| TRAGEDY AFTER MIDNIGHT: COCOA GOES DOWN -- JUNE 27, 1958 |
A KC-135 aircrew, with the call
sign "Cocoa," attempted to break
a transatlantic speed record just
after midnight June 27, 1958.
The tanker, weighing more than
289,000 pounds at takeoff from
Runway 23, hit some power
lines before plunging across the
Massachusetts Turnpike at
12:30 a.m., according to
witnesses. It then exploded in
the back yard of a nearby
family's farm. All 15 people
aboard the plane were killed.
The explosion sent a huge
fireball into the sky that some
people first thought was a
nuclear strike on Westover.
One of those in the crew was
Brig. Gen. Donald W. Saunders,
commander of the 57th Air
Division at the base.
Also killed was Lt. Col. George
Broutsas, aircraft commander,
and 99th Air Refueling
Squadron commander.
sign "Cocoa," attempted to break
a transatlantic speed record just
after midnight June 27, 1958.
The tanker, weighing more than
289,000 pounds at takeoff from
Runway 23, hit some power
lines before plunging across the
Massachusetts Turnpike at
12:30 a.m., according to
witnesses. It then exploded in
the back yard of a nearby
family's farm. All 15 people
aboard the plane were killed.
The explosion sent a huge
fireball into the sky that some
people first thought was a
nuclear strike on Westover.
One of those in the crew was
Brig. Gen. Donald W. Saunders,
commander of the 57th Air
Division at the base.
Also killed was Lt. Col. George
Broutsas, aircraft commander,
and 99th Air Refueling
Squadron commander.
| Brig. Gen. Donald Saunders |
CREW OF COCOA: Four members of the ill-fated crew of Cocoa, the third of four KC-135s that was to attempt to break a
transatlantic speec record, review a map on the flight line at Westover. The tanker behind them may be the one that
went down at 12:30 a.m. on June 27, 1958 (serial #56-3599). But there's no way to tell here because the four-digit
serial number normally positioned behind the "Milky Way" band is not visible. The KC-135 was supposed to be the
third of four taking off that night. The crews were attempting to beat a transatlantic speed record. The lead tanker, call
sign "Alfa," and piloted by aircraft commander Maj. Burl Davenport, did complete the trip to London to break the record,
as did the second, "Bravo." SAC ordered the fourth tanker to remain on the ground at the base after the accident.
(Holyoke Transcript-Telegram clipping provided by Stan Lukasiewicz)
transatlantic speec record, review a map on the flight line at Westover. The tanker behind them may be the one that
went down at 12:30 a.m. on June 27, 1958 (serial #56-3599). But there's no way to tell here because the four-digit
serial number normally positioned behind the "Milky Way" band is not visible. The KC-135 was supposed to be the
third of four taking off that night. The crews were attempting to beat a transatlantic speed record. The lead tanker, call
sign "Alfa," and piloted by aircraft commander Maj. Burl Davenport, did complete the trip to London to break the record,
as did the second, "Bravo." SAC ordered the fourth tanker to remain on the ground at the base after the accident.
(Holyoke Transcript-Telegram clipping provided by Stan Lukasiewicz)
| Holyoke Transcript-Telegram, editorial column June 27, 1958 |
The headstone of Brig. Gen. Donald W. Saunders is in a
graveyard in his home town of Athens, N.Y.
(photo taken by Anthony Appa)
graveyard in his home town of Athens, N.Y.
(photo taken by Anthony Appa)
| ON THE ELLIPSE -- I shot this photo in July 2009 of the memorial to members of the 499th Air Refueling Wing who lost their lives in the line of duty. In the background to the right is the KC-135A model, a replica of 56-3637. This aircraft was one of two which broke the speed record in June 1958 during Operation Topsail. On the plaque are names of some of the crew who died in the early morning hours of June 27, 1958, when a third KC-135, 56-3599, crashed after takeoff from Westover. Those Air Force crew members included Lt. Col. George Broutsas, 99th Air Refueling Squadron commander; Capt. James Shipman, KC-135 pilot; 1st Lt. Joe Sweet, pilot; and TSgt. Joseph Hutter, boom operator. Other crew members on this plaque include Maj. Charles Mellinger, a KC-97 aircraft commander who died in a 1957 crash in the tanker near Griffiss AFB, N.Y., and MSgt. Daniel Donahue (his son, Dana pointed out the error with his dad's first name), who was the sole crewmember that did not survive the crash of a KC-135 near Westover in June 1963. Christopher Doyle, an Air Force reserve senior master sergeant, led the effort to move this plaque and place it at the Base Ellipse. It is one of the few remaining known artifacts of Westover's heyday as a major SAC installation. |