Mysterious USAF C-124 Globmaster disappearance 1953

[researcher111]

Incidently I came across to this subject somehow associated to my 15th Air Force and specific historical work .

On March 23, 1951 (not 1953) about 612 NM SW of Shanon ,Ireland, a USAF C-124 Globemaster of 2nd Strategic Support Sqd. enroute from Roswell AFB with a stop at Lime AFB Gander to Mildenhall AB UK ,transmitted an emergency signal reporting a fire in its cargo bay while crusing at FL 280 ( 28’000 feet ) which received by USCG ship Casco and USAF AFB SAR Station at Kefliavik, Iceland .

Co Pilot call gave their position as 51.30 North and 27 .05 minutes West according to the Casco Logbook , his name is still classified as we speak .

The aircraft was piloted by Maj.Bell a WWII and Korean conflict veteran. Unable to extinguish the fire, Maj.Bell made the decision to ditch while there was still daylight. The exact ditching position of 50 degrees 22 minutes North, 22 degrees 20 minutes West was radioed to USCG vessel Casco. The aircraft landed safely and intact. All pax donned life preservers and climbed into inflatable 5-man rafts equipped with numerous survival supplies, including food, water, cold weather clothing for 14 days at sea and hand crank survival radio beacons .

USAF dispatched from Lakenheath AFB, UK a B-29 which located the survivors, who fired several flares, but was not carrying any air droppable rescue equipment. The B-29 radioed the coordinates of the survivors and circled until it reached critical fuel then was forced to make an 180 due to fuel critical . No radio distress signal (s) were received by the departing B-29 nor any other on guard stations in Iceland

Rather bizare no other United States or Allied planes or ships made it to the ditch site for over nineteen hours, until Sunday, 25 March 1951.

When the first rescue boats and amphibious aircraft reached the scene 19 hours later, all that was found was a burned briefcase and a partially deflated life raft. Despite the largest air and sea search up to that time, not even one body was found. Apart from General Cullen and James Hopkins, Jr., Aircraft Commander “Big Stink” (the third aircraft on the August 1945 Nagasaki Atomic Bombing mission) the aircraft also carried 50 USAF officers ex 15th and 8th AF’s intel,photo recon radar bombings specialists.

There is no conclusive proof that anything unusual happened before the aircraft struck the water, not that it struck the water out of control. There is evidence that a fire occurred on water surface after the impact. Included in the post crash report are over a dozen pages of debris analysis by the airplane's manufacturer.

Later on was determined that a Soviet submarine and a intel vessel were active in the area. It has been speculated that Cullen and his companions were taken aboard Soviet submarine and brought to Russia for interrogation purposes. Due to their expertise in nuclear and other defense matters, Cullen and the other men on the airplane would have been an intelligence asset to the Soviets.

Cullen had been the air service's leading expert on aerial reconnaissance and aerial photography he was alos the head of photography at the Crossroads atom bomb tests in the Pacific in the late 1940s. He also had served as commander of the 2nd Operations Group on two occasions during World War II.

Major Bell was the first pilot of a C-124 Globemaster transport based assigned to the 2nd Service and Supply Squadron, 47th Air Division at Gander, Newfoundland. I have obtain part of pax manifest , rest is still
cassified

Soviet spies who changed side during and in post Cold War era had no specific information about any Soviet involvement adding even more uncertainty

The Times Magazine first reported on the airplane's loss in 2011 on the 60th anniversary of its disappearance. At the time, U.S.-Russian relations were about as cordial as they had been since the fall of the Soviet Union. Since then, however, crises in places such as Estonia, Georgia and Ukraine have resulted in a serious chill.

Cheers
Alex K

[edwest2]

I hope the following is helpful:


https://www.101highlandlakes.com/new...life-and-death

[Stig Jarlevik]

Alex

You have posted this in the wrong forum.
Should be in the Post War section

The C-124A was 49-0244 and the unit reported as 2 SSS (Strategic Support Squadron) and if I remember correctly
they had something to do with the movement of the US atomic bombs or the missiles themselves.
There were four of them (no 1 to 4...)

B Rgds
Stig

[researcher111]

Stig

I'm fully aware on all details , including Net search results

Yes, is on the wrong topic but since linked to a former
WWII 15th AF Ploesti Radar Bombardier who perished
on that day I elected to place it on here

Cheers
Alex K

[Stig Jarlevik]

Alex

Good to know, however there might be others who are not....

Cheers
Stig