Bomber crash in '52 may be TV show topic
June 22, 2004
Deep-sea diver Steve Donathan made it his mission a few years ago to find and explore the remains of a B-36 bomber that plummeted into the ocean off Mission Beach on Aug. 5, 1952. Six of the eight civilian crew members jumped from the burning plane and survived, a seventh drowned and pilot Dave Franks was never seen again.
In the days following the crash, military divers retrieved parts of the B-36 from a broad debris field but eventually aborted their salvage efforts as too dangerous.
Nearly 50 years later, Donathan, a Loma Portal dive instructor, undertook his own search. He pinpointed a likely location after considerable research and consultation with eyewitnesses, including Myron Smith, who was 15 when he saw the crash from the boardwalk at South Mission Beach. In his hunt, Donathan crisscrossed a patch of ocean about three miles from shore. Previously, in 57 feet of water near La Jolla's Bird Rock, he had discovered a jet engine that had fallen off the bomber's right wing.
The search
Using sonar and underwater drop cameras, Donathan finally found what he was looking for in about 260 feet of water. The unmistakable image of the tail of the 162-foot-long plane rose like a ghostly cross out of the seabed. After charting the location, he returned to explore the wreck. At this depth, each dive allows only 20 minutes for exploration.
What Donathan found was a hunk of crumpled, twisted metal encrusted with marine life. He brought up a small patch of the aircraft's "skin" to prove he had located it. But he guarded the news of his discovery for fear scavengers might desecrate the deep-sea tomb.
Last week, however, Donathan broke his silence. He led Dan Crowell, a veteran videographer for several of The History Channel's "Deep Sea Detectives" episodes, to the wreck. Diving with them was Joel Silverstein, an experienced underwater explorer who has visited what remains of the Monitor gunship in 230 feet of water and the sunken ocean liner Andrea Doria. The divers filmed the B-36. The story of the bomber and the mystery surrounding its crash may become the subject of an upcoming episode.
Donathan also is hopeful that publicity will inspire steps to guard the wreck. He has shared his findings with the military and with Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The last test flight
The B-36 had undergone modifications at Convair's San Diego plant. It was returning from a test flight before being turned over to the U.S. Air Force. As the bomber flew southeast down the coast near La Jolla, an engine caught fire. Flames quickly engulfed one wing, then spread across the entire plane. Franks banked his disabled craft away from shore and headed out to sea, presumably to avoid plowing into homes.
The cause of the crash was never proved, but the fire was believed to have emanated from an engine alternator that overheated and ignited its magnesium alloy housing.
"The wing went up like tissue paper," recalls Smith, now a retired CHP officer. He saw the first engine drop off just north of La Jolla's Tourmaline Canyon. Then he watched, frozen, as the crippled plane neared the South Mission Beach jetty before the pilot banked and headed out to sea. "He was a brave, brave man," says Smith. "When he hit the water, there was a big ball of fire that burned ferociously for a couple of minutes. Then it was gone."
No one is left
The last surviving crew member, second engineer Don Maxion, died 1½ years ago. Donathan escorted Maxion's widow and family members to the crash site, where they scattered some of his ashes. Donathan also entombed some inside the plane. (Union-Tribune staff writer Mark Sauer interviewed Maxion for a story about the crash on its 50th anniversary in 2002.)
On the same day June 13 that Donathan and the video team were 267 feet deep visiting the B-36 site, memorial services were being held atop Mount Soledad for Dave Dixon. The La Jolla man would have been on that doomed aircraft during its final test run but for a last-minute change of plans.
"He was scheduled to go on that flight," recalls the engineer's widow, Anne Dixon. "I was very grateful he wasn't on the plane that day."
For more info, pics and video check out
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/taopitek/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diane Bell's column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays. Fax items to (619) 260-5009; call (619) 293-1518; e-mail to diane.bell@uniontrib.com; or mail to The San Diego Union-Tribune, Box 120191, San Diego 92112-0191.
June 22, 2004
Deep-sea diver Steve Donathan made it his mission a few years ago to find and explore the remains of a B-36 bomber that plummeted into the ocean off Mission Beach on Aug. 5, 1952. Six of the eight civilian crew members jumped from the burning plane and survived, a seventh drowned and pilot Dave Franks was never seen again.
In the days following the crash, military divers retrieved parts of the B-36 from a broad debris field but eventually aborted their salvage efforts as too dangerous.
Nearly 50 years later, Donathan, a Loma Portal dive instructor, undertook his own search. He pinpointed a likely location after considerable research and consultation with eyewitnesses, including Myron Smith, who was 15 when he saw the crash from the boardwalk at South Mission Beach. In his hunt, Donathan crisscrossed a patch of ocean about three miles from shore. Previously, in 57 feet of water near La Jolla's Bird Rock, he had discovered a jet engine that had fallen off the bomber's right wing.
The search
Using sonar and underwater drop cameras, Donathan finally found what he was looking for in about 260 feet of water. The unmistakable image of the tail of the 162-foot-long plane rose like a ghostly cross out of the seabed. After charting the location, he returned to explore the wreck. At this depth, each dive allows only 20 minutes for exploration.
What Donathan found was a hunk of crumpled, twisted metal encrusted with marine life. He brought up a small patch of the aircraft's "skin" to prove he had located it. But he guarded the news of his discovery for fear scavengers might desecrate the deep-sea tomb.
Last week, however, Donathan broke his silence. He led Dan Crowell, a veteran videographer for several of The History Channel's "Deep Sea Detectives" episodes, to the wreck. Diving with them was Joel Silverstein, an experienced underwater explorer who has visited what remains of the Monitor gunship in 230 feet of water and the sunken ocean liner Andrea Doria. The divers filmed the B-36. The story of the bomber and the mystery surrounding its crash may become the subject of an upcoming episode.
Donathan also is hopeful that publicity will inspire steps to guard the wreck. He has shared his findings with the military and with Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The last test flight
The B-36 had undergone modifications at Convair's San Diego plant. It was returning from a test flight before being turned over to the U.S. Air Force. As the bomber flew southeast down the coast near La Jolla, an engine caught fire. Flames quickly engulfed one wing, then spread across the entire plane. Franks banked his disabled craft away from shore and headed out to sea, presumably to avoid plowing into homes.
The cause of the crash was never proved, but the fire was believed to have emanated from an engine alternator that overheated and ignited its magnesium alloy housing.
"The wing went up like tissue paper," recalls Smith, now a retired CHP officer. He saw the first engine drop off just north of La Jolla's Tourmaline Canyon. Then he watched, frozen, as the crippled plane neared the South Mission Beach jetty before the pilot banked and headed out to sea. "He was a brave, brave man," says Smith. "When he hit the water, there was a big ball of fire that burned ferociously for a couple of minutes. Then it was gone."
No one is left
The last surviving crew member, second engineer Don Maxion, died 1½ years ago. Donathan escorted Maxion's widow and family members to the crash site, where they scattered some of his ashes. Donathan also entombed some inside the plane. (Union-Tribune staff writer Mark Sauer interviewed Maxion for a story about the crash on its 50th anniversary in 2002.)
On the same day June 13 that Donathan and the video team were 267 feet deep visiting the B-36 site, memorial services were being held atop Mount Soledad for Dave Dixon. The La Jolla man would have been on that doomed aircraft during its final test run but for a last-minute change of plans.
"He was scheduled to go on that flight," recalls the engineer's widow, Anne Dixon. "I was very grateful he wasn't on the plane that day."
For more info, pics and video check out
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/taopitek/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diane Bell's column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays. Fax items to (619) 260-5009; call (619) 293-1518; e-mail to diane.bell@uniontrib.com; or mail to The San Diego Union-Tribune, Box 120191, San Diego 92112-0191.
