1956 Atlantic R6D-1 disappearance
{{Short description|Aircraft disappearance}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
|name = 1956 Atlantic R6D-1 disappearance
|occurrence_type = Accident
|image = Douglas R6D-1 MATS in flight in the 1950s.jpeg
|image_size = 300
|alt =
|caption = A U.S. Navy R6D-1 Liftmaster, similar to the accident aircraft, operating for the Military Air Transport Service in the 1950s.
|date = {{Start date|1956|10|10}}
|type = Unknown
|site = Atlantic Ocean, 590 km (368.8 miles) southwest of Land's End, United Kingdom
|coordinates =
|aircraft_type = Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster
|aircraft_name =
|operator = United States Navy, Military Air Transport Service (MATS)
|tail_number = BuNo 131588
|origin = RAF Lakenheath, England
|stopover =
|stopover0 =
|stopover1 =
|stopover2 =
|stopover3 =
|last_stopover =
|destination = Lajes Field, Azores
|passengers = 50
|crew = 9
|injuries =
|fatalities = 59
|survivors = 0
}}
The 1956 Atlantic R6D-1 disappearance involved a Douglas R6D-1 Liftmaster (BuNo 131588) of the United States Navy which disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean on 10 October 1956 with the loss of all 59 people on board.
Accident
The R6D-1 – the U.S. Navy version of the United States Air Force C-118 Liftmaster and the civilian Douglas DC-6B airliner – was carrying a crew of nine and 50 passengers on a scheduled Military Air Transport Service flight from RAF Lakenheath, England, to Lajes Field in the Azores on 10 October 1956[http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-1910/PRELIM.PDF Grossnick, Roy A., United States Naval Aviation 1910-1995, Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, undated] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912124655/http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-1910/Prelim.pdf |date=2012-09-12 }}, {{ISBN|0-945274-34-3}}, p. 214, claims the date was 11 October 1956. when it disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean about {{convert|590|km|mi nmi|sigfig=2|sp=us}} southwest of Land's End, England, at approximately 22:10.[http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19561010-0 Aviation Safety Network Aircraft Accident Douglas R6D-1 (DC-6) 131588 Land's End, UK]{{Cite web |url=http://www.vrc-50.org/historyNATS.htm |title=Chronology of Significant Events in Naval Aviation: "Naval Air Transport" 1941 -- 1999 |access-date=2012-12-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331224444/http://vrc-50.org/historyNATS.htm |archive-date=2016-03-31 |url-status=dead }}
All of the passengers were personnel of the U.S. Air Force{{'}}s 307th Bombardment Wing stationed at Lincoln Air Force Base, Nebraska, returning to the United States from 90 days of temporary duty in England.[http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries15.html US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (130265 to 135773)] The disappearance was the second major accident involving a Navy R6D-1 in 19 months, an R6D-1 having crashed in Hawaii in March 1955.
A 14-day search for the aircraft and survivors found only wheels and a life raft floating {{convert|596|km|mi nmi|0|sp=us}} southwest of Land{{'}}s End. No trace of the crew or passengers was ever found.Claims that no trace of the aircraft were ever found, such as at [http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries15.html US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (130265 to 135773)], appear to be erroneous; [http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-1910/PRELIM.PDF Grossnick, Roy A., United States Naval Aviation 1910-1995, Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, undated] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912124655/http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-1910/Prelim.pdf |date=2012-09-12 }}, {{ISBN|0-945274-34-3}}, p. 214, states that wreckage, but no trace of the passengers, was found.
See also
{{Portal|Aviation|England|Portugal}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1956}}
{{coord missing|Atlantic Ocean}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlantic R6D-1 disappearance}}
Category:Accidents and incidents involving United States Navy and Marine Corps aircraft
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the Atlantic Ocean
Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-6
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1956
Category:United States Navy in the 20th century