Barre, VT. – December 9, 1960

Barre, Vermont – December 9, 1960

 

B-52 Stratofortress
U.S. Air Force Photo

     On December 9, 1960, a B-52 Stratofortress, (Ser. No. 55-0114), left Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, Massachusetts, for a training flight that would take it over upstate New York.  While over the Adirondack Mountians the aircraft experienced a significant drop in altitude and the crew, believing the aircraft was going to crash, ejected.   After all eight crewmen left the aircraft, the B-52 continued on for nearly one-hundred miles before crashing on the outskirts of Barre, Vermont, near the Plainfield town line.  The plane exploded on impact and was blown to pieces.  

     The crew were identified as:

     Pilot: Captain William T. Combs, 42, of Bristol, Va.

     Co-pilot: Lieutenant James Saravo, 25, of Newport, R.I.

     Navigator: Captain Ronald D. Little, 29, of Altoona, Pa.

     Radar Observer: Major Karl E. Keyes, 43, of Hyattsville, Md.

     Electronics Warfare Officer: 1st Lieutenant George M. Davis, of Pawtucket, R.I.

     Tail Gunner: Staff Sergeant Pierre J. Maheux, of Auburn, Maine.

     Instructor Pilot: Major Henry Luscomb, 41, of Simsbury, Ct.

     Airman 1C Charles E. Morris, 32, of Clearwater, Fl.

     The aircraft was part of the 348th Bomber Squadron, 99th Bombardment Group, based at Westover AFB.       

     Most of the crew came down in the Schroon Lake region.  Some were injured, and each faced dealing with below freezing temperatures before being rescued.  All would later recover.

     After two days the only crewman unaccounted for was Staff Sergeant Maheux.  His remains were found by a fisherman several months later on July 4, 1961.  He’s buried in St. Peters Cemetery, in Lewiston, Maine.     

     Sources:

     Springfield Union, “B52 From Westover Crashes In Vermont”, December 10, 1960, page 1.

     Springfield Union, “6 Westover Fliers Found; Search Is On For 2 Others”, December 12, 1960  

     Springfield Union, “Seventh Man Rescued In AF Plane Crash”,

     www.findagrave.com  memorial #121568372

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