Date:	Tuesday 27 July 1948
Time:	evening
Type:	Boeing B-29A Superfortress
Owner/operator:	63rd BSqn /43rd BGp USAF
Registration:	44-62309
MSN:	11786
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 8
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Gulf of Aden, off Khormaksar, Aden -   United States of America
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Khormaksar, Aden
Destination airport:	Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka)

Narrative:
Boeing B-29A-70-BN Superfortress 44-62309: Delivered to the USAAF 20 May 1946. Assigned to 248th Army Air Force Base Unit, Walker AAF, Kansas. Re-Assigned to 63rd Bomb Squadron, 43rd Bomb Group, Davis-Monthan AAF, Arizona.

Written off (missing, presumed destroyed) 27 July 1948: After takeoff at 19:00 hours local time, from RAF Khormaksar, Aden (Yemen), while climbing in thunderstorm activity, the aircraft went out of control and crashed in to the sea. Seven of the eight crew members** were confirmed killed. According to the following contemporary newspaper report ("Madera Tribune", Number 15, 28 July 1948 - see link #10)

"Six Die, Crash Ends B-29 Hop
Aden, July 28,—(UP)—

An American Superfortress on a Round-the-world flight, plunged into the sea after taking off from Aden for Ceylon last night and six men aboard were lost. In Washington the strategic air command said it received word from a state department consul at Aden that 19 of 20 officers and men aboard the Superfortress were missing. Full military honors were ordered for the six victims of the B-29, one of three flying leisurely around the world to accustom the airmen to long range technique and global conditions.

Sergeant Gustafson survived the crash. (The U. S, Air Force at the start of the flight issued a list of the airmen aboard the three superforts. One listed was M/Sgt. Sigyr R. Gustafson of Norwood, Mass). Gustafson, who was brought to an Aden hospital, said he was thrown clear when the big ship crashed. When he bobbed to the surface, said, he could see none of his comrades. British rescue vessels were sent to the scene, and divers went down to check the wreckage. two Superforts returned at once to Aden, on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula, after the third plunged into the Gulf of Aden just offshore.

The big bombers arrived Monday morning from Tripoli. They left the Air Force base at Tucson, Ariz., early last Thursday and flew eastward by way of Mac Dill Air Force base in Florida and thence the Azores. They took off for Colombo at 7 pm, local lime. A minor sandstorm cut visibility to less than two miles. One failed to make contact with the base after taking off in a swirl of dust. It was believed to have made a forced landing in the sea not far beyond the runway from which it rose.

An extensive search was organized The weather started clearing soon after the planes took off. The other two Superforts were reported returning.

The dead:
T/Sgt Albert L. Harbour, Jacksonville, Fla., radio operator.
S/Sgt. James E. Foss, Palmura, Wis., gunner.
S/Sgt Harvey L. Hoppe, Tucson, Ariz., maintenance.
Cpl. Bert J. Bohn, Provo, Utah, maintenance.

The missing:
Lt Col. Charles C. Pulliam, 8th St., Huntington, W. Va, Commander.
Acting Capt. Hugh E. Gommel, Indianapolis, Ind., co-pilot.
M/Sgt. William M. Roberts. Fort Worth, Tex, radio operator.

The plane. No. 44-62309, was one of three from the 63rd Bomb Group on a round-the-world training flight. They left Tucson at 2 am on Thursday, July 22."

**NOTE: Various sources differ as to a) the number of fatalities and b) the number of persons on board this B-29. The fatalities were at least six, with seven claimed by some sources, and the number of persons on board being at least eight, with some sources stating that up to 20 were on board. However, the figure of "20" may instead refer to the total number of crew of 44-62309 plus the other two B-29 that accompanied it (7+7+6). It is not clear how many of those originally posted as "missing" (as per the above) were later confirmed as killed.

1. El Litoral 28 July 1948, page.1
2. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_4.html
3. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-boeing-b-29a-70-bn-superfortress-aden-6-killed
4. http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbahb.asp?HB=af&offset=31175
5. https://forums.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=21179103
6. "Charleston Gazette" Charleston, West Virginia July 30, 1948 - Page 1 at https://newspaperarchive.com/charleston-gazette-jul-30-1948-p-1/
7. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49301968
8. "The Evening Independent" Massillon, Ohio, Thursday, July 29, 1948 Page 8 at https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/3996859/
9. "The Daily Times-News" Burlington, North Carolina, Thursday, July 29, 1948 Page 2 at https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/52623314/
10. Madera Tribune, Number 15, 28 July 1948 at https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=MT19480728.2.2

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
16-Feb-2015 11:03	TB	Added
25-Jun-2017 00:49	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
25-Jun-2017 00:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
13-Oct-2019 19:03	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Total fatalities, Source, Narrative]
06-Apr-2020 09:09	Reno Raines	Updated [Operator, Operator]