User:Barbara (WVS)/ghost bomber
The Ghost Bomber of the Monogehela River was an airplane crash into the Mongehela river near Pittsburgh Pennsylvania on January 31st, 1956. The bomber crashed and sank in the Monongahela river near Pittsburgh. The cause of the crash is unknown and many rumors and legends surround this crash. The aircraft was never recovered.[1] Multiple conspiracy theories have been proposed. The crash occurred during the height of the Cold War.[2] Some thought the plane was carrying nuclear weapons or nerve gas.[3]
Aircraft
[edit]The plane was a modified version of a TB-25N, and had been used as a navigational trainer.[1] It was loaded with a cargo of airplane parts.[2]
Accident
[edit]William Dotson and John Jamieson piloted the aircraft. The plane was to fly from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada and then on to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with two stops on the way. After stopping briefly at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, The plane traveled on to Selfridge Air Force Base in Michigan to refuel, and then continued on to Harrisburg.[1] The plane ran out of fuel before it reached Olmsted Air Force Base in Harrisburg.[3] Others believe that the plane refueled at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma and again at Selfridge Air Force Base in Michigan.[2]
Investigation
[edit]A team of investigators attempted to find the plane in the 1990s and explained that the difficulty retrieving the plan was due to the plane sinking into a gravel bit on the bottom of the Monongahela river. They also explained the plane floated downstream and then sank. They proposed a theory that described the pit gradually filling with silt. Some local residents described a helicopter hovering over the crash site with a geiger counter.[1]
Theories
[edit]Some thought that the government was covering up details of the crash. At the time, the Air Force was evasive and only responded with vague statements. Another theory described the aircraft being removed from the river during the night. It was then loaded onto a truck and taken to a coal plant. The wreckage was dropped into a furnace where: "[It] melted down into unrecognizable heaps of molten metal."[1] Afterwards some claimed that the plane was transporting nuclear weapons.[1][3] Other reports said that plane was transporting people of 'importance'. Others claim to have seen as many as five or six men rescued from the water.[1]
See also
[edit]
External links
[edit]Front page of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette describing the crash.
https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/blog/western-pennsylvania-history/mystery-of-pittsburghs-ghost-b-25-bomber
https://theincline.com/2018/10/23/what-became-of-the-ghost-bomber-that-went-down-in-the-mon-river/
https://www.tripsavvy.com/mitchell-ghost-bomber-2708537
book[4]
radio transcript[5]
book[6] pages 105-106
newspaper[7] author John Dukes page 39 title: Deadly Gas Bombs may be threatening US City
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g D'Costa, Ian (2015-05-12). "The Ghost Bomber of the Monongahela River". The Tactical Air Network. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
- ^ a b c "The Mystery of Pittsburgh's "Ghost Bomber" | History Center". Home. 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
- ^ a b c "Search to Begin Anew for Missing B-25 in Monongahela River". www.pittsburghmagazine.com. Retrieved 2019-05-12.
- ^ Conspiracy theories in American history : an encyclopedia. Knight, Peter, 1968-. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. 2003. ISBN 1576078132. OCLC 53946926.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Pittsburgh, Sean Ray, Essential. "Pittsburgh's 'Ghost Bomber' Still Missing After 60 Years". www.wesa.fm. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Burns, Daniel J. (2007). Homestead and the Steel Valley. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738554877.
- ^ News, Weekly World (1981-03-10). Weekly World News. Weekly World News.
{{cite book}}:|last=has generic name (help)