Loring Air Force Base, ME. – November 18, 1960

December 15, 2022

Loring AFB, Maine – November 18, 1960

     On November 18, 1960, a U. S. Air Force KC-135 jet tanker, (Ser. No. 56-3605), was returning to Loring Air Force Base after a six-and-a-half hour refueling mission with a crew of four and 13 passengers aboard.  (The reason for the passengers was not stated.)  As the plane touched down it veered off the left side of the runway and caught fire as it careened 3,000 feet along the ground.  When the plane came to rest all but one man was able to escape.  His body was later recovered from the wreckage.

     The deceased crewman was Captain Homer G. Bonin, 27, of Massachusetts.   https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/191194640/homer-g-bonin 

     Others aboard suffered minor injuries.

     Sources:

     Evening Star, (Washington, D. C.), “Tanker Plane Crashes, 1 Killed”, November 18, 1960.

     Maine Wreck Chasers website

     www.findagrave.com

 

Filed Under: Maine - Military Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Loring Air Force Base, ME. – May 9, 1962

December 15, 2022

Loring AFB,  Maine – May 9, 1962

     In the early morning hours of May 9, 1962, a U. S. Air Force KC-135A jet tanker, (Ser. No. 56-1546), with six men aboard, crashed on takeoff  from Loring Air Force Base.  The plane came down in a wooded area about 1,500 feet north of the end of the runway scattering wreckage for over 300 yards and setting fire to the woods.  There were no survivors. 

     The dead were identified as:

     Pilot: Captain Robert M. Predmesky, 31, of Detroit, Michigan. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/171238406/robert-michael-predmesky

     Co-pilot: Captain James S. Tewart, 30, of Hamilton, Ohio. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147274990/james-steven-tewart 

     Navigator: Captain Ronald L. Cantrell, 29, of Kewanee, Ill. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49163435/ronald-lee-cantrell

     Boom Operator: Staff Sergeant Wallace R. Adams, 27, of Benson, North Carolina. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106299231/wallace-ray-adams

     Crew Chief: Master Sergeant George T. Edmiston, 33, of Golden Bridge, New York. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122912248/george-t-edmiston

     Crew Chief: Tec. Sergeant Raymond J. Brugioni, 43, of Granger, Iowa. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14729988/raymond-joseph-brugioni

     Normally there would have been only four crewmen aboard the airplane, but T/Sgt. Brugioni and M/Sgt. Edmiston were aboard this flight to fulfill requirements qualifying them to participate in tactical aerial flights.  

     The aircraft was attached to the 42nd Air Refueling Squadron at Loring AFB.  

     Source:

     The Evening Star, (Washington, D.C.), Jet Tanker Plane Crashes, Killing 6″, May 9, 1962, pg. B-6

Filed Under: Maine - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Limestone, ME. – July 29, 1958

June 25, 2022

Limestone, Maine – July 29, 1958   

B-52 Stratofortress
U.S. Air Force Photo

     On July 28, 1958, a B-52D Stratofortress, (Ser. No. 55-0093), with nine men aboard, crashed about three miles south of Loring Air Force Base while on a training flight.  According to a newspaper account of the incident, the aircraft had approached the air base from the south for “a low level run across the base”.  After completing the run, it turned and made a second pass.  After the second pass the aircraft began to gain altitude.  This had been witnessed by the newspaper editor of the Fairfield Review, who later told investigators that as the plane was climbing he heard the sound of an explosion. 

     The plane came down in a field on Noyes Road in Limestone, about a quarter-mile from a grange hall.  One of those aboard, Major Moody E. Denton managed to escape the aircraft and parachute safely.  The other eight men aboard perished.   

     The men were identified as:

     Major Milo Claude Johnson, (36), of Leavenworth, Kansas.   He’s buried in Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery in Kansas.  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3658094/milo-claude-johnson

     Major Kirkwood G. Myers, (35) of Roanoke, Va.  He’s buried in Arlington National Cemetery.  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49263393/kirkwood-coulter-myers

     Lt. Lane L. Kittle, (24) of Oaklawn, Ill.

     1st Lt. Leonard M. Corsaro, (24), of Niagara Falls, N. Y.  He’s buried in Arlington National Cemetery. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49171027/leonard-michael-corsaro

     Sgt. Oran C. Reily, (32), of Corpus Christi, Texas. 

     1st Lt. Robert E. Testerman, (25) of Aubrey, Texas. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19006756/robert-e-testerman

     1st Lt. Leslie N. Martin, Jr. (27), of Montgomery, Alabama. 

     2nd Lt. James F. Thompson, (23), of Hardy, Maine.  He’s buried in Sunrise Cemetery in Wahoo, Nebraska. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49558721/james-everett-thompson

     Sources:

     Fort Fairfield Review, no headline, photo of air craft – July 30, 1958, page 1. 

     Aviation Safety Network, Wikibase #48396

     www.findagrave.com

     www.ejection-history,org

     togetherweserved.com https://airforce.togetherweserved.com/usaf/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=PersonAircraftExt&ID=63603

 

Filed Under: Maine - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Loring Air Force Base – November 25, 1958

July 29, 2015

Loring Air Force Base – November 25, 1958 

Limestone, Maine

     On November 25, 1958, a U. S. Air Force KC-135 stratojet tanker crashed and burned on approach to Loring Air Force Base.  Two crewmen, Captain Herman J. Dosenbach, and T/Sgt. Charles A. Holsclaw, managed to escape the flaming wreck with non-life threatening injuries.  The other five members of the crew perished.

     The dead were identified as:

     (Pilot) Captain John P. Eifolla, 41.

     (C0-pilot) Major John B. Brown, 39, of San Benito, Texas.

     Captain Bernard Morgan, 40, of Hope, Kansas.  He was survived by his wife Maxine and four children.

     1st Lt. Donald R. Gladdings, 29, of Shreveport, La. He was survived by his wife Patricia, and a daughter.

     (Boom Operator) T/Sgt. Ronald L. Champion, 26.  He was survived by his wife Joan, and a son.   

     The KC-135 happened to crash 100 yards from the wreck of a B-47 bomber that had crashed three days earlier on November 22.  The men guarding the wreck dove for cover as the plane approached.

     All four men aboard the B-47 had been killed in the crash.

     Sources:

     New York Times, “5 Die At Maine Base In Air Tanker Crash”, November 26, 1958  

     Rome (N.Y.) Daily Sentinel, “Jet Tanker Crash Kills Five Airmen”, November 26, 1958

      

        

Filed Under: Maine - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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