Off Provincetown, MA. – December 21, 1936

Off Provincetown, Massachusetts – December 21, 1932

     On the afternoon of December 21, 1936, a U. S. Coast Guard twin-engine “Flying Ambulance” was off the coast of Cape Cod when one of the engines suddenly lost all power.  The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing in rough seas about five miles off Race Point.  The pilot then attempted to taxi towards shore but the seas were too rough so a distress call was sent out.  A rescue boat was dispatched and after attaching a tow line, towed the disabled plane towards shore.  The trip was slow going and dangerous, but the plane was finally beached near the Wood End Coast Guard Station.  There it was pulled from the water by two tractors.  None of those aboard the aircraft were injured.   

     The newspaper did not report if the plane was carrying a patient or not. 

     Source:

     The Provincetown Advocate, “Coast Guard Plane Forced Down”, December 24, 1936    

Missing Army Bomber – December 13, 1943

Missing Army Bomber – December 13, 1943

 

B-24 Liberator
U.S. Air Force Photo

     In the early morning hours of Sunday, December 13, 1943, a B-24 Liberator bomber took off from Westover Air Field in Chicopee, Massachusetts, for a training flight in preparation for overseas duty.  It was never seen again, and was presumed to have gone down in the waters off the New England coast.

     There were eight men aboard the missing aircraft, two officers and six enlisted men.  They were identified as:

     2nd Lt. William P. Masters of Klamath Falls, Oregon.

     2nd Lt. Robert Rollin Hansen, age 25, of Corcoran, California.

     Sgt. Dean G. McAffery, age 19, of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

     Sgt. Stanley E. Zagae, of Detroit, Michigan.

     Sgt. Bernard G. Stoeckley, of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

     Sgt. Cicel H. Conklin, of Kansas City, Mo.

     Sgt. Anson G. Wiseman, of Spruce Pine, North Carolina.

     Sgt. Anthony L. Greco, of Pittsburgh, Pa.

     It is believed that the aircraft was assigned to the 759th Bombardment Squadron, which was stationed at Westover at the time before leaving for overseas duty in January of 1944. 

     Sources:

     Unknown Newspaper, “Westover Bomber Missing; Air, Land Search Under Way”, December 13, 1943

     The Fresno Bee Republican, (Fresno, CA.), “Corcoran Flier’s Plane Is Missing”, December 14, 1943, page 15.      

 

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