Pease Air Force Base – July 21, 1965

Pease Air Force Base, New Hampshire – July 21, 1965

 

RB-47E Stratojet
U.S. Air Force Photo

     At 3: a.m. on the morning of July 21, 1965, an Air Force B-47 jet bomber was approaching Pease Air Force Base after an 11-hour training flight when it was discovered that the landing gear would not come down.  The aircraft then circled the base for the next five hours while the crew attempted to fix the problem, but they were unable to do so.  With fuel running low, there was no choice but to attempt a belly landing.  The runway was covered with foam and the pilot made a pass over the runway at 50 feet to check conditions.  He then brought the aircraft in and touched down without landing gear.  The crew deployed drogue chutes to slow the aircraft, and it skidded along the tarmac for 250 yards before coming to rest.  There was no fire and none of the four crewmen aboard were injured.

     The crew were identified as:

     Lt. Col. James B. Price, of Waco, Texas.

     Captain Yale R. Davis Jr., of Salina, Kansas.

     Captain Ronald E. Newton, of Hastings, Nebraska.

     Lieutenant Charles S. Franco, Brooklyn, New York.   

     Source:

     New London Day, “Crippled AF Jet In Safe Belly-Landing”, July, 22, 1965 – with photo of aircraft on runway.

Pease AFB – Dec. 8, 1964

Near Pease Air Force Base –  December 8, 1964

Newington, New Hampshire

Updated May 11, 2021

RB-47E Stratojet U.S. Air Force Photo

RB-47E Stratojet
U.S. Air Force Photo

    On December 8, 1964, a B-47E Stratojet bomber carrying four airmen crashed and burned shortly after takeoff from Pease Air Force Base.  When it reached an altitude of 1,000 feet it suddenly plunged into a wooded area about two miles from the end of the runway.  All aboard were killed.  The resulting fire burned two unoccupied cabins.

     The dead were identified as:

     (Pilot) Major Daniel J. Campion Jr., 34.  To learn more about Major Campion click on link :  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/195224062/daniel-james-campion

     (Co-pilot) Captain Truman A. Burch, 28. To learn more click on link.  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/159408585/truman-a-burch

     (Navigator) Major John R. North III, 30. To learn more click on link.  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/225582794/john-reeder-north

     (Observer) Captain Bennie Ward Forrester, 27.  To learn more click on link.  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/159008480/bennie-ward-forrester

       The plane was with the 351st Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Wing, assigned to Pease AFB.

Sources:

      The Morning Record, “Air Force Jet Carrying Four Crashes, Burns”, Dec. 8, 1964, pg. 1    (The same article also mentioned that on November 5, 1964, a KC-97 tanker plane crashed at the edge of a highway near the base killing all five crewmen aboard.)

     New York Times, “B-47 With Four Aboard Crashes In New Hampshire”, December 8, 1964

     Schenectady Gazette, December 9, 1964, Page 17.

     www.findagrave.com

 

 

Pease Air Force Base – April 15, 1958

Pease Air Force Base – April 15, 1958

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

    

RB-47E Stratojet U.S. Air Force Photo

RB-47E Stratojet
U.S. Air Force Photo

     On the night of April 15, 1958, a U.S. Air Force B-47E Stratojet, (#52-562), crashed on take off from Pease AFB in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  The aircraft had risen to about 700 feet before it suddenly plunged into a swamp near the end of the runway and burst into flames.  The smoke from the fire could be see for fifteen miles.

     One witness to the accident later told a reporter, “I could see the plane spilling fuel, then it just lit up, as though on fire, before it crashed.”

    

     All four crewmen aboard were killed in the crash.  They were identified as:

     (Aircraft Commander) Captain Richard D. Burns, 27, of Royal Oak, Michigan.  He’s buried in Gilgal Cemetery in Heltonville, Indiana.  To see a photograph of  Capt. Burns, go to www.findagrave.com, Memorial #63005578.  

     (Pilot) 1st Lt. Edward S. Starley, 25, of Delta, Utah. He’s buried in Delta City Cemetery in Delta, UT.  He was survived by his wife Helen.  (For more info see www.findagrave.com, Memorial #42217304.

     (Navigator) 1st Lt. Edward S. McKinney, 25, of Casper, Wyoming.  He’s buried in Highland Cemetery in Casper, WY.  (See www.findagrave.com, Memorial #58413512.)

     (Crew Chief) S/Sgt. Jennings V. Ware, 23, of Webster, West Virginia.  He’s buried in Cool Spring Cemetery in Webster County, W.V.  To see more info go to www.findagrave.com, Memorial #93245519.

     All four men were assigned to the 830th Bomb Squadron, 509th Bomb Wing, stationed at Walker Air Force Base in New Mexico.  

     Sources:

     Nashua Telegraph, “Four Killed In Pease Jet Crash”, April 16, 1958

     www.findagrave.com  

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