Andover, New Brunswick, Canada – January 10, 1957
B-52 Stratofortress
U.S. Air Force Photo
The following accident occurred in Canada, but the aircraft was out of Loring Air Force Base in Maine.
On January 10, 1957, a U. S. Air Force Boeing B-52 bomber, (Ser. No. 55-0082), based at Loring Air Force Base, took off for a training flight with nine men aboard. The purpose of the flight was to test the pilot’s reflexes while undergoing certain test conditions, which included partially covering the pilot’s eyes while the plane was “put into an unusual position”. While the test was being conducted, the aircraft, according to an Air Force spokesman, would be placed in either a steep climb, or a steep dive. The spokesman stated that apparently the aircraft had been “placed in a position beyond its capability”.
In either case, the B-52 exploded without warning while over the area of Andover, New Brunswick. One crewman, 1st Lieutenant Joseph L. Church, of Charlotte, North Carolina, managed to bail out safely and survived. The other eight men perished in the accident.
Pilot: Major Richard Allan Jenkins, (34), of Huron, Ohio. He was a veteran of WWII and Korea. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98787485/richard-allan-jenkins
Captain William C. Davidson, (39), of Stockton, California. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52120646/william-carlisle-davidson
Captain John E. McCune, (30), of Hayward, California. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73985358/john-earl-mccune
Captain Marquid H. D. Myers, (35) of Tracy, California. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3613669/marquid-h_d-myers
1st Lieutenant Charles S. Cole, (27), Basin, Wyoming. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29055832/charles-samuel-cole
1st Lieutenant Anders P. Larson, Jr., (26), of Wichita, Kansas. His body was not located until January 13th. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49244589/anders-peter-larson
T/Sergeant Raymond A. Miller, (27), of Racine, Wisconsin. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3068396/ray-albert-miller
It was reported that this was the fourth B-52 lost by the Air Force on a training flight since February, 1956.
Sources:
The Evening Star, (Washington, D.C.), “B-52 Crash kills 7 men; 1 Missing and 1 Survives”, January 11, 1957, p. A-4.
The Nome Nugget, (Alaska), “Death Toll Reaches 8 In Crash Of Superfortress”, January 14, 1957.
www.findagrave.com
