1969 USAF C130 Wreckage Found in Channel

[Gary]

C-130 in question is or was 63-7789, reading into the history of the years lots or persisting rumours it was shot down by USAF jets

Divers are set to hunt for the wreck of a US transporter plane that was ditched in the English Channel after being stolen by a military mechanic.

Sgt Paul Meyer took the Hercules C-130E transporter from Mildenhall, Suffolk, in a bid to fly home to his wife Jane in Virginia in May 1969.

It disappeared from radar in the middle of the English Channel, as Sgt Meyer flew it after a night of drinking.

The Deeper Dorset group is to use sonar gear to search for the crash site.

The official record of the crash recounted how after the heavy drinking session, Sgt Meyer, 23, escaped police custody, impersonated a captain and ordered the Hercules to be re-fuelled before taking to the skies.

It described his action as a "highly irrational act" and said he was "under considerable emotional stress".

'So gratified'
The mechanic who had previously served in Vietnam, had been refused leave shortly beforehand.
His stepson Henry, who was seven at the time of the crash, said he remembered Sgt Meyer as a "genuinely good young man".

He said he had been keen to return home to help Henry's mother in a custody battle.

"Paul was a patriot and loved his country - it seems he just loved his family more," he said.

"This may or may not find an answer to what happened, but we are so gratified and it'll give our family some closure. It means so much that people haven't forgotten Paul."

Simon Brown, of Deeper Dorset, said the group had studied official records, as well as tidal movements and weather conditions to identify the crash site.

He said they had "five good targets" within 10 square miles of seabed mid-channel, about 30 miles off Portland Bill.
Mr Brown admitted finding definitive proof of what happened to Sgt Meyer would be "very, very difficult".

"He did a fantastic job to get a complex plane off the runway - to fly solo is quite an amazing feat.

"Whether he flew into cloud and got disorientated, or was shot down, we're not discounting anything".

The group has launched a crowdfunding appeal for £6,000 and aims to start sonar scans of the seabed later in the year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-43348163

https://all-things-aviation.com/aircraf ... -a-c-130e/

https://aviation-safety.net/database/re ... 19690523-2

[toom317]

He did a fantastic job to get a complex plane off the runway - to fly solo is quite an amazing feat.

He still stole a plane at the end of the day!

[turmo]

What a curious story, thank you for posting it.

Though I do wonder why the BBC and other media continuing on writing nonsense such as 'Hercules C-130E' and 'Raptor F-22' when a quick glance at even Wikipedia would give the correct form. It always makes me wonder what else they screw-up.

Though admittedly even on an enthusiast forum there are people who insist on writing C130 and F35...

[Sparts99]

There's a lot of cloak and dagger around this. If I remember rightly from some books I've read it was inferred an RAF fighter, flown by a USAF pilot who was on exchange at the time.

[Nighthawke]

He still stole a plane at the end of the day!

Yes but none of us know what extreme emotional and mental stresses he was under. This wasn't just a stealing "whim" but a last resort from the description above.

[Arthur Tee]

Back in the mid-1980's I worked with an Air Traffic Controller who recounted this incident.
He was stationed at Chivenor at the time - and remembered a large number of Hunters departing for 'Live Gunnery Practice'.
Make of that what you will....

Arthur

[graham luxton]

I remember this when it happened - don't believe the shot down rumour though. The C-130E was coded "LM" at a time when Mildenhall was a hive of TAC rotational C-130 activity. In those days the 513th TAW had 2 squadrons, each with 16 C-130's, attached to it on 90-day rotations from the USA. Go there on an average day however and a lot of them would be spread out all over Europe on various missions. As a result of the a/c being stolen the TDY interval was reduced to 60 days to take account of the pressures on personnel being separated from their families back home. Aircraft also now had to be tethered when parked. This however wasn't the first time USAF ground crew had made an unauthorised flight from a UK base. Wind the clock back to Fri morning on 13 June'58 at Alconbury when a dissatisfied mechanic stole a based 47BW, 86BS B-45A 47-0046. After managing to get it in the air he crashed almost immediately afterwards across the main London to Edinburgh railway line at Abbots Ripton losing his life in the process.

[Scuba 11]

From a 'god parent' who was involved with this event, he said it was shot down by a F-100D from the 48TFW

[Blackcat1]

I remember reading about this story

[jem60]

Turmo Why is it nonsense to call a Hercules a Hercules a C.130E, and Raptor an F.22 Raptor??? I suspect that the public, or even some long-term enthusiasts such as me, don't give much for any other description other than what it basically is!.

[Proteus]

Scuba 11, also heard the same thing, from a friends father who was talking to the pilot who shot him down.

[bizfreeq]

Turmo Why is it nonsense to call a Hercules a Hercules a C.130E, and Raptor an F.22 Raptor??? I suspect that the public, or even some long-term enthusiasts such as me, don't give much for any other description other than what it basically is!.

He was making the point that they quote the aircraft name first then the type designation so Hercules C-130E and Raptor F-22 instead of the correct C-130E Hercules etc. At least that's how I read it

[jem60]

Is that all.!!! I didn't realise that constituted nonsense. Surprised that that is considered important. I think I'm losing the will to live. I suspect that the 'shooting down' is an 'urban myth', although I think that he probably WAS followed, but succeeded in crashing in the English Channel on his own before shooting down became a possibility if he was headed for a city.IIRC some years ago, a Beechraft King Air had a pressurisation problem on autopilot, crew were probably dead, as it simply flew circles and drifted with the wind towards France. Certainly 2 Mirage were scrambled to keep an eye on it, but it ran out of fuel and crashed in open country. Been around and in aeroplanes for 57 years, and never knew it was designation first. type second. Just didn't think it mattered. I hope Turmo will forgive me. Ah well, too old to change.

[Knife 04]

how after the heavy drinking session, Sgt Meyer, 23, escaped police custody, impersonated a captain and ordered the Hercules to be re-fuelled before taking to the skies.

He did quite well to get that far - I just hope to find my bed!

[paddyboy]

Darren: start taking more water with it

[effects]

The Germany to UK Canberra 'borrowing' is a good story.

[Ghastly Whisper]

The Germany to UK Canberra 'borrowing' is a good story.

Never heard of it, any more info? and yes I did google but probably without the right keywords!

[Nighthawke]

Possibly XH204 failed attempt to fly from Gutersloh. Not much time as at work!

[Zulu63]

The full tale is on pprune https://www.pprune.org/archive/index.php/t-354300.html. Scroll down to posts by ColinB.

[NAM Updater]

Don't forget Varsity WF246 'stolen' from RAF Thorney Island in the mid-1950s!

http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/writ ... sed-flight