Denmark, ME. – July 7, 1956

Denmark, Maine – July 7, 1956

 

T-33 Trainer Jet
U.S. Air Force Photo

     On July 7, 1956, a U. S. Air Force Lockheed T-33 trainer jet left Youngstown, Ohio, bound for Dow Air Force Base in Bangor, Maine. While passing over eastern Maine, the lone pilot, Captain Gordon L. Draheim, (35), noted that the aircraft was getting low on fuel, and radioed for directions to the Brunswick Naval Air Station.  After receiving directions, the pilot acknowledged and was not heard from again.  While en route to Brunswick  the aircraft crashed half way up the southern slope of Pleasant Mountain in the town of Denmark.  There was a thunderstorm in progress at the time of the crash.   Searchers discovered the wreckage strewn over a large area. 

     Captain Draheim is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Marion, North Dakota.  His grave can be seen at www.findagrave.com, Memorial #103458674.    https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/103458674/gordon-l-draheim

     Source: The Bridgton News, (Me.), “Jet Plane Crashes On Pleasant Mt. killing Pilot”, July 12, 1956, page 1

Atlantic Ocean – February 1, 1957

Atlantic Ocean – February 1, 1957    

T-33 Trainer Jet
U.S. Air Force Photo

     On February 1, 1957, Lieut. Jimmie G. Waugh, 22, of Oneonta, Alabama, was piloting a T-33 jet trainer approximately twenty miles east of Provincetown when the plane developed engine trouble and was forced to ditch in the sea.  Waugh radioed that he had an emergency and was fortunate to be in an area routinely patrolled by other aircraft. Another Air Force plane followed the T-33 down and watched the crew bail out.  

     Within minutes an SA-16 Albatross from Westover AFB arrived and rescued Lt. Waugh, however the co-pilot, 2nd Lieutenant Billie J. Bullard, 23, of Longview, Texas, had disappeared beneath the choppy sea.  Despite an intensive search, he wasn’t located. 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/75222860/billie-joe-bullard

     The Albatross sustained damage in the water landing, and was forced to make its way to Provincetown Harbor by water, under the watchful eye of a Coast Guard helicopter.  

      Sources:

     Fall River Herald News, (Ma.), “One Rescued, One feared Drowned As Plane Crashes Off Cape”, February 2, 1957, pg. 9

     The Woonsocket Call, (R.I.), “Jet Pilot Lost In Sea Crash Off Mass. Coast”, February 2, 1957

     Falmouth Enterprise, “Flier Lost When Jet Falls Off Tip Of Cape”, February 8, 1957.         

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