1956_B-47_disappearance
1956 B-47 disappearance
Missing nuclear-equipped Boeing B-47
On March 10, 1956, a B-47 Stratojet carrying nuclear weapons material disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea.
 | The article's lead section may need to be rewritten. (April 2020) |
 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 |
A Boeing B-47 Stratojet, call-sign Inkspot 59, from the 306th Bombardment Wing/369th Bomb Squadron, took off from MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, in the United States for a non-stop flight to Ben Guerir Air Base, Morocco.[1] They completed the first of two planned aerial refuelings without incident.[2]
After descending through solid cloud cover 90 miles southwest of Oran, to begin the second refueling at 14,000 feet (4,300 m), B-47E serial number 52-534,[1] ceased communication with the KC-97 tanker aircraft.[3]
The unarmed aircraft was transporting two capsules of nuclear weapons material in carrying cases. A nuclear detonation was not possible.[4]
A French news agency reported that the plane had exploded in the air Northeast of Saïdia, in French Morocco in the same general location of its last known position. After an exhaustive search, no remains of the device could be located. The exact place of its disappearance was never established.[3][5]
The crew was declared dead:[6]
- Captain Robert H. Hodgin, 31, aircraft commander
- Captain Gordon M. Insley, 32, observer
- 2nd Lt. Ronald L. Kurtz, 22, pilot
- "Check-Six.com – Broken Arrow B-47". Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
- "DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE – NARRATIVE 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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