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Korean War Educator
In God We Trust

Airplane Crashes: Incomplete Listings Challenge

Research Volunteers Needed

The KWE is searching for information about military airplane crashes that resulted in fatalities during the Korean War timeframe (June 25, 1950-January 31, 1955). We hope our readers will accept the challenge to help us find information about the following fatal crashes that we know happened but have not yet been able to fully document. It is our goal to recognize and honor those who lost their lives in service to our country.  We are searching for their names.

  • July 18, 1950 – Grumman F9F-2 Panther #123397 hit ramp on landing on USS Midway. Pilot killed.
  • July 24, 1950 or 1951 – F9F-2 Panther, Bu#123429 crashed while landing at NAAS Charlestown, Rhode Island.
  • August 20, 1950 – F9F-2 Panther #123447 lost on combat sweep off USS Philippine Sea. Pilot killed.
  • August 22, 1950 – F9F-2 Panther #123403 flew into seawall on takeoff from Kisarazu AFB, Japan during ferry flight. Pilot killed.
  • September 23, 1950 – F9F-2 Panther #123599 late pullout while strafing target off NAS El Centro, CA.
  • October 18, 1950 – F9F-2 Panther #123598 crashed on takeoff from USS Princeton CV-37. Pilot killed.
  • December 12, 1950 - Navy Douglas AD-4 Skyraider burst into flames upon landing on USS Philippine Sea. Fatality?
  • January 17, 1951 - John A. Hansen was killed in the crash of a fighter plane during training flight at sea on this date.  He was born on April 8, 1929.  No further information found, including the type of plane.  The KWE doesn't think it was a Corsair.
  • February 07, 1951 - C119 #128725 encountered poor weather and heavy turbulence, resulting in a crash at Eastville, Virginia.  Nine were killed.  Names no yet found.
  • March 08, 1951 – F9F-2 Panther #123621 hit by AAA during combat mission and crashed at sea near Songjin, Korea. Pilot killed.
  • May 01, 1951 – F9F-2 Panther #123590 shot down by AAA. Pilot killed.
  • May 07, 1951 – F9F-2 Panther#123633 hit by AAA on combat mission near Inchon, Korea. Pilot killed.
  • June 03, 1951 - The KWE has incomplete information about the fatalities in the crash of C-82 #45-57761 at New Boston, Texas.
  • June 05, 1951 – F9F-2 Panther #123618 hit ramp on landing on USS Princeton, exploded and went over side. Pilot killed.
  • June 10, 1951 – F9F-2 Panther #123550 crashed near Vicksburg, MS. Pilot killed.
  • November 27, 1951 - PBM Mariner #592223 was on a training mission when it crashed 25 minutes after takeoff.  It happened seven miles off North Island-Halsey Field NAS.  All 11 crew members were killed.
  • January 06, 1952 – F9F-2 Panther #123632 shot down by AAA seven miles north of Kowan, Korea. Fatality?
  • January 28, 1952 - A Fairchild C-82 Packet #45-57791 crashed on final approach to Frankfurt-Main airport.  The plane went out of control and crashed into houses located six KM west of the Raunheim-Main airport.  All five crew members were injured, and three people on the ground were killed.
  • February 16, 1952 – F9F-2 Panther #123440 crashed into water while landing on USS Philippine Sea in Sea of Japan. Pilot killed.
  • June 27, 1952 - Navy R4Q Packet #124331 crashed during takeoff from Cherry Point, Cunningham Field, North Carolina.  Five crew members were killed.
  • July 11, 1952 - SB-17G Flying Fortress #44-83595, piloted by Robert E. Weber, was enroute to Whitehorse, Alaska, when it crashed 35 miles NE of Snag, Yukon Territory, Canada.  There were eight onboard, but only seven survived.  Who was the one crew member that died?
  • July 23, 1952 - A C-119 crashed into a Japanese beer hall in Fukuoka Prefecture on Kyuishu just NE of Ashiya Airfield.  The dead included five men aboard the aircraft and two bar maids.  Another bar maid was seriously injured and the beer hall was destroyed. 
  • November 01, 1952 – F9F-2 Panther #123586 presumed to have crashed in sea near K-50. Fatality?
  • May 30, 1953 – F3D-2 Skyknight #127024 near Kunsan AB (K-8) attached to MAG-12. Two crew missing. Last heard from when requesting landing instructions fromK-8 approach control.
  • July 04, 1953 – F3D-2 Skyknight #125800 failed to return from mission 2 miles from K-6 Korea. Attached to MA-12. Two crew members missing.  What were their names?
  • November 27, 1953 - C-119C #51-2621. Structural failure and crashed in flames in the Choisy-le-Roi neighborhood of Paris, France. The airplane was being ferried from Dover, Delaware, USA to Frankfurt, Germany with enroute stops at the Azores Islands and Paris-Orly. It appeared the rear clam shell doors departed the aircraft striking the horizontal stabilizer, causing a catastrophic failure of the empennage.  The KWE cannot confirm the names of the five fatalities, but we believe some of the fatalities were: Grant Almond, Richard E. Dawson, Louis H. Gagnon, and Samuel J. Salem.  Salem was a confirmed fatality in this crash. 
  • December 16, 1953 - TB-47B #50-0028 cartwheeled and crashed during touch-and-go at Pinecastle AFB, Florida, killing four.  What were their names?
  • February 22, 1954 - B-47 #52-0053 crashed at Hunter AFB, Georgia.  The pilot was Curtis L. Harrod.  There was one non-crew fatality.
  • February 23, 1954 – Grumman AF-2S Guardian Tracker #129218 caught a wire on the USS Antietam during landing but left the deck on port side. This Guardian was lost off the coast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
  • May 21, 1954 - P5M-2 Marlin #126511 had a two-engine failure and broke up on deadstick open sea landing 400 miles east of Hawaii.  Six survivors were rescued by LST #975, but four were lost when the aircraft sank.  The pilot was Laurence W. Reher.
  • June 04, 1954 - C-119 #126579 crashed in the Sea of Japan.  Six of eleven were rescued.  The KWE only has the names of three of the five missing.
  • June 21, 1954 - B-47E #52-0229 was destroyed at Townsend, Georgia after a bomb bay fire.  Four were killed.
  • July 20, 1954 - B-47E #51-17385 crashed near Lake Charles AFB, Louisiana.  One was killed.  The pilot's name was James Beverly Grewe.
  • July 20, 1954 - B-47 #51-17385 crashed eight miles from the end of the runway while on a GCA at RAF Fairford, UK. Three survived but the navigator was killed.  What was the navigator's name?
  • August 24, 1954 – Douglas F3D-2 Skyknight #125827 crashed over sea during maneuvers 35 miles SW of NAS Barbers Point, HI. Crew of two missing.
  • September 28, 1954 - PB-5 Marlin #127697 crashed in bad weather at Sangley Point NAS, Philippines, killing its 12 crew members.  The KWE has only found the names of two of the twelve victims.
  • October 18, 1954 - B-47 #51-2437 crashed on landing at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.  Two survived but the co-pilot was killed.  What was the co-pilot's name?  The pilot's name was George C. Berger.
  • October 29, 1954 - RB-47E Stratojet #52-0083 crashed at RAF Lakenhealth, Suffolk, England.  Three were killed.