Burlington, Vermont – February 11, 1936 

     On February 8, 1936, a fleet of U. S. Army aircraft assigned to the 20th Pursuit Group at Barksdale Airfield in Louisiana, arrived in Burlington to participate in aerial “war games” with army planes from the 3rd Attack Group stationed at Concord, New Hampshire.  In all there were 31 planes which, it was reported, was the largest concentration of aircraft to date at the Burlington Airport.   

     The “war games” were to be conducted over several days to test how the aircraft would react to cold weather, and to hone readiness and response capabilities of the air crews. 

     In one particular exercise, 6 bombers and 9 attack aircraft took off from Concord to conduct and air raid on Burlington.  The aircraft approached the city in groups of three, with each group attacking at five to ten minute intervals.  The raid was successful, but 16 defending aircraft “shot down” the attackers before they could get away, with both sides claiming victory.

     On February 11, three aircraft participating in maneuvers crashed at the Burlington Airport.     

     The first occurred at 6:30 a.m. when a pilot taking off in a Boeing P-26 struck a snow bank and wrecked the aircraft.  The pilot was not seriously injured. 

     The second crash occurred at 8:30 a.m. when a pilot flying a Boeing P-36 came in for a landing and overshot the runway and crashed at high speed into a snowbank.  The pilot was not seriously injured, but the aircraft was wrecked. 

     The third crash occurred later in the day when a pursuit plane taking off in poor visibility failed to gain sufficient altitude and crashed into a snowbank.  The aircraft flipped over onto its back, but the pilot wasn’t seriously injured. 

     The “war games” came to an end on February 15 due to poor weather. 

     Sources:

     Burlington Free Press, “Two Army Planes Here Crack Up In Maneuvers, No Serious Casualties”, February 11, 1936

     Burlington Free Press, No Headline-news snippet, February 12, 1936. 

     Burlington Free Press, “Burlington A Mass Of Ruins”, February 13, 1936, pg. 12.

    Burlington Free Press, “Air Maneuvers Come To End”, February 15, 1936.

   Daily Alaska Empire, “Army Pursuit Planes Crash”, February 11, 1936