The Cellar - Aircraft

If you're going to steal something, then steal something big.
You might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb.
Back in 1969 a USAF sergeant stole a C130 from RAF Mildenhall in an attempt to fly it back to the US to be with his wife who was under considerable emotional distress.
Under the circumstances one can only have sympathy with the poor chap.
The aircraft eventually crashed in the English Channel about twenty miles north of the Cherbourg peninsula.
Rumours have circulated for years to the effect that it was shot down by either US or RAF aircraft although nothing has ever been proven.
Now a team of divers is hoping to find the aircraft and shed some more light on the affair.

From Stars & Stripes 3rd April 2018:

Quote:

RAF MILDENHALL, England — Almost 50 years ago Sgt. Paul Adams Meyer, a U.S. Air Force assistant crew chief, got drunk, impersonated an officer and stole a C-130 Hercules from RAF Mildenhall in England so he could fly home to his new wife. Two hours later he crashed into the English Channel.

Now a team of British divers called Deeper Dorset hopes to raise 6,000 pounds ($8,430) on an all-or-nothing Kickstarter to find the plane and uncover the truth behind the crash.

The divers have until April 11 to meet their fund-raising goal or go back to the drawing board.

“We’ve known about the Hercules story for about 10 years, and it’s one of those stories that grabs the imagination,” said Deeper Dorset photographer Simon Brown. “It’s a human tale as much as research of as to where it is.”

What happened to Meyer has been subject to rumor and speculation for nearly half a century.

An Air Force investigation found that at least two U.S. F-100 Super Sabre fighter jets from RAF Lakenheath, a C-130 from Mildenhall and two RAF English Electric Lightning interceptors attempted contact with Meyers before he crashed into the English Channel near Alderney Island.

“Leave me alone for about five minutes, I’ve got trouble,” Meyer said in his final transmission to his wife in a link-up over the sideband radio.

Members of Deeper Dorset believe they can locate the missing Hercules using existing research, sonar and photogrammetry, a technique that builds 3-D models of wreckage.

“We’ve nailed down where we think the aircraft might be within a 10-square-mile box,” Brown said. “Within that box there’s five hot spots. Places where people have reported losing fishing gear or snagging something, and those kinds of snags are usually man-made.”

The diving team’s previous successes include locating La Mahenge, an 8,000-ton cargo ship found 120 meters deep in the English Channel, and a British M1 submarine found 81 meters deep in waters off the port of Plymouth.

The Kickstarter goal covers running costs of 25 days at sea, which is about a year of searching, taking into consideration weather and tides

“I think this project is too interesting to just let it pass, and with the Kickstarter goal it can happen sooner and we’ll be able to share more about what we find,” Brown said.

For more information or to donate, go to kickstarter.com/projects/979818757/finding-meyers-missing-hercules.

Stars & Stripes

USAF Incident Report