Largest Bomber Ramp Collision of all time!! ...

[Mark Allen M]

Between two big airplanes? Probably not, but it was a big one never-the-less.

J Baugher states the following:

Consolidated B-36A-15-CF Peacemaker 44-92019 (MSN 16) Accepted by USAF Aug 1948.
Converted to RB-36E-10-CF. 72nd Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Travis AFB, Fairfield, CA.
Damaged in ground accident with 44-92022 Aug 22, 1951 at Travis AFB, CA.
The forward fuselage was severed. 72nd Bombardment Wing, Ramey AFB, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

Consolidated B-36A-15-CF Peacemaker 44-92022 (MSN 19) Accepted by USAF Sep 1948.
Converted to RB-36E-10-CF. 72nd Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, 5th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Travis AFB, Fairfield, CA.
Damaged in collision with parked RB-36E 44-92019 while taxiing Aug 22, 1951 at Travis AFB, CA.
72nd Bombardment Wing, Ramey AFB, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Featherweight Configuration II.
To MASDC Aug 12, 1956 and scrapped there.

[AG pilot]

Great photo, with skid marks visible! Interesting to see even though they are three serial numbers apart, one has round propeller tips and the other square.

[L-188]

. Love to know how this happened. I'd also love to know how General Hawks would handle the debriefing.

[Randy Wilson]

Mark and others, are you aware of the tornado that struck Carswell AFB on Labor Day, Monday, 1 September 1952? Attached are a couple of images from "B-36 Photo Scrapbook" by Dennis R. Jenkins, Mike Moore, and Don Pyeatt. The storm struck at 17:50 when there were 76 B-36s at Carswell, 41 at the Convair plant that were considered flightworthy, and B-36s at other bases. "At 18:15 hours only the 28 at other bases and 6 at Fort Worth were considered flightworthy."

The B-36 with the broken tail and missing wing is B-36D (44-92051), the only airframe never returned to service from the storm damage. There are some other images on the web if you Google "1952 Carswell AFB tornado". Randy

Attachments

[Randy Wilson]

Mark, in the same book I mentioned above, I just noticed that there is a chapter called "Pinocchio" on the ground accident you posted at the beginning of this thread. It is a bit too much text to copy here but in summary, 44-92022 returned and landed at night, in the dark. While performing a post-flight mag check the brakes failed and this wasn't noticed by the crew until it had moved forward 200-300 feet and impacted 44-92019, breaking the fuselage and mangling the nose of 019. There are six pages about the accident and the repair of 019, pages 77-82. Just FYI.

Randy

[Mark Allen M]

Here's the only other "mass-mess" I'm aware of with B-36's on the ground.

[6trn4brn]

Good Lord, those photos are hard to look at

[Michel Lemieux]

Just wow!!!!!

Thank you for posting!