| Date: 14 October 1964 |
| Aircraft type: KB-50J Superfortress |
| Serial Number: 48-0065 |
| Military Unit: Detachment 1, 421 ARS, 41 AD on TDY |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Takhli |
| Name(s): |
| 6 crew names unknown (Survived) |
| The ageing KB-50, a modified variant of the wartime B-29 Superfortress, was used in the early stage of the war in Southeast Asia as a tanker aircraft. Only about 20 KB-50s were still in use in PACAF in 1964, and these were due to be withdrawn in 1966 to be replaced by the KC-135 Stratotanker. In June 1964 four KB-50s of Detachment 1, 421st ARS deployed from Yokota AB, Japan, to Takhli to support Yankee Team missions over Laos. Another four aircraft formed Detachment 2 at Tan Son Nhut. A KB-50 crashed in Thailand after an engine failed shortly after taking off on an air-to-air refueling training mission. The crew were picked up by two HH-43s which were based at Takhli. The amount of corrosion discovered when the wreckage of the KB-50 was examined forced the immediate early retirement of the KB-50 fleet and its replacement by SAC KC-135 Stratotankers.
Through the auspices of Joe Crecca (POW 66-73), we learned some additional information about this loss. Joe was attending the funeral of another POW, Lt(jg) Richard Marvin Brunhaver, on June 1, 2023, when he met Gary Craig. Gary told Joe that he had been the pilot of a KB-50J that crashed and that the information on our website was incorrect because they were not on a training mission when they went down. At my request, through the help of Lt(jg) Brunhaver's daughter, Joe was able to get in touch with Gary to get additional information. Unfortunately, Gary was in the hospital; however, he did supply us with his story by sending along this link to an interview he did in 2017: Click Here. We look forward to getting the rest of the crew names from Gary when he's able. |
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