TheList 5894

The List 5894     TGB  

 

Good Saturday Morning October 30

 

I hope that you all have a great weekend

 

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Today in Naval and Marine Corps History

 

October 30

 

Oct. 30

 

1799—William Balch becomes the U.S. Navy's first commissioned chaplain.

 

1863—The wooden side-wheel steam ship Vanderbilt captures the bark Saxon, which was suspected of having rendezvoused with and taken cargo from CSS Tuscaloosa at Angra Pequena, Africa.

 

1941—The oiler USS Salinas (AO 19) is torpedoed near Newfoundland by German submarine U-106. Without loss of life to Salinas' crew, the vessel returns to New York for repairs.

 

1944—USS Argus (PY 14) rescues all survivors of the U.S. freighter John A. Johnson, which was sunk by Japanese submarine I-12 the previous day, north of Oahu.

 

1944—USS Franklin (CV 13) and USS Belleau Wood (CVL 24) are hit by a Japanese kamikaze near the Philippines. The attack on Franklin kills 56 of her crew and the attack on Belleau Wood sees 92 of her crew killed or missing. Both ships return to the U.S. for repairs. 

 

1979—An F/A-18 makes the first landing of a Hornet at sea aboard USS America (CV 66). The plane completed 32 catapult and arrested landings during five days of sea trials.

 

1989—An F/A 18A Hornet operating from USS Midway (CV 41) accidentally drops a 500-pound bomb on cruiser USS Reeves (CG 24), which wounds five sailors during night bombing exercises 32 miles south of Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory.

 

 

 

Today in History October 30

1270		The Seventh Crusade ends by the Treaty of Barbary.
1485		Henry VII of England crowned.
1697		The Treaty of Ryswick ends the war between France and the Grand Alliance.
1838		Oberlin Collegiate Institute in Lorian County, Ohio becomes the first college in the U.S. to admit female students.
1899		Two battalions of British troops are cut off, surrounded and forced to surrender to General Petrus Joubert's Boers at Nicholson's Nek.
1905		The czar of Russia issues the October Manisfesto, granting civil liberties and elections in an attempt to avert the burgeonng supprot for revolution.
1918		The Italians capture Vittorio Veneto and rout the Austro-Hungarian army.
1918		Turkey signs an armistice with the Allies, agreeing to end hostilities at noon, October 31.
1922		Mussolini sends his black shirts into Rome. The Fascist takeover is almost without bloodshed. The next day, Mussolini is made prime minister. Mussolini centralized all power in himself as leader of the Fascist party and attempted to create an Italian empire, ultimately in alliance with Hitler's Germany.
1925		Scotsman John L. Baird performs first TV broadcast of moving objects.
1938		H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds is broadcast over the radio by Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre. Many panic believing it is an actual newscast about a Martian invasion.
1941		The U.S. destroyer Reuben James, on convoy duty off Iceland, is sunk by a German U-boat with the loss of 96 Americans.
1950		The First Marine Division is ordered to replace the entire South Korean I Corps at the Chosin Reservoir area.
1953		US Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower formally approves a top secret document to maintain and expand the country's nuclear arsenal.
1961		The USSR detonates "Tsar Bomba," a 50-megaton hydrogen bomb; it is still (2013) the largest explosive device of any kind over detonated.
1965		US Marines repeal multiple-wave attacks by Viet Cong within a few miles of Da Nang where the Marines were based; a sketch of Marine positions was found on the body of a 13-year-old boy who had been selling the Americans drinks the previous day.
1973		The Bosphorus Bridge is completed at Istanbul, Turkey, connecting Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus Strait.
1974		The "Rumble in the Jungle," a boxing match in Zaire that many regard as the greatest sporting event of the 20th century, saw challenger Muhammad Ali knock out previously undefeated World Heavyweight Champion George Foreman.
1975		Prince Juan Carlos becomes acting head of state in Spain, replacing the ailing dictator Gen. Francisco Franco.
1985		Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off for its final successful mission.
1991		BET Holdings Inc., becomes the first African-American company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
2005		The rebuilt Dresden Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) that was destroyed during the firebombing of Dresden in WWII is rededicated.

 

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Thanks to Micro:

 

I'm afraid you've been "taken" again. The Bakken email is from 2008. It was inaccurate then, and it's still inaccurate.

 

Your email says Bakken, according to USGS has over 500 Billion barrels. This link:  https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-much-oil-and-gas-are-actually-bakken-formation?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products says Bakken has a mean estimate of 7.4 Billion barrels (estimates range from 4.4 to 11.4). Still that's about double what USGS said in its 2008 report. There is a great deal more there, in the form of shale, but that's hard to extract and is feasible (even with current technology) only when prices of oil go way up.

 

A bit of advice for everyone:  if an emails says to send it to everyone in your address book, don't.

 

Another piece of advice for everyone:  if you forward an email that proports to be verifiable by an included link to a web site, it's probably best to click on that link first to see what, if anything, it says.

 

Micro

 

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ROLLING THUNDER REMEMBERED Thanks to the Bear

… … For The List for Saturday, 30 October 2021… Bear🇺🇸⚓️🐻

 

OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER (1965-1968)…

From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com post for 30 October 1966… "Honor Bound"👍👍👍👍👍

 

http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/rolling-thunder-remembered-30-october-1966-honor-bound/

 

 

 

 

This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip

 

Vietnam Air Losses

Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at:  https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.

 

 

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Thanks to Will

Thinking of the Revolt of the Admirals. Has anyone ever laid out the USAF effort to limit the CV's ability to project power by stopping the purchase of USN tankers for strike support as we had from the A-3 and KA-6 for many years?  Under the fig leaf of "Jointness" we were removed from the long range strike game.  Just as with organic lift of squadron assets on short notice, the USAF is not (does not want to) able to respond to CV strike scheduling plans.  Having to use F/A-18s as tankers further limits the number of assets for strike missions.  There was a proposed tanker variant of the EA-6B that was going pump a lot of gas.  KA-6H was ditched for the S-3 rework as a tanker.  The A-6 could have run with the fighters like the A-3 did though not quite that fast.  Always about money and the USAF has been good at gaining budget share for a long time.

 

Will

 

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. Military Milestones from Tippecanoe to Roosevelt's Patrol by  W. Thomas Smith Jr.

 

This Week in American Military History:

 

Nov. 1, 1904:  The new U.S. Army War College opens its doors to three majors and six captains, among them Capt. (future General of the Armies) John J. "Black Jack" Pershing. According to Samuel J. Newland writing for Parameters, during the college's formative years, "the instructional methodology … was reminiscent of the Prussian system of training general staff officers."

 

Nov. 2, 1783:  Gen. George Washington delivers his "Farewell Address to the Army" near Princeton, N.J., in which he refers to the Continental Army as "one patriotic band of brothers." Of his soldiers, whom he says displayed "invincible fortitude in action," Washington offers his "prayers to the God of Armies," adding that "may the choicest of Heaven's favors both here and hereafter attend those, who under the divine auspices have secured innumerable blessings for others."

 

Nov. 5, 1915:  Nearly five years to the day after aviation pioneer Eugene B. Ely makes the first airplane takeoff from a ship, Lt. Commander (future Capt.) Henry Mustin becomes the first American to make a catapult launch from a ship underway. Mustin is catapulted from USS North Carolina (the second of six so-named American warships, including one submarine and one Confederate ironclad) in a Curtiss AB-2 flying boat.  Mustin, considered in some circles to be the "father of Naval aviation," is also the grand patriarch of the Mustin Naval dynasty. Of that dynasty, Capt. Louis Colbus (U.S. Navy, Ret.) former commander of Destroyer Squadron Two and the former chief of staff for Carrier Battle Group Eight, says, "Mustin flag-officers and others have led our Navy for nearly a century from aviation firsts to shipbuilding design and concepts to nuclear testing at the South Pole to battle-group tactics at sea, and at the same time inspiring generations of American sailors."

 

Nov. 5, 1917:  U.S. Army Maj. (future Brig. Gen.) Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and his younger brother Lt. (future Lt. Col.) Archibald Roosevelt, both sons of former Pres. Theodore Roosevelt (a former U.S. Army cavalry colonel who will receive the Medal of Honor in 2001 for actions during the Spanish-American War), lead the first American patrol into "No Man's Land" during World War I. No enemy contact is reported. Like his presidential father, Theodore Jr. will receive the Medal of Honor, but the younger Roosevelt's Medal will be for actions during the Normandy invasion, June 6, 1944.

 

Nov. 7, 1811:  The Battle of Tippecanoe is fought between U.S. forces – composed of U.S. Army infantry, Kentucky volunteers, and Indiana militia all under the command of Indiana Gov. William Henry Harrison – and elements of Shawnee chief Tecumseh's American Indian confederation under the command of Tenskwatawa (Tecumseh's brother). The fighting, which takes place near present-day Battle Ground, Indiana, will be a victory for U.S. forces.  And Harrison – destined to become a brig. gen. during the War of

 

1812 and ultimately president of the United States – will forever be known as "the hero of Tippecanoe."

Nov. 7, 1863:  Union forces under the command of Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick decisively defeat Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Jubal Early in the Battle of Rappahannock Station (Va.). Though a "a complete and glorious victory" for the Union Army, Confederate Col. Walter Taylor will refer to the battle as "the saddest chapter in the history of this army … miserable, miserable management." In six months, Sedgwick will be shot and killed by a Confederate sharpshooter during the bloody Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.

 

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Thanks to Dale

 

Navy's Vision of the F/A-XX

 

Skip,

Newly released document provides latest vision for NGAD F/A-XX jet:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42941/the-navy-just-released-its-vision-for-its-future-f-a-xx-next-generation-strike-fighter

 

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Thanks to Bill

A Sea Story - Strange but true.

  Sometimes in life, the guy with the so-crazy-it-just-might-work ideas hits one out of the park and saves the day..

This is what happened in 1942 aboard the HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen, the last Dutch warship standing after the Battle of the Java Sea.

Originally planning to escape to Australia with three other warships, the then-stranded minesweeper had to make the voyage alone and unprotected..

The slow-moving vessel could only get up to about 15 knots <http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-abraham-crijnssen>  and had very few guns, boasting only a single 3-inch gun and two Oerlikon 20 mm canons <http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-abraham-crijnssen>  making it a sitting duck to Japanese bombers that circled above..

Knowing their only chance of survival was to make it to the Allies Down Under, the Crijnssen's 45 crew members frantically brainstormed ways to make the retreat undetected..

The winning idea ? Turn the ship into an island..

You can almost hear crazy-idea guy anticipating his shipmates' reluctance: Now guys, just hear me out.. 

But lucky for him, the Abraham Crijnessen was strapped for time, resources and alternative means of escape, automatically making the island idea the best idea..

Now it was time to put the plan into action.

HNLMS_Abraham_Crijnssen_Covered_In_Branches

The crew went ashore to nearby islands and cut down as many trees as they could lug back onto the deck..

Then the timber was arranged to look like a jungle canopy <http://www.navy.gov.au/hmas-abraham-crijnssen> , covering as much square footage as possible..

Any leftover parts of the ship were painted to look like rocks and cliff faces these guys weren't messing around..

HRMS_Abraham_Crijnssen_disguised_as_a_tropical_island

Now, a camouflaged ship in deep trouble is better than a completely exposed ship..

But there was still the problem of the Japanese noticing a mysterious moving island and wondering what would happen if they shot at it..

Because of this, the crew figured the best means of convincing the Axis powers that they were an island was to truly be an island: by not moving at all during daylight hours..

While the sun was up they would anchor the ship near other islands, then cover as much ocean as they could once night fell praying the Japanese wouldn't notice a disappearing and reappearing island amongst the nearly 18,000 existing islands <http://www.mapsofworld.com/indonesia/facts.html>  in Indonesia.. 

And, as luck would have it, they didn't..

The Crijnssen managed to go undetected by Japanese planes and avoid the destroyer that sank the other Dutch warships, surviving the eight-day journey to Australia and reuniting with Allied forces..

 

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Thanks to Mud on the creation of the Israeli Air force

    In addition to these I can't help but wonder how many Americans did in fact fight in the early Israeli Air Force.

 

https://biggeekdad.com/2013/02/the-creation-of-the-israeli-air-force/

 

More from Steve

Here's some interesting info on the pilots in the film:

 

https://www.jewishexponent.com/2015/04/20/the-american-pilots-who-fought-for-israel-in-1948/

 

 

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Thanks to Ed…..John Denver's father set the speed records in this airplane. Real last name Deutschendorf .   No wonder he changed it.  skip

The National Interest: FACT: The Air Force's B-58 Bomber Never Dropped A Bomb In Anger

 

A complete failure of a plane. Key Question: Why? In an era of fantastic aircraft, the B-58 Hustler was one of the most visually striking warplanes ever to fly. Its delta wing, giant engines, and remarkable performance gave rise to the myth that pilots could literally tear the wings off the bomber if they flew it too fast. That wasn't true, but the B-58 was nevertheless a difficult plane to fly. Although an engineering marvel, the Hustler suffered from appalling ….

Read in The National Interest: https://apple.news/AGt32Eh2_Pw6k7vHPQhiiVQ

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Thanks to Dutch and Hal…This is a great story

 

Subject:  To Catch A Bomb-Maker

From old friend, ret FBI career pilot who spent first third of his career as a ground agent.

Fascinating read. I wish it wasn't so revealing.

---------- Forwarded Good read about the FBI catching bomb-makers:

 

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/to-catch-a-bomb-maker

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Thanks Barrel I really needed this one

 

Feeling Old?

The Beatles split 52 yrs ago..

The movie Wizard of Oz is 82 yrs old.

Elvis is dead 44 yrs. He'd be 86 today.

Michael Jackson's Thriller video is 38 yrs old.

Mickey Mantle retired 53 yrs ago.

The movie Saturday Night Fever is 44 yrs old.

The Ed Sullivan show ended 49 yrs ago.

The Corvette turned 68 yrs old this year.

The Mustang is 57.

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See the attachment from Barrel who has contributed much to today's List

Duties of a co-pilot 1930

 

 

Thanks to Barrel

 

Joe Biden's Appalling  Payout to Illegals

 

Our "open borders" president is poised to pay huge sums of money to hundreds of illegal immigrant families.

By: Douglas Andrews

The Patriot Post

October 29, 2021

(Emphasis added)

 

When news broke yesterday that the Biden administration is in discussions to lavishly compensate certain Trump-era illegal immigrants for their troubles at the border, Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL who sacrificed his right eye for this nation, made a powerful point:

"Biden wants to pay illegal immigrants $450,000 for their hardship while breaking our laws," he said. "For perspective, if a service member is killed in action, their next of kin gets an insurance payment of $400,000. Let that sink in."

Indeed, let it sink in. Because when a country compensates those who break its laws more handsomely than it compensates those who fight and die for it, that country is sick.

We're not talking a handful of payouts here, either. And we're not talking $450,000 per family; we're talking per person. As The Wall Street Journal reports:

The U.S. Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services are considering payments that could amount to close to $1 million a family, though the final numbers could shift, the people familiar with the matter said. Most of the families that crossed the border illegally from Mexico to seek asylum in the U.S. included one parent and one child, the people said. Many families would likely get smaller payouts, depending on their circumstances, the people said.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents families in one of the lawsuits, has identified about 5,500 children separated at the border over the course of the Trump administration, citing figures provided to it by the government. The number of families eligible under the potential settlement is expected to be smaller, the people said, as government officials aren't sure how many will come forward. Around 940 claims have so far been filed by the families, the people said.

The total potential payout could be $1 billion or more.

Part of us says this shouldn't surprise us, given Biden's open-borders policy (which is to say, his policy of keeping the borders open while paying lip service to the need to close them), and given his tiresome attempts to blame-shift from his awful immigration policies to the smart, effective, and ultimately humane immigration policies of the Trump administration.

But the other part of us is, frankly, stunned by the audacity of it. For example, the plaintiffs in these lawsuits speak of the "lasting psychological trauma" endured by the children who were separated from their parents. But where was the concern of these parents for the welfare of their children when they embarked on their dangerous, arduous, and unlawful journey to penetrate our nation's border? Why are we rewarding these people? When we arrest a criminal for breaking into a building, do we compensate him for the "lasting psychological trauma" he endured while being stuffed into the police cruiser and sent to jail? Of course not.

Here's an idea: If the ambulance chasers at the ACLU and their fellow leftist legal groups are sincere about the "lasting psychological trauma" of the children, then by all means let's compensate the children. Let's fund their psychological care for as long as their parents deem it necessary. In their country of origin.

But regardless, let's not broadcast our willingness to throw piles of money at people who come here illegally. If we think the border crisis is bad now, just wait until word of this lavish Biden payout scheme filters its way back to the tens of millions of Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, Salvadorans, Haitians, and others who'd like to take advantage of the Biden administration's generosity with your money.

Heck, even a nation-wrecker like Barack Obama now concedes that open borders are "unsustainable."

Human nature is sometimes confounding, but at other times it's entirely predictable. For example, when a presidential administration announces and enforces a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal immigrants, folks stop trying to illegally immigrate. But when a presidential candidate says "all those people who are seeking asylum" should "immediately surge to the border," well, folks pay attention. And they surge to the border.

And when word gets out that we're rewarding illegal immigrants with $450,000 for their troubles, what on earth do we think will happen?

 

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Thanks to Richard……We had the B-36 wing at Loring AFB in Maine in the early 50s and I saw a lot of them flying around. skip

 

Subject:  Bad Day...B-36

 

I'm sure some of you have read of this incident but maybe some have not.  

Ah, back when engines were really engines....  At 5:05 a.m. on November 22,1950 Aircraft Commander 1st Lt. Oliver Hildebrandt, Pilot 1st Lt. Walter Ross, and Co-pilot Captain Wilbur Evans, and a crew of thirteen took off from Carswell AFB in B-36B, 44-92035 of the 26th Bomb Squadron of the 7th Bomb Wing. The planned 30-hour training mission consisted of air-to-air gunnery, bombing, simulated radar bombing, and navigational training. 

Immediately after take-off, the #4 alternator would not stay in parallel with the other three alternators, so it was taken off-line and de-excited three minutes into the flight.

About one minute after the #4 alternator was shut down, flames 8 to 12 feet long erupted from around the air plug of the number-one engine.  The left scanner reported the flames to the pilot.  Six minutes after take-off, the flight engineer shut down the number-one engine, feathered its propeller, and expended one of its Methyl bromide fire extinguishing bottles.

The mission continued on the power of the remaining five engines. 44-92035 cruised to the gunnery range on Matagorda Island at an altitude of 5,000 feet.  It arrived at 7:00 a.m. and the gunners began practicing.

Radar Observer S/Sgt. Ray Earl manned the tail turret.  The charger for the right gun burned out, so he expended just half of his ammunition.  Then the APG-3 radar for the tail turret started acting up, so S/Sgt. Earl secured the set.

Aircraft Commander 1st Lt. Oliver Hildebrandt noted that the vibration from firing the 20 mm cannons increased significantly during the fourth gunnery pass.  Immediately afterward, radar operator Captain James Yeingst notified Hildebrandt that the APQ-24 radar set blew up and was smoking.  Vibration from the firing of the guns was causing shorting between the internal components of the radar.  Then the liaison transmitter failed as well.

The cannons in the left forward upper turret and the left rear upper turret stopped firing. The gunners attempted to retract the gun turrets, but the failed turrets would not retract. Gunner S/Sgt. Fred Boyd entered the turret bay, but other problems began to take precedence over the stuck turrets.  Boyd was called out of the bay before he could manually crank the turret down.

At 7:31 a.m. the number-three engine suffered an internal failure. The torque pressure fell to zero.  The manifold pressure dropped to atmospheric pressure.  The fuel flow dropped off, and the flight engineer could not stabilize the engine speed.  The pilot shut down the number-three engine and feathered its propeller.  

 The B-36B had only one operating engine on the left wing, so the pilot aborted the remainder of the training mission and set course for Kelly Air Force Base.

Flight engineer Captain Samuel Baker retarded the spark, set the mixture controls to "normal", and set the engine RPM's to 2,500 to increase the power from the remaining engines.  Unknown to Captain Baker, the vibration from the guns had disabled the electrical systems controlling the spark settings and fuel mixture.  He immediately discovered that the turbo control knobs no longer affected the manifold pressure.

The B-36B could not maintain its airspeed on the power of the four remaining engines.  It descended about 1,000 feet and its airspeed bled off to 135 miles per hour.  The pilot called for more power.  The flight engineer attempted to increase engine speed to 2,650 RPM and enrich the fuel mixture, but got no response from the engines except for severe backfiring. 

The fuel mixture indicators for all of the engines indicated lean.  The second flight engineer, M/Sgt. Edward Farcas, checked the electrical fuse panel.  Although the fuses appeared to be intact, he replaced the master turbo fuse and all of the individual turbo fuses.  He noticed that the turbo-amplifiers and mixture amplifiers were all cooler than normal.  He climbed into the bomb bay to check the aircraft power panels and fuses, but could not find any problem there.

Kelly Air Force Base had a cloud overcast at just 300 feet and the visibility was restricted to two miles.  The weather at Bergstrom Air Force Base was not as bad, with scattered clouds at 1,000 feet, broken clouds at 2,000 feet and 10 miles visibility. Carswell Air Force Base was clear with 10 miles visibility, but it was 155 miles farther away than Bergstrom.  Air traffic control cleared all airspace below 4,000 feet ahead of the crippled B-36B.  Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt was flying on instruments in thick clouds.

The poor weather at Kelly Air Force Base convinced Hildebrandt to change course from Kelly to Carswell Air Force Base, passing by Bergstrom Air Force Base on the way in case the airplane could not make it to Carswell.

 Bombardier Captain Robert Nelson made two attempts to salvo the 1,500 pounds of practice bombs in the rear bomb bay, but the bomb bay doors would not open by automatic or manual control, or emergency procedure.  There was no way to dump fuel to reduce the weight of the B-36B.  

The flight engineers resorted to holding down the switches used to prime the fuel system in an attempt to increase fuel flow to the engines. M/Sgt. Edward Farcas held down the prime switches for the number-two and number-four engines while Captain Baker held down the prime switch for the number-five engine and operated the flight engineer's panel.  The configuration of the switches did not allow them to prime the number-five engine and the number-six engine at the same time.

The high power demand coupled with the lean fuel mixture made the cylinder head temperatures of the engines climb to 295 degrees C.  Flight engineer Baker jockeyed the throttles, decreasing the throttle setting of the engine with the highest cylinder head temperature until another engine grew even hotter.  The high temperature caused the gasoline/air mixture in the cylinders to detonate before the pistons reached top dead center, diminishing power and damaging the engines.

Despite the critical situation with the engines, Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt decided to continue past Bergstrom Air Force Base to Carswell.  Bergstrom was overcast and its runway was only 6,000 feet long. Carswell offered a much longer runway.  

By the time the B-36B reached Cleburne, the backfiring on all engines increased in violence.  The number-2, number-5, and number-6 engines were running at 70% power and the number-4 engine was producing only 20% power.  The airspeed had dropped off to 130 miles per hour.

 Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt attempted to restart the number-one engine, the one that had spouted flames on take-off, but fuel was not getting to its induction system.  He tried to restart the number-three engine, but could not unfeather the propeller on that engine.  As the bomber passed to the west of Cleburne, the right scanner reported dense white smoke, oil, and metal particles coming from the number-five engine.

After a short while the number-five engine lost power, and Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt feathered the propeller on that engine while still twenty-one miles from Carswell Air Force Base.  

The B-36B could not stay airborne on the power of the three remaining failing engines.  It was flying at just 125 miles per hour, seven miles per hour above the stall speed, losing both altitude and airspeed.

Howard McCullough and W. Boeten were flying Civil Aeronautics Authority DC-3 N342 near Cleburne.  They were notified by Meacham Tower to be on the lookout for 44-92035.  They spotted it about five miles south of Cleburne.  They observed that the number-one and number-three propellers were feathered and the number-five engine was on fire.  They turned to follow the descending bomber. 

Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt ordered the crew to bail out of the stricken bomber.

Bombardier Captain Robert Nelson had bailed out of airplanes on two previous occasions.  He had crash landed twice and ditched once.  He was the first man to bail out from the forward crew compartment.  He suffered contusions of his lower spine when he landed.

Radar Operator Captain James Yeingst responded to stress with laughter and jokes.  He was a bit giddy before the bailout.  He was the second man to exit from the forward crew compartment.  His parachute streamed after he pulled the rip cord.  He passed Captain Nelson going down.  Captain Yeingst's parachute mushroomed open just before he hit the ground, but he suffered fatal injuries.

Co-pilot Captain Wilbur Evans was the third man to exit from the forward crew compartment.  He had bailed out of airplanes twice before and crash landed several times during WW-II.  This time he broke both bones in his lower right leg when he landed.

Navigator Captain Horace Stewart had previously tried to get off flying status because he felt that the B-36 was too dangerous.  It is reported that during the hour before bailout, he was tense, nervous, and chain-smoking.  He was the fourth man to bail out from the forward crew compartment.

He pulled his rip cord right as he exited the forward escape hatch on the left side of the fuselage.  His parachute opened and pulled him toward the number three propeller.  His head hit the downward pointing blade of the propeller, killing him instantly.

Radio Operator Cpl. Paul Myers followed Captain Stewart out the escape hatch.  Myers landed with minor injuries. 

Flight Engineer M/Sgt. Edward Farcas jumped head first through the exit hatch of the forward crew compartment right after Cpl. Myers.  His parachute did not open when he pulled the rip cord.  He pulled the parachute out of its pack with his hands and landed with only minor injuries.

 Radar Mechanic Robert Gianerakis and Flight Engineer Captain Samuel Baker were the next to escape from the forward compartment.  Both landed with only minor injuries.

Radio Operator Sgt. Armando Villareal bailed out after Captain Baker.  Villareal did not trust his parachute to open, so he pulled the rip cord while he was still in the forward crew compartment.  He held his parachute in his arms as he jumped feet first through the escape hatch.  Despite his unorthodox method of escape, he landed with only minor injuries.

Pilot 1st Lt. Walter Ross was the next to last to leave the forward compartment.  He landed with only minor injuries.  Gunner S/Sgt. Andrew Byrne and Radar Observer S/Sgt. Ray Earl were the first two crew members to bail out of the rear crew compartment.  Both landed with only minor injuries. 

Gunner Cpl. Calvin Martin was the third man to exit the rear crew compartment.  He was swinging under his parachute as he hit the ground.  He broke his right ankle as he landed.  He fell backward onto a rock, fracturing his third lumbar vertebra and compressing his tailbone.

Gunner S/Sgt. Ronald Williams followed Cpl. Martin out the rear escape hatch.  He landed with only minor injuries.  Gunner S/Sgt. Fred Boyd was the last man to exit the rear crew compartment.  He called to Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt over the intercom to let him know that everyone had escaped from the aft compartment.  When he turned back to the exit hatch, it had fallen shut.  He had to open the hatch again to make his escape.  He broke the fibula of his left leg when he landed farther to the north than the other crew members.

After S/Sgt. Boyd reported that all other crew members had bailed out of the rear compartment, Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt set the autopilot and jumped clear when the bomber was less than 1,000 feet above the ground.  He and nine other crew members escaped from the B-36B with only minor injuries.  When McCullough and Boeten in DC-3, N342 saw the parachutes of the escaping crew members, they announced the bail-out on the emergency frequency of 121.25 megacycles.

Each report of Emergency Parachute Jump indicates that the incident occurred 20 miles south southeast of Carswell Air Force Base.  The descent of the B-36B was witnessed by Mr. Buck Bell and his wife, who lived about 5 to 7 miles southwest of Crowley, Texas.

Mr. Bell saw the crew members parachuting from the bomber, but did not see it hit the ground about one mile north of his house.  Mr. James Bandy and his wife were on the road to Cleburne about 4 miles from their house on Route 1 near Joshua when they spotted the B-36B trailing smoke, flying in a nose-high attitude.  They saw it hit the ground in a level attitude, raising a cloud of dust.

The B-36B descended straight ahead in a nose-high attitude for a mile after Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt bailed out.  It stalled, pitched nose down, and impacted in a terraced field on Les Armstrong's dairy, 14 miles south of Carswell Air Force Base, 2 miles west of the South leg FTW range, and six miles west of Crowley at 9:50 in the morning. 

The forward crew compartment separated and folded underneath the rest of the fuselage.  The tail section broke off, and the rear crew compartment came away from the mid-fuselage as the wreckage slid 850 feet along the ground and twisted to the right.

The rear sections of the airplane remained largely intact.  The elevation at the crash site was approximately 700 feet.  Mr. W. Doggett witnessed the bail-out and crash from his home on Route 1 near Joshua.  The B-36B impacted about 2-1/2 miles north of his house.  He drove to the crash site in his pickup truck and helped the surviving crew members to regroup.

 Four minutes after the crash, McCullough and Boeten in DC-3, N342 reported that two Navy aircraft were circling the wreckage.  The wreckage smoldered for about eight minutes before a fire broke out in the number-six engine.  The 15,000 gallons of remaining fuel consumed the forward fuselage and wings.  The civilians and crew members were driven away from the crash site by exploding ammunition and the knowledge of the presence of 1,500 pounds of bombs aboard the airplane.