Patrol Squadrons 28 and 6 and Airborne Early Warning Squadron ONE, based here, were commended by Commander Hawaiian Sea Frontier for their active participation searching for a commercial Transocean airliner that crashed last week in the Wake Island area.
Accident Summary
(not a part of news article)
A Transocean Air Lines Douglas DC-6A was lost at sea with all 58 persons, while en route from Wake Island to Honolulu, Hawaii, approximately 325 miles east of Wake Island. Cause not determined, but there was thunderstorms and turbulence in the area. Fourteen bodies and all life rafts were recovered. The plywood panel from the navigator's table was recovered with the words "falling in" written on it. There is some speculation that a bomb caused the accident. The aircraft was named "The Royal Hawaiian."
In a dispatch to some 38 military units, the frontier commander stated: "Commander Hawaiian Sea Frontier commends all units of the Armed Forces, agencies and commercial airlines that participated or cooperated in the organization and prosecution of the search from the lost Transocean Airline Plane July 12 - 14 1953 near Wake. The promptness and forehandedness of all concerned was most gratifying and in the best tradition of the history of rescue at sea..."
Airborne Early Warning Squadron ONE flew its Constellation aircraft 33 hours and 36 minutes using radar detection. When they discovered that radar was not adequate for this type of search, they acted as a communications hub for all other aircraft in the area. In addition, VW-1 flew a PB1W (Navy version of USAF B-17) in the search mission.
Patrol Squadron 6 dispatched six of its P2V "Neptune" patrol 210 hours in the Johnston-Midway-Wake area. On each 10-hour hop, plane crews sighted debris and floating bodies in the shark infested waters.
Patrol Squadron 28 volunteered four of its P2V-5 "Neptunes" flying a total of approximately 60 hours in the Wake Island Area. They also sighted floating debris from the disaster.
During one evening's search, VP-28 planes aided the Navy transport Barrett in picking up bodies by playing smoke flares over the crash scene.
