CAF News Release on B-26 loss

[rwi...@marshill.com]

The following is the official news release on the loss of
the CAF's Martin B-26 "Carolyn" on 28 Sep 95.

**********

Barbi Woods, Public Relations Coordinator, CAF

For Immediate Release
NR# 95-0928

At 10:56 a.m., Sept. 28, 1995, the Confederate Air Force's
B-26 Marauder (N5546N) "Carolyn" crashed approximately 18
miles south of Midland International Airport. Five crew
members perished in the accident. The crew members were:
Walter A. Wootton, Harlingen, Texas; John Thomas Cloyd,
El Paso, Texas; Vernon E. Thorp, Ocala, Fla; Colin Dunwell,
Surrey, England, UK; and Chris Gardner, Essex, England, UK.
Two of the CAF's most experienced pilots, Thorp and Wootton,
were flying the airplane. The National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the cause of the
accident.

The B-26 Marauder is a twin-engine World War II aircraft.
Prior to the accident, the CAF's B-26 was the only flying
Marauder in the world. Manufactured by the Glenn L. Martin
Company, Omaha, Nebraska, the B-26 was delivered to the USAAF
on May 24, 1943. It served at various stations throughout
the United States until April, 1945 at which time it was
transferred to the Defense Plant Corporation, Bush Field,
Georgia, and was dropped from USAAF inventory.

During its civilian life the B-26 "Carolyn" performed varied
missions. It was used as a racer and flew under the name
"Valley Turtle." It was then converted into an executive ship
by the Tennessee Gas Corporation. The CAF bought the aircraft
in 1968 from a bank in Greeley, Colo. Restoration began in
1976 and the aircraft did not fly again until Sept. 11,
1984. Following AIRSHO 95 the plane was to be moved to its
new homebase on the East Coast.

AIRSHO 95, planned to take place Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 at
Midland International, will proceed as scheduled. The
AIRSHO, which is the homecoming show for CAF members, will
be dedicated to the crew members aboard the B-26.

********** End of News Release **********

I am posting this on Monday, after the air show is over.
The air show was dedicated to the five who lost their lives
on the B-26, and appropriate "Missing Man" and other
tributes were performed. Services were held for Tom Cloyd
in Midland this morning.

As a warbird pilot and historian, who had the chance to be
around "Carolyn" quite a bit, and who knew and visited with
all five of the crew in the days before the accident, I
suggest that we all wait for the results of the NTSB
investigation before we try to "guess", even intelligently,
what really happened. Thank you.

Randy Wilson
Colonel, CAF
Aviation Historian & Pilot

P.S. I was authorized by Barbi Woods to post this release,
however the comments are my own, and I do not speak for the
CAF in this matter.

[David Jackson]

>
> As a warbird pilot and historian, who had the chance to be
> around "Carolyn" quite a bit, and who knew and visited with
> all five of the crew in the days before the accident, I
> suggest that we all wait for the results of the NTSB
> investigation before we try to "guess", even intelligently,
> what really happened. Thank you.
>
> Randy Wilson
> Colonel, CAF
> Aviation Historian & Pilot
>
> P.S. I was authorized by Barbi Woods to post this release,
> however the comments are my own, and I do not speak for the
> CAF in this matter.
>
>

hello randy, it is indeed a sad loss, please pass on my condolences to
all at the CAF,lets hope we never have to hear such news again.

DJ