Boeing O2B-1 Bird Strike 8 March 1928 Nicaragua

[paulmcmillan]

From Newpapers reports

AIRPLANE; Marine Captain and a Sergeant Crash in Nicaragua When Vulture Breaks Strut. PARACHUTES FAIL TO OPEN Plane Was About to Land at Esteli--Birds Are Greatest Peril to Fliers There.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, March 8. 1928-- Captain William Carl Byrd and Sergeant Rudolph Adolph Frankforter were killed this afternoon in the crash of their airplane when about to land on the marine flying field at Esteli, one of the northern provinces, in which Sandinistas recently were active.

This is listed as a O2B Plane

Boeing O2B-1 maybe Marine Observation Sqn 6 (VO-6M)

Byrd
Birth Date 29 Sep 1895

Frankforter
Birth Date 19 Jan 1892

Can anyone please provide an ID for the aircraft thanks Paul

[RSwank]

The crash of the O2B is listed on this page but without a serial number (i.e. unknown).

http://92.53.241.206/listPages/navy/asp/USN_1928.asp

[twocee]

Paul,

The problem here is that the accident card is missing. All I could find was a small slip of paper with the date, surnames and "O2B-1". Having checked the O2B fates on the history cards there is none that would fit a loss on this date and so the identity of the aircraft remains a mystery.

[Stig Jarlevik]

Perhaps the aircraft type is listed wrongly?

B Rgds
Stig

[RSwank]

For what it is worth, Ancestry.com has the U.S. Navy Burial Records Book 1898 to 1932 (hand written) which shows a line for both Byrd and the next line for Frankforter. In the column headed Cause of Death both have "Crash of O2B Plane" listed

For those with Ancestry access:

https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui...view/2539:3014

[twocee]

The following is from Sherrod's Marine aviation history:

Captain William C. Byrd and Sergeant Rudolph A. Frankforter met a one-in-a-million fate. As they came in for a landing at Esteli on 8 March 1928, a buzzard flew into their O2B-1, knocking off the outboard port strut. Byrd parachuted too late; Frankforter stayed with the plane and was killed when it crashed.

[paulmcmillan]

All
Thanks for looking - it appears that this will
Remain an unknown Id Paul