1956 B-47 disappearance

1956 B-47 disappearance
	A B-47E Stratojet similar to the incident aircraft.
Accident
Date	10 March 1956
Summary	Missing, status unknown
Site	Mediterranean Sea
Aircraft type	Boeing B-47E Stratojet
Operator	United States Air Force
Registration	52-534
Flight origin	MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, United States
Destination	Ben Guerir Air Base, Morocco
Passengers	0
Crew	3
Fatalities	Unknown
Injuries	Unknown
Survivors	Unknown

The 1956 B-47 disappearance occurred on 10 March 1956 over the Mediterranean Sea.

Flight

A Boeing B-47 Stratojet took off from MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, in the United States for a non-stop flight to Ben Guerir Air Base, Morocco,[1] and completed the first of two planned aerial refuelings without incident.[2]

After descending through solid cloud cover to begin the second refueling at 14,000 feet (4,300 m), B-47E serial number 52-534,[1] failed to make contact with its tanker.[3]

The unarmed aircraft was transporting two different capsules of nuclear weapons material in carrying cases; a nuclear detonation was not possible.[4]

Aftermath

Despite an extensive search, no debris or bodies were ever found, and the crash site has never been located.[5] The crew was declared dead (MIA, presumed KIA):

Captain Robert H. Hodgin, 31, aircraft commander
Captain Gordon M. Insley, 32, observer
2nd Lt. Ronald L. Kurtz, 22, pilot

References

Aircraft Serial Number Search
Aviation Safety Network
"Check-Six.com – Broken Arrow B-47". Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
"DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE – NARRATIVE the best SUMMARIES OF ACCIDENTS INVOLVING U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS 1950–1980" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2011.

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[USAFSN-1] Aircraft Serial Number Search

[2] Aviation Safety Network

[3] "Check-Six.com – Broken Arrow B-47". Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2009.

[4] "DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE – NARRATIVE the best SUMMARIES OF ACCIDENTS INVOLVING U.S. NUCLEAR WEAPONS 1950–1980" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2011.