Whatever happened to 52-534

This is a very interesting mystery we stumbled across tonight (my other half was watching something and heard about it and asked me about it).

On February 20th 1953, the 306th Bomb Wing went operational, with B-47 bombers. They were the first operational B-47 unit in the US. They proceeded to set 14 Trans-Atlantic speed records while transporting 1700 men, and 1 million tons of supplies overseas in four days. They deployed 45 B-47s and 22 KC-97s.

On March 10th, 1956 four B-47s left MacDill AFB, Florida for Ben Guir Air Base, Morocco on a routine mission. The four aircraft belonged to the 369th Bomb Squadron. Each aircraft carried two cases of nuclear materials, that while in the case would prevent a nuclear blast.

The first in flight refueling took place near the Azores, and all four aircraft took on 35,000 pounds of fuel from KC-97 tankers, and proceeded on with the flight. Everything was normal, until the second scheduled in flight refueling point.

The four B-47s, flying together in loose formation, began their descent near the Algerian coast, where they were scheduled to refuel at 14,000 feet from another group of KC-97s. At the time of their descent, they were flying over a cloud deck. The four aircraft entered the cloud deck, but at the bottom of it, only three aircraft appeared.

B-47E 52-534, crewed by Captain Robert Hodgin (AC), Captain Gordon Insley (Observer), and 2nd LT Ronald Kurtz (co-pilot) was nowhere to be seen.

The KC-97 assigned to refuel 534 tried to raise them on radio, with no success. After several minutes of trying, they sent out an alert for the missing aircraft, and a massive search was begun. In addition to Air Force assets, the Royal Navy abandoned their exercises in the area to help, French and Moroccan troops were also enlisted in the search.

A French news agency reported the aircraft may have exploded in flight near the village of Sebatna in French Morocco. The position given was close to the last known position of the aircraft. Another report said it went down southeast of the Algerian port of Port Say.

Despite an extensive and exhaustive search, no trace of debris, the crew, or the weapons capsules was ever found. To this day, no explanation has been put forth as to what could have happened to the aircraft, or what the possible cause of the accident was.

chipandtracy.com...

WOW! So I assume this would qualify as another broken arrow..

Waiting for the usual alien abduction claims on this one.

reply to post by Grimpachi


Yeah it is another one. This is the first I've heard all the details of it though. I had heard that one crashed, but I hadn't heard all the details of it.

I certainly hope these are areas those very expensive intelligence agencies have people generally around and listening in...forever. Just so when someone finally finds the thing, in whatever really weird place it wound up....That weapon that is supposed to be nearly indestructible in accidents can be recovered real promptly.

Talk about the ultimate scavenger hunt among nut jobs with manpower or influence to call upon some.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


By now the chances of the weapon working still, are pretty slim. Between age, and if it was damaged in the accident, the radiation in the weapon would have destroyed the electronics by now. It could be reverse engineered, but that would be the biggest threat from it.

reply to post by Zaphod58


My money says it went to France as they decided to build a nuke that same year and detonated its first in 1960. It would not take to much time to get there either before they could hide it. They probably had another commercial aircraft screen it back to France as a way to hide it from radar.

The French also then passed that tech on to Israel, sounds about right doesn't it?

Seeing this being brought up brings me to this. The mid-air disintegration of 58-0187 over North Carolina.

With the revelation that came out last week of the "Broken Arrow" incident back in North Carolina over fifty years ago. The incident I am referring to is the breakup of a B-52 Stratofortress in the area of Goldsboro, North Carolina. An incident in which the bombs were in fact armed with five of the six arming switches in the "ON" position. A former lieutenant that was there to retrieve and possibly disarm one of the bombs had in fact completed the arming sequence when the bombs were found. The bomb in question was partially armed was partially armed when it left the aircraft after breakup. Of the two bombs that were on the aircraft at the time. Only one bombs was partially armed when it impacted the Earth.

The other bomb, both were Mark 39 nuclear bombs, itself fell to the ground at close to seven hundred miles per hour. This bomb disintegrated without the detonation of its conventional explosives. This bomb was later discovered some twenty five to thirty feet below the ground where it had impacted. However, due to uncontrollable ground flooding at the impact site. The uranium in this bomb was left in-situ, or in position, to which it landed. The uranium was buried so far underground by the impact that the Amry Corps sealed it in a four hundred foot wide encasement. This even though the tritium bottle and the plutonium in the bomb were recovered.

If it wasn't for deployment of the parachute on the other bomb and where only three arming switches had engaged. The force of the blast from the detonation of this bomb would have changed the East Coast of the United States as we know it today. So with that being said, it makes you wonder just how many Broken Arrows and Bent Spear incidents that have occurred to which there is very little to no knowledge or acknowledgement of these incidents ever happening. I mean look how long it took for the events near Thule Air Force Base in Greenland to come out.

the nuclear material was the core of 2 nuclear bombs in special cases according to Aerospaceweb - wiki calls them packing cases - so they were not actually complete weapons.