away.

“The flight control officer at the plane’s base at Sculthorpe, Norfolk county, testified three messages had come from the plane, two of a routine nature, and a third stating the craft was in trouble. Witnesses told of seeing the plane shoot out of the clouds with fuselage and starboard engine afire.

“Coroner Cade praised the Americans as men serving their country in a strange land – men whom the world can ill afford to lose.” (Charleston Gazette, WV. “Fliers Sacrificed to Save Village.” 10-16-1949, p. 42.)

Sources

Aviation Heritage. “USAF History – 1949.” May 8, 2011. Accessed 12-28-2011 at: http://aviationheritage.blogspot.com/2011/05/usaf-history-1949.html

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1949. USAF B-50 crash after take-off .5M SC of Isleham, Eng., 10-13-1949. Accessed 9-9-2023 at:

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/153620

Baugher, Joseph F. 1946-1948 USAAF Serial Numbers. Oct 15, 2011 revision. Accessed 1-3-2012 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1946.html

Charleston Gazette, WV. “Fliers Sacrificed to Save Village.” 10-16-1949, p. 42. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=40635195

Daily Capital News, Jefferson City, MO. “US B-50 Crashes in England with Live Bomb Load.” 10-14-1949, 2. At: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=90770071

Statesville Daily Record, NC. “12 U.S. Airmen Killed in Crash of Bomber.” 10-13-1949, p. 15. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=142852138

[1] “In April 1944 the 803rd and 214 Squadron departed for RAF Oulton leaving Sculthorpe empty for its redevelopment as a Very Heavy Bomber Base with the work not being completed until the spring of 1946. Sculthorpe was refurbished for USAF use during the Berlin Crisis in 1949 and then later, in 1952, it became home for the 49th Air Division (Operational) and the 47th Bombardment Wing, who were to stay for a decade….” (Wikipedia. “RAF Sculthorpe.” 12-27-2011 modification.)

Text content