ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 255833
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| Date: | Saturday 29 August 1953 |
| Time: | 10:05 UTC |
| Type: |  Republic F-84G Thunderjet |
| Owner/operator: | 77th FBS, 20th FBG, USAF |
| Registration: | 51-988 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Mediterranean Sea, 10 miles South East of Delimara Point -
 Malta
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Wheelus AFB, Tripoli, Libya (MJI/HLLM) |
| RAF Wethersfield, Braintree, Essex (WXF/EGVT) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Little or no information is available |
Republic F-84G-1-RE Thunderjet 51-988, 20th FBG, USAF: Crashed 29 August 1953 into the Mediterranean Sea, 10 miles South East of Delimara Point, Malta. The pilot 1st Lt John Patrick O'Leary USAF was killed' his body was never found or recovered.
On Monday 31 August 1953, the local daily The Times of Malta reported "Pilot dies in Malta Crash". The events leading to that report follow. In the early 1950's several flights of American military aircraft passed through Malta's airspace whilst engaged on training flights from Europe to the North African area. Sometimes they staged through Malta for refuelling purposes, on other occasions they just flew by. One such formation of two flights departed Wheelus Air Force Base, Libya in quick succession on Sunday, 29 August 1953. The members of the first four ship flight were Capt R. Baughn, Flight Leader, 1st Lt Foresman, Capt S.G. Houghtby and 1st Lt W Quinn. The second four ship flight was composed of Capt BR Cothern, 1st Lt J.P. O'Leary, Captain A.C. Edinburgh and Captain A. Torosian.
The eight-ship formation was engaged on a routine navigational flight, from its home station at Wethersfield RAF Station, England, to Athens, Greece by way of Wheelus Field, Libya.
After taking off from Wheelus, the aircraft climbed to 35,000 feet. No trouble was experienced until about 170 miles out of Wheelus, when less than an hour into the flight, at 10:05Z, there was an explosion in the rear of F-84G-RE-1 Thunderjet 51-988. Several of the other pilots noticed a flash extend from the tailpipe momentarily, smoke come out of the dive brake area and also pieces fly off the aircraft. 1st Lt John Patrick O'Leary USAF Reserve, the pilot of 51-988, stated that he had flamed out and that his fire warning light was on.
The flight altered course towards Malta, and O'Leary established the best glide speed while his mates called up the Rescue control centre in Malta. Meanwhile a Royal Navy Dragonfly helicopter and a four-engine maritime patrol Lancaster were despatched from Hal Far and Luqa respectively. A USAF SA-16 Albatross amphibian from Wheelus, orbiting nearby for another flight of jets, was also immediately directed towards the area.
29 year-old Capt Richard M. Baughn, the Flight leader, instructed the pilot of 51-988 to abandon the aircraft at 10,000 feet. The instruction was repeated several times as the aircraft kept coming down but Lt O'Leary expressed a reluctance to bailout by his statements, such as, "I don't like this idea of bailing out" and "I sure hate to lose my camera." While gliding towards Malta and at 12,000 feet, a ship was sighted going in a westerly direction. O'Leary was directed to pass over the ship and eject. As he was passing over the ship, the Air/Sea Rescue Service helicopter was sighted so O'Leary was guided towards it. When O'Leary was at 7,000 feet, though very close to the helicopter and well below the 10,000 foot level, he still did not eject. The cockpit canopy was jettisoned at approximately 2,000 feet. Upon jettisoning the canopy, the pilot's helmet was blown away, and he was unable to receive further radio instructions.
The aircraft continued descent at a heading of approximately 29.00 and seventeen minutes after the engine had exploded, made contact with the water about ten miles South East of Delimara Point, Malta.
Lt S.A. Halduway RN, the pilot of the Royal Navy Westland-Sikorsky S.51 Dragonfly helicopter numbered WN494, stated that the fighter-bomber touched down in nose-low attitude on the crest of a swell and exploded on impact. Fuel remaining on the surface of the water burned for approximately five minutes. It is not known why the pilot did not bail out, but it is thought that he was not injured in any way and could have easily done so.
The main portion of the aircraft disintegrated and sank immediately. The rescue launch sent out from Marsaxlokk picked up a portion of one tip tank, one oxygen bottle, the pilot's flight jacket with the name (John P. O'Leary) inscribed and the parachute which had spilled open. The pilot was not recovered.
The helicopter remained in the area for about fifteen minutes and then returned to base, having been relieved by the Lancaster of No 37 Squadron, which marked the area with marine markers. The wind at the time of the accident was gusting to 20 knots and 'white horses' on the sea surface made spotting difficult.
It is thought that O'Leary had attempted to ditch his plane in order to be able to retrieve his hand held camera. There is also the possibility that he may have lost consciousness when his helmet was blown off. The fact that he was already at 2,000 feet when he jettisoned his canopy confirmed he was determined to ditch instead of eject as had been instructed. Had he ejected at 10,000 feet the result may well have been very different. Did his camera really cost him his life?
The 20th Fighter Bomber Group USAF were based at Wethersfield from 31 May 1952 till moving to Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, in April 1970, originally with F-84G, later F-84F, then F-100D/F Super Sabre, converting to F-111E on moving to Upper Heyford.
Sources:
1. Times of Malta 31 August 1953
2. http://forgottenjets.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/F-84G.html
3. https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1951.html
4. https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/rptAF55.asp?RecID=112055
5. http://www.accident-report.com/Yearly/1953/5308a.html
6. https://www.aviationinmalta.com/MilitaryAviation/AccidentsMilitary/19501959/tabid/651/language/en-GB/Default.aspx
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheelus_Air_Base#Cold_War_usage_by_the_USAF
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDP_Wethersfield
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-May-2021 10:49 | ASN archive | Added |
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