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| USAF 91st SRS  USAF 1956 |
Pilot Captain Stanley Keith O'Kelley, AO776002 (KIA, BR) Dunsmuir, CA Co-Pilot Captain John Ernst Roche, AO2029268 (survived) Washington DC Crew Capt. John Cyrus Ward, AO865270 (MIA / KIA) Crew Major Francisco Joseph Tejeda, AO726704 (MIA / KIA) Crew Captain Frank Ernest Beyer, AO209328 (MIA / KIA) Webber Falls, OK Navigator 1st Lt. Edmund Joseph Czyz, AO2072656 (MIA / KIA) Chicago, IL Navigator 1st Lt. James Gordon Keith, AO2092926 (WIA, died) Hobart, OK Navigator 1st Lt. Lloyd Clayton Wiggins, AO695999 (MIA / KIA) Crew Captain Warren John Sanderson, AO2066184 (MIA / KIA) Parks Rapids, MN Crew Captain Robert Elbon Stalnaker, AO761337 (MIA / KIA) Webster Springs, WV Engineer MSgt Francis Luther Brown, AF1905397 (KIA, BR) Modesto, CA Crew S/Sgt. Donald Wayne Gabree, AF19333787 (MIA / KIA) Montpelier, VT Crew S/Sgt. Donald George Hill, AF19353976 (MIA / KIA) Crew A1C Roland Edgar Goulet, AF12323933 (MIA / KIA) Mount Holly, NJ Crew A2C Earl Wilbur Radelin, Jr., AF14370732 (MIA / KIA) Chattanooga, TN Crew A2C Charles Joseph Russell, AF13391658 (MIA / KIA) Philadelphia, PA Crew A2C Earl W. Radlein, Jr., AF14370723 (MIA / KIA) Chattanooga, TN Tail Gunner A2C James Edwin Woods, AF2441312 (MIA / KIA) Buckingham, WV Crashed July 29, 1953 Aircraft History Built by Boeing. Manufacture Number 15830. Delivered to the U.S. Air Force (USAF) as B-50B-50-BO Superfortress serial number 47-145. This bomber was modified as RB-50G ELINT with additional radar and B-50D type nose, sometimes also referred to as RB-50D. Assigned to the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (91st SRS) based at Yokato AFB. No known nickname or nose art. Mission History On July 29, 1953 took off piloted by Captain Stanley K. O'Kelley on a mission with a total of seventeen aboard. Intercepted and shot down by a pair of MiG-17s (other sources state they were MiG-15s) over the Sea of Japan south of Askold Island near Vladivostok. The sole survivor was Captain John Ernst Roche. Everyone else died in the crash. When this bomber failed to return it was listed as Missing In Action (MIA). Rescue Sole survior Roche was later rescued by a U.S. Navy vessel and returned to Japan. Afterwards, he was taken to Far East Air Force HQ and interviewed by General O. P. Weyland. After U.S. State Department claimed this bomber was on a short "navigation mission" and lodged protests with the Soviet Union. Moscow claimed the bomber "violated" Soviet territory near Cape Gamov in the Vladivostok area and admitted that "two Soviet pursuit planes" approached the bomber to "propose that the American plane leave the air space of the Soviet Union" and claimed the the U.S. bomber fired first, then they returned fire and shot it down. Memorials The missing crew members were officially declared dead November 14, 1955. The crew is also memorialized on the 55th SRWA Memorial at the U.S. Air Force Museum (USAF Museum). O'Kelley was officially declared dead on July 29, 1953. He is buried at San Francisco National Cemetery at section OS, row 9, site 4. He earned the Purple Heart, posthumously, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean War Service Medal and World War II Victory Medal. Sanderson also has a memorial marker at Skatvold Cemetery in Climax, MN. Brown was officially declared dead on July 29, 1953. He is buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery at section R, site 340. Gabree has a memorial marker at Hope Cemetery in Waterbury, VT. He also has another memorial marker at Golden Gate National Cemetery at section MA, site 46. Roche retired from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) with the rank of Major. He passed away December 1, 2002. He is buried at Palms Woodlawn Cemetery in Naranja, FL in section C. References USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-50 Superfortress 47-145 "145 modified as RB-50G ELINT with additional radar and B-50D type nose, sometimes referred to as RB-50D. Shot down Jul 27, 1953 south of Askold Island near Vladivostok, USSR by MiG-17s over the sea. 18 on board, several prisoners, 1 survivor." Aviation Safety Network - RB-50G Superfortress 47-145 News "Russian Fighter Attacks B-50 with 17 men Co-Pilot Says U.S. Plane 40 miles off Siberia Coast When Shot Down" by UP July, 31, 1953 American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Stanley Keith O'Kelley American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - John C. Ward American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Francisco Joseph Tejeda American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Frank E. Beyer American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Edmund J. Czyz American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - James G. Keith American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Lloyd C. Wiggins American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Warren J. Sanderson American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Robert Elbon Stalnaker American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Francis L. Brown American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Donald W. Gabree American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Donald G. Hill American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Roland E. Goulet American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Earl W. Radlein Jr. American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Charles Joseph Russell American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Earl W. Radlein, Jr. American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - James E. Woods Demarche of the Soviet Government to to the US Government - Demarches on RB-50 shootdown 29 June 1953 The Black Vault - USAF International Incident RB-50 Loss 29 July 1953 [PDF] FindAGrave - Capt Stanley Keith O'Kelley (photo, grave photo) FindAGrave - John Ernst Roche (photo, grave photos) FindAGrave - Francisco Joseph Tejeda (photo) FindAGrave - CPT Lloyd Clayton Wiggins (grave photo) FindAGrave - Capt Warren John Sanderson (memorial photos) Fold3 Robert Elbon Stalnaker (photo) West Virginia Veterans Memorial - Robert Elbon Stalnaker (photo) FindAGrave - Francis L Brown (grave photo) FindAGrave - Donald Wayne Gabree (memorial marker photo - Hope Cemetery) FindAGrave - Sgt Donald Wayne Gabree (memorial marker photo - Golden Gate National Cemetery) FindAGrave - A1C Roland Edgar Goulet (photo, news) FindAGrave - A2C Charles Joseph Russell (photo) Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated March 25, 2023 |
 RB-50  MIA 14 Missing |
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