Caswell, ME. – June 18, 1952

Caswell, Maine – June 18, 1952   

F-86 Sabre – U.S. Air Force Photo

     Shortly after midnight on the morning of June 18, 1952, Air Force Captain Paul H. Wilkins was piloting an F-86 Sabre jet (Ser. No. 49-1310) on a routine training flight over northern Maine when the engine lost all power and he was forced to bail out.  The jet reportedly crashed in a “thickly-wooded boggy area” in the town of Caswell, while Capt. Wilkins came down in the neighboring town of Hamlin, near Van Buren Road.  The area was covered with thick fog at the time of the crash.  Wilkins made his way to a nearby home and telephoned Limestone Air Force Base to notify them of the incident.        

     Capt. Wilkins was assigned to the 4711 Defense Wing.  He was a Korean War veteran with 129 combat missions to his credit.  

     Source: Fort Fairfield Review, “Pilot Bails Out Before Jet Crashes At Hamlin”, June 18, 1952

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