Flight 19 disappearance in Bermuda Triangle
The saga of Flight 19 remains as one of the most mysterious disappearances in
Bermuda Triangle. Flight-19 was the code name for Five Avenger bomber planes
that took off from the Naval base at Florida on 5th of December 1945, but never
returned. U.S Navy's final report mentioned "Reasons Unknown" when citing the
cause of the incident. Thus Flight-19 also became known as The Lost Patrol. So
what was actually Flight 19 and what really happened? My findings below are the
closest to the reality that one can possibly get to.
Flight 19 was a training flight with five TBM Avengers or Torpedo Bombers and was
led by Commander Charles Taylor. Each was a 3-seater plane, very robust, safe
and US Navy's best bombing planes to destroy enemy submarines. It could carry up
to 2000 pounds of bombing ammunitions and had a range of 1000 miles.
Other than Taylor, there were 13 others in the flight (in different planes) but were
all trainees. Taylor was the only experienced pilot. On December 5, 1945 at 2:10
p.m., the five Avengers of Flight 19 took off one after the other from the Naval Air
Station (NAS) of Fort Lauderdale at Florida for a routine training session. It was a
clear day.
US Navy Avenger planes similar to Flight 19
As per plans, the flight's path was to first go towards East into the sea for 56 miles
up to Hens and Chicken Shoals to practice bombings. Then they were supposed go
further east for another 67 miles towards the Bahamas. At this point they would
turn north and go for 73 miles. Then turn back and head straight for the Naval Base
back in Florida. This way they would cover a triangular area over the sea.
The triangle with the yellow line on the picture below was the planned route of the
flight 19. The weather over the route was reported as excellent, a typical sunny
Florida day. At about 3:30 p.m., Taylor sent a message to the control tower that his
compass was malfunctioning and he thought he was somewhere around the Florida
Keys, which is a chain of islands in the south of Florida. So instead of heading
towards East, he thought that they actually flew southwards due to compass
problems.
Immediately an instruction was given from the tower to turn north and fly towards
Miami, only if he was sure that they were at the Florida keys. However, Taylor's
idea of being close to the Keys was wrong. They had probably gone to the East as
originally planned, but for some reason he got confused. As he guided the flight
more towards north, further out to the sea the avengers traveled.
At 3.45 p.m., Taylor's voice was heard again at the control towers. This time he
sounded worried and confused ... "Cannot see land, we seem to be off course". At
this stage there was another transmission that was picked up when one trainee
student said to the other "If we would just fly west, we would get home." He was
right. But who would care? After all they had to follow a stubborn leader.
While these days the pilots use modern navigational equipment like the GPS, in
1945 a pilot had to rely on his starting point, speed, time of flight and the direction
indicated by the compass to know where he would exactly be during the flight. If
any of these deviated, there was a high chance that the flight would be lost.
However, let me also state an interesting fact here before we go further into the
Flight 19 story. While Taylor was an experience pilot, he did have a history of
getting lost. He was lost thrice during the World War II. And in two of such
occasions, he had to ditch his pane into the sea to get rescued. Secondly, he did
not have good knowledge about the area around east and south of Florida.
So, an interesting twist to the story?
Yes. In fact, at about 4:45 p.m. on that day, it was quite clear to the men on the
Base Station that Taylor was hopelessly lost, and he was still trying to go further
North and then East again. He was then instructed to hand over the control to one
of the students. Apparently he did not.
At 5:50 p.m. the ComGulf Center somehow managed to trace the Flight 19
avengers on its radar. It was apparently at the east of New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
By then communications had become so poor that this information could not be
passed on to the lost planes. It was getting dark. The weather started to become
rough too and the Avengers were very low in fuel. Hope was rapidly fading for the
Flight 19 by then.
Officers at the naval base station thought it was enough. At 7:27p.m, two Martin
Mariner planes were sent to search the Flight-19. These mariners were like flying
boats that could also land on the sea. The last transmission from Flight 19 was
heard at 7:04 p.m. Search continued all through the night and the next day. There
was no sign of the Avengers. The rescue Mariners were supposed to meet at the
search zone. But strangely the second Mariner never showed up, it too
disappeared.
Facts behind the Flight 19 mystery
So what happened to Flight 19 Avenger Planes? How did they get lost in the
triangle? Check out What happened to Flight 19 to know how the search operation
was carried out, the conclusions reached and what finally came out in the Navy
Board's report.
And what happened to the Martin Mariner that was sent for rescue operation but
never returned? Visit PBM Martin Mariner to know the full story about this rescue
plane that itself was never traced in Bermuda Triangle and became part of the
mystery.
PBM Martin Mariner
The Bermuda Triangle Story
It was the same night of December 5, 1945 when the planes of Flight-19 went
missing in the Bermuda Triangle area. Finally the order came from the US Navy to
send two Martin Mariner planes to start the Flight-19 search operation.
It was past 7pm and the Navy had given up hope that the Fligh-19 planes were still
going to make it. So the two PBM Martin Mariners, that were essentially flying
boats, took off at 7.27pm from the Banana River Navy Base Station in Florida.
The Martin Mariners were heavily used by U.S those days to patrol the ocean areas,
detect any enemy submarine operations, and rescue pilots and crew who would
have crashed into the Atlantic. They had the ability to easily land on ocean water.
They used to carry huge amount of fuel so that they could carry out a search
operation for long if required. Some even called them 'Flying Gas Tanks'.
PBM Martin Mariner
So, the two such Mariners took off, this time to search for the Flight-19 planes.
Both the mariners were generally used for training purposes. But this time they
were on a special mission. One of them, called the Training-32 headed straight out
into the ocean. The other one, called Training-49 went north bound along the east
coast. After the second Mariner took off, the base station never heard from it again.
It was around 9pm, when a message came in from a freighter ship SS Gaines Mill
that they saw a huge explosion on the ocean at a distance.
Training-32 was still searching for the Flight-19 and was in constant touch with the
base station. At about 10pm, they diverted and reached the spot reported by the
freighter ship. But strangely, they saw no fire there and nor any debris floating.
Water sample brought from that place did not show any trace of oil suggesting
there could not have been any explosion there at all. But the crew of the freighter
Gains Mill reported that they saw a huge ball of fire dropping into the ocean at a
distance and then a big explosion.
So what really happened to the second Martin Mariner?
The mariner was in the best of conditions and thoroughly checked by both
technicians as well as the captain before taking off. So any engine failures or such
were ruled out. Some speculated that a cigarette lighting inside the cabin had
blown up the plane. That theory was ruled out too. Since the mariners carried huge
amount of gas, smoking was strictly prohibited in flight and no one should have lit a
cigarette.
Now the interesting twist comes. The Navy board during the investigation reported
that there are often greenish lights seen along the coast lines of Florida. This has
also been confirmed by the resident locals. This green light would float around for a
while, then descend and slowly disappear. This is often linked with something
known as St. Elmo's fire which has a green hue. The fire is caused due to the area's
unique climate. It radiates huge amount of electrical charge. And it is also known
that although airplanes have anti-static equipment, they seem to glow green when
they come under the charge from such Elmo's fire. And in one occasion, a plane
had even blown up.
So was it such electrical charge from Elmo's fire that interfered with the
navigational system and caused fire? This may be a possible theory. But this has
not yet been established with facts and evidence. Unfortunately the investigation of
Martin Mariner is still incomplete and remained as a great mystery of Bermuda
Triangle.
Tudor Star Tiger
Disappearance in Bermuda Triangle
On January 30, 1948, the Star Tiger, a Tudor aircraft was on its way to Bermuda.
The long 12 hours journey from Santa Maria in Azores was almost coming to an
end. At 3:15 a.m., the radio operator of the aircraft received the radio position of
the plane. It was all set to land at 5a.m in Bermuda. In just one and half hours
time, the 25 passengers on board would see the marine lights of Bermuda. But
5a.m. had come and gone. The plane was never seen or heard of again. Here is the
full story of Tudor Star Tiger's mysterious disappearance in Bermuda Triangle.
The Background
Star Tiger was the third Tudor Mark IV aircraft that was ordered by the British
South American Airline (BSAA). It was an extended and improved Tudor aircraft
manufactured by the Avro Corporation. Avro also manufactured two other types:
Yorks and Lancastrians.In 1948, the Tudor was a relatively new aircraft and
had history of 575 hours of flying experience from the time it was first launched.
However, there was no prior incidence of accidents or malfunction.
The dreaded flight of Tudor Star Tiger
On January 28, 1948, Star Tiger started from Lisbon for its first leg of journey to
Santa Maria in the Azores. It was supposed to be a short halt for refueling. But due
to bad weather conditions and strong winds, the Captain Brian W McMillan decided
that they would fly to Bermuda the next day. So on 29th January, the flight took off
from Santa Maria despite strong winds. There were 25 passengers on board, and
one of them a very distinguished person - Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, a hero
of World War II.
The captain decided to fly at an exceptionally low altitude of 2000 feet in order to
avoid the strong head wind that originates particularly due to the Gulf stream at the
Atlantic. At 3:15 a.m., when many of the passengers were sleeping or dozing, the
radio operator of the flight pressed a button to get position of the plane from
Bermuda's radio operator.
The Bermuda operator responded giving the position of the plane at 72 degrees. On
receiving the message, the Captain McMillan and the flight radio operator agreed
that the Estimated Time of Arrival at Bermuda would be 5a.m.
The Bermuda operator tried to contact the Star Tiger later at 3:50am but got no
response. He tried again at 4:40am when it was almost time for the fight to start its
descend for landing. He did not get any response again and immediately declared a
state of emergency. The plane's landing time of 5am had long passed. There was
no trace of the flight, nor there was any distress call raised by the captain of the
flight.
Tudor Mark IV (similar to Star Tiger)
There was a massive rescue operation launched by the USAAF personnel with 26
aircraft flying for 882 hours to search for the Star Tiger. The operation lasted for 5
days. But they found no trace of it or its passengers and the crew. On January 31,
1948, the news of the passenger Sir Arthur Coningham's death shared the front
page of The New York Times along with other terrible news of Mahatma Gandhi's
assassination and the death of Orville Wright.
Investigation on the disappearance of Star Tiger
The British Aviation Ministry immediately grounded the other two Tudor aircraft
owned by the BSAA airlines although they were later released only for cargo
operation. The ministry also initiated a thorough investigation headed by Lord
MacMillan. The investigation lasted for 11 days.
The team came back with a lot of observations on what could not have happened
rather than what may have happened to the Star Tiger flight. Very rare to be seen
in the history of such investigation, the team admitted its inability to reach to the
real cause. This is what they quoted in their final report:
"In closing this report it may truly be said that no more baffling problem has ever
been presented for investigation. In the complete absence of any reliable evidence
as to either the nature or the cause of the accident of Star Tiger the Court has not
been able to do more than suggest possibilities, none of which reaches the level
even of probability. Into all activities which involve the co-operation of man and
machine two elements enter of a very diverse character.
There is an incalculable element of the human equation dependent upon imperfectly
known factors; and there is the mechanical element subject to quite different laws.
A breakdown may occur in either separately or in both in conjunction. Or some
external cause may overwhelm both man and machine. What happened in this case
will never be known and the fate of Star Tiger must remain an unsolved mystery."
Fight DC-3 Disappearance in
Bermuda Triangle
On December 28, 1948, the flight Douglas Dakota DC-3 (NC16002) took off at
10.03p.m. from San Juan airport of Puerto Rico heading for Miami (Florida). While it
was only 50 miles south of Florida, it sent the last message to indicate its position.
Only 20 minutes to go, the flight was never seen or heard of again. It disappeared
in the Bermuda Triangle area with all its 28 passengers and 3 crew members.This
was the first instance of a DC-3 aircraft disappearing. There were subsequently two
more such cases, all of them happened within 50 miles of Florida Keys. The Keys is
a string of small islands just south of Florida.
Here is the full story of DC-3 / NC16002 disappearing in Bermuda Triangle.
Background of DC-3 (Douglas Dakota)
Douglas Dakota or the DC-3 has been probably the most reliable aircraft ever
designed and built. There were more than 10,000 DC-3 planes manufactured, and
still hundreds remain in use. These are propeller driven aircraft and not jet planes.
The economics and practical consideration have still kept them in use although
small jet planes are now gradually replacing them.
You will see lots of these aircraft in Florida and also in the whole of Caribbean and
Bahamas. Their job is mainly island hopping. Because of small distances between
the islands and also short runways, the big jumbo jets are usually unfit for such
activities and DC-3 is ideally suited for this. The DC-3 is also widely used as private
charter planes by many airlines and also for spraying pest controls from the air,
particularly mosquito killers.
The dreaded flight of DC-3, NC16002
At 7:40p.m. on 27th December 1948, the DC-3 landed at San Juan airport in Puerto
Rico. It came from Miami and was scheduled to return after a short halt at San
Juan.
Captain Bob Linquist reported to the ground engineers that the light indicator for
the landing gear did not come on at the time of landing. The ground crew
immediately started the checks and figured out that the battery was weak and
running low on water. The stewardess Mary Burkes was busy deplaning the
passengers and the co-pilot Ernest Hill was going around the aircraft for routine
checks. The ground crew refilled the battery and informed the captain that it would
take several hours for the batteries to recharge fully. The captain however decided
not to wait that long and rather charge the batteries in the air from the aircraft's
own generator.
Douglas Dakota DC-3
So at 8:30p.m the DC-3 was all set to depart for Miami. By this time, Mary Burkes
had on-boarded 28 passengers for the return trip.
However, there was lot more annoying wait before the plane could finally take off.
The radio transmitter in the aircraft was not working properly due to the low
battery. So the aircraft was asked to wait at the end of the tarmac. The head of
Puerto Rican Transport drove to the plane to talk to the captain. Linquist informed
him that he could clearly receive the messages but could not every time send
messages due to the low battery.
Finally at 10:03p.m. when all seemed to be okay, the flight was allowed to take off.
The captain was advised to stay close to San Juan till the two way communication
was fully established from the air. The flight circled the San Juan city for 11
minutes, and once the both way radio communication was confirmed, it started its
journey out towards the sea for Miami.
Next, at 11:23p.m, the captain Linquist sent his routine radio transmission to
indicate the flight position - it was at 8,300 feet altitude and reported ETA 4.03a.m
at Miami. But funnily, while the message was received at Miami control tower which
was some 700 miles away, there was no transmission received at San Juan which
was much closer.
The captain next reported the flight position when it was 50 miles south of Florida
and only 20 minutes to land. Strangely again, the message this time was received
at New Orleans which was about 600 miles away and not Miami that was so close
by. New Orleans radio tower forwarded the message to Miami station.
And that was the last time a message was ever received from the DC-3. The
weather was normal. Repeated radio signals from the control towers did not get
any response. The flight DC-3 had suddenly disappeared with all its passengers and
crew.
What may have happened to DC-3
An explosion could have explained the aircraft getting disintegrated in the air
keeping no trace of anything. No one from near or around Florida had heard any
explosion. Also the waters at the Florida Keys area is so shallow that any debris
could easily be seen. Even after long intensive search, there was nothing found.
Many believe that the transmitter of the aircraft was faulty and therefore the
captain did not receive a message sent from Miami radio station at 12:15a.m
informing that there was a change in wind direction from North West to North East.
As a result, the plane could have been blown 40 to 50 miles south and off its course
by the wind. Then they would have got lost, had run out of fuel and crashed. The
gulf stream would have dispersed all the debris and bodies.
This also looks improbable because when the captain last reported its position, it
was 50 miles south of Florida. There was no need for the aircraft to go south of
Florida to reach Miami. So the captain knew that they had been moved off course
by the wind and would have used the in-flight positioning instrument to fix the
position of the flight.
One thing for sure. Whatever may have happened, would have happened suddenly
and very fast. The real mystery of Douglas Dakota DC-3 in Bermuda Triangle
remains unsolved till date.
USS Cyclops
The greatest mystery of the sea
USS Cyclops was a massive carrier ship and supplied fuel to the American fleet
during the World War-I. The 522-foot Cyclops displaced 12,000 tons of water. On
January 8, 1918, the ship started sail from the snow covered Norfolk navy port
towards Rio of Brazil under the command of Lt. Commander Worley. The ship was
only a few years old. The purpose of this voyage was to unload coal at Rio and load
Manganese ores used mainly for making steel.
On January 28, the ship reached Rio. It would now dock here for two weeks. And as
planned, large amount of coal was unloaded and then 10,000 tons of Manganese
ores were loaded into the ship. So the ship was heavy and full. On the day of its
departure, surprisingly some 73 local sailors were asked to board the ship. And
more surprisingly, the American Consulate General of Rio, Gottschalk also boarded
the ship. When asked why? He mentioned that he wanted to enlist his name in the
US army to serve the nation during the war.
USS Cyclops
USS Cyclops then set sale again on February 16th with 309 persons on board and
huge load of cargo. It was homebound for Baltimore via Bahi. Now there was
another odd turn to the story. After the ship left Bahi, instead of sailing straight
towards Baltimore, the captain took it to Barbados in West Indies on March 3rd. He
said that they needed more fuel and supplies. Although the US Consul General in
Barbados did not feel the necessity of loading more coal and supplies, but the
captain insisted, and it was finally done.
On March 4th, Cyclops set sale again and was scheduled to reach Baltimore on
March 13th. But... it was never heard of again. When the ship did not reach
Baltimore as scheduled, a massive search was initiated soon along her whole
course. Every naval ship from Cuba to Puerto Rico searched for any possible debris
anticipating that it might had fallen pray to German Submarines. However, there
was no trace of Cyclops.
So, what happened to USS Cyclops?
There are many theories, but none could prove it with real facts and evidence. Even
after some 15,000-page report from the US Navy probing the Cyclops mystery,
most explanations have still remained as speculations. Until now this disappearance
has remained as one of the greatest mysteries of the ocean, and strangely the ship
was right in the middle of Bermuda Triangle when the incident had supposedly
taken place.
Here are some explanations that come close to what may actually have happened
on the sea:
 The Captain Worley used to be hated by most of his fellow staffs and officers. They
always accused him to be a pro-German. It was actually found out later that
Captain Worley was a German born and had a different name earlier. It is not
known what caused him to change his name. Also Gottschalk, the US Consulate
General of Rio, who surprisingly boarded the ship along with 73 other local sailors,
was also very popular among the German community in Brazil. To top it all, lot
more coal and fuel were loaded from Barbados when it was not officially planned or
even required.
So was it a case of Sabotage? Why was there no SOS call made by the captain.
Since the US war with Germany already broke out by then, did the captain and
Gottschalk connived together and sunk the ship or destroyed it? Or may be taken it
all the way to Germany?
 Here is another theory. One of the navy officers, Nervig was onboard the Cyclops till
Rio. He wrote a report that he often found the deck of the ship swaying when large
waves struck the ship. So the ship was already showing signs of weakening and
getting split. So there may had been a structural failure that sunk the ship.
 Another report says that on its sail from Rio, Cyclops was overloaded with Manganese
plus fuel and many persons aboard. The load was more than the ship was designed
to handle. A heavy mid oceanic storm had hit the ship and it overturned, cargo
scattered and it all sank to the bottom of the ocean.
 Was the ship blasted by a German underwater mine or torpedoed by a German Sub?
US Navy claims that such possibility does not exist if the ship had been on its right
course. However, had the ship been off its track by a large margin, there was a
high possibility of that to happen and the ship would have perished.
USS Scorpion
Mystery of the USN Submarine
USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was a Skipjack-class nuclear powered submarine of the
USN (United States Navy). Scorpion was declared lost on June 5, 1968 and that too
while it was not at war. Scorpion was commissioned on July 29, 1960. After initial
assignments of training and other short operations, her home port became Norfolk
in 1962 and remained so for rest of her career.
The Scorpion specialized in the development of nuclear submarine warfare tactics.
Varying her role from hunter to hunted, she participated in exercises which ranged
along the Atlantic coast and in the Bermuda and Puerto Rico operating areas.
In 1966, she was deployed for special operations and entered an inland Russian sea
during a "Northern Run" where it successfully filmed a Soviet missile launch
through its periscope before being forced to flee by using its high speed capability.
On completion of such special operations, her commanding officer received the
Navy Commendation Medal for outstanding leadership, foresight, and professional
skill. Other Scorpion officers and crewmen were also cited for meritorious
achievement. Scorpion was a fast attack submarine and had a reputation for
excellence.
USS Scorpion
The Disappearance of USS Scorpion
On February 1, 1967 the Scorpion entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard at her home
port for an extended overhaul. In late October, she commenced refresher training
and weapons system acceptance tests. Later on February 15, 1968 she got
underway for a Mediterranean deployment. Upon departing the Mediterranean on
16 May, she headed west for home. On May 21, she indicated her position to be
about 50 miles south of the Azores. Six days later, she was reported overdue at
Norfolk. A search was initiated. But on June 5th, Scorpion and her crew were
declared "presumed lost." Her name was struck off from the Navy list on June 30.
Wreck of USS Scorpion
The search continued and a Court of Inquiry was setup by the US navy. At the end
of October, the Navy's Ocean research ship Mizar located sections of Scorpion's hull
in more than 3000 meters (i.e. about 10,000 feet) deep water and about 400 miles
southwest of the Azores. Other vessels including the submersible Trieste that were
later sent to the wreck area, collected lots of pictures and other information.
The submarine was broken into two major pieces: The forward hull section,
including the torpedo room and most of the operations compartment, created one
huge trench on impact with the sea floor. And the aft section including the reactor
compartment and engine room, created a second impact trench. The sail is
detached and lies nearby in a large debris field. Much of the operations
compartment had disappeared, and most of the debris was identified as coming
from the operations compartment. One of Scorpion's running lights was locked in
the open position as if it had been on the surface at the time of the mishap.
US Navy photo 1968 of the bow section of Scorpion
So what was the cause of USS Scorpion loss?
At the time of her sinking, there were 99 crewmen aboard Scorpion. The submarine
contained a treasure-trove of highly sophisticated spy gear and spy manuals, two
nuclear-tipped torpedoes, and a nuclear propulsion system. The best available
evidence indicates that Scorpion sank in the Atlantic Ocean on May 22, 1968.
Several theories and explanations have been given as cause of the loss, but none
are conclusive. Some have suggested that attack by a Soviet submarine caused
Scorpion's loss. The most likely cause was the activation of a torpedo by mistake at
the time of inspection. The torpedo, in a fully ready condition and without a
propeller guard, then began a live run within the tube. As soon as it got released
from the tube, it struck its nearest target, the Scorpion itself. Alternatively, the
torpedo may have exploded in the tube due to an uncontrollable fire in the torpedo
room.
However, no one till date knows the real cause. The Navy's Court of Inquiry did not
reconvene after the 1969 investigation, and did not take testimony from a group of
submarine designers, engineers and physicists who spent nearly a year evaluating
the data gathered from the wreck of Scorpion.
Wreck of USS Scorpion
The search continued and a Court of Inquiry was setup by the US navy. At the end
of October, the Navy's Ocean research ship Mizar located sections of Scorpion's hull
in more than 3000 meters (i.e. about 10,000 feet) deep water and about 400 miles
southwest of the Azores. Other vessels including the submersible Trieste that were
later sent to the wreck area, collected lots of pictures and other information.
The submarine was broken into two major pieces: The forward hull section,
including the torpedo room and most of the operations compartment, created one
huge trench on impact with the sea floor. And the aft section including the reactor
compartment and engine room, created a second impact trench. The sail is
detached and lies nearby in a large debris field. Much of the operations
compartment had disappeared, and most of the debris was identified as coming
from the operations compartment. One of Scorpion's running lights was locked in
the open position as if it had been on the surface at the time of the mishap.
US Navy photo 1968 of the bow section of Scorpion
So what was the cause of USS Scorpion loss?
At the time of her sinking, there were 99 crewmen aboard Scorpion. The submarine
contained a treasure-trove of highly sophisticated spy gear and spy manuals, two
nuclear-tipped torpedoes, and a nuclear propulsion system. The best available
evidence indicates that Scorpion sank in the Atlantic Ocean on May 22, 1968.
Several theories and explanations have been given as cause of the loss, but none
are conclusive. Some have suggested that attack by a Soviet submarine caused
Scorpion's loss. The most likely cause was the activation of a torpedo by mistake at
the time of inspection. The torpedo, in a fully ready condition and without a
propeller guard, then began a live run within the tube. As soon as it got released
from the tube, it struck its nearest target, the Scorpion itself. Alternatively, the
torpedo may have exploded in the tube due to an uncontrollable fire in the torpedo
room.
However, no one till date knows the real cause. The Navy's Court of Inquiry did not
reconvene after the 1969 investigation, and did not take testimony from a group of
submarine designers, engineers and physicists who spent nearly a year evaluating
the data gathered from the wreck of Scorpion.
Fight 441 Disappearance in
Bermuda Triangle
Flight 441 was a huge carrier that belonged to the US Navy. The civilian or the
commercial model of the aircraft is known as the Super Constellation. In military
version, it was called R7V-1. The aircraft was one of the greatest success of its
time. It was touted that it could cross the Atlantic in 8 and half hours. On October
30, 1954, the flight 441 took off from the Patuxent River Naval Air Station bound
for Lajes in Azores. There were 42 passengers, all naval officers and their families
who were transported overseas.
Like in many of the Bermuda Triangle incidences, initially there were regular
communication received from the aircraft. And suddenly, it was all silent. The last
transmission was received around 11:30p.m which was a regular report informing
its location. That time the aircraft was about 400 miles off the coast.
And after that, Flight 441 simply vanished. The disappearance of Flight 441 remains
as one of the biggest mysteries of Bermuda Triangle. Not even a single clue till date
has been gathered to throw any light on the cause. The incidence was thoroughly
investigated by the board, which focussed on the plane itself, the weather and the
Pilot Leonard's capability.
The weather was somewhat typical for the North Atlantic at this time of the year no snowing, sporadic thunderstorms and mild turbulence. But the flight 441,
capable of attaining great altitudes, could have easily been above this weather. Plus
the aircraft had a weather radar installed on it which was capable of giving
forewarning if there was any adverse weather condition detected. The experienced
pilot certainly would have avoided the bad weather based on the indications from
this weather radar.
Here is what the board of investigation reported about the Pilot and the weather:
". . .Lt. Leonard has been flying the North Atlantic routes for the past two years and it is thought that he
was very familiar with this kind of weather. His choice of 17,000 feet altitude for this flight was a good
one. According to the weather cross section 19,000 feet would have been an even better altitude. At any
rate he should have been on top, for the most part, except for occasional buildup. It must be pointed out
that the R7V-1 was equipped with ASP-42 Airborne Radar and is always used when flying this sort of
weather."
The Board also reported: "The possibility of structural failure during transit of frontal weather
cannot be discounted in this accident, but the possibility appears remote."
An R7V-1 (Similar to Flight 441)
R7V-1 was similar to the civilian model Super Constellation by
Lockheed. It was one of the most successful planes of her time
and a super performer in the commercial airline industry
On Pilot's capability, the Board commented:
"Lt. Leonard was well trained in thunderstorm penetration speed and technique. It is thought that if he
did enter a thunderstorm he would have entered at the correct speed and would have flown the up and
down drafts without fighting them. The weather that Lt. Leonard was thought to have been subjected to
was not beyond the capabilities of R7V-1, nor was it thought to be beyond his own capabilities."
So what could have happened to the Flight 441?
Let's take a look at the list of cargo carried by the aircraft: 111 life vests, 46
exposure suits, 660 paper cups and 5 life rafts. All these can easily float in water.
So, if the plane blew off in the air, all these would have got scattered on the ocean
water and could have been traceable. If she simply nose dived into the water
without breaking off, the pilot should have sent an SOS. But none of this apparently
seems to have happened.
Here is what the board had to say finally:
"It is the opinion of the Board that R7V-1 BuNo 128441 did meet with a sudden and violent force, that
rendered the aircraft no longer airworthy, and was thereby beyond the scope of human endeavor to
control. The force that rendered the aircraft uncontrollable is unknown."
Well, I thought it was a classic statement and can probably explain all cases of
Bermuda Triangle disappearances in just couple of lines like the above
Marine Sulphur Queen
Lost in Bermuda Triangle
SS Marine Sulphur Queen was originally a T2 tanker built in 1944. There were many
such tankers built by the US during World War II to carry oil. However in 1960, this
524-foot tanker was converted into a carrier of molten sulphur. For that, they had
to modify the ship's internal structure and build huge sulphur carrying tanks. These
tanks would always be kept heated up at high temperatures so that the sulphur
remained molten.
On February 2nd 1963, Marine Sulphur Queen started her ill fated voyage from
Beaumont, Texas destined towards Norfolk. She was carrying over 15000 tons of
molten sulphur and 39 crew members on board.
She was last heard on Feb 4th when a routine radio message was received from the
ship. There was nothing unusual in the message. However subsequently when all
efforts to communicate with the ship failed, a massive search operation was
launched. After 19 days of sea combing operation, the rescue team found only
some debris and life preservatives. There was no trace of the ship or its crewmen.
The ship had simply disappeared somewhere in the south Florida Straits.
Debris of Marine Suplur Queen
Courtesy Waypoint U.S. Coast Guard Digital Archive
So What happened to Marine Sulphur Queen?
Investigation of Marine Sulphur Queen mystery
US Coast Guard launched an investigation into the mystery of Suplhur Queen. It
was true that at the time of her disappearance, the sea was rough and the waves
were some 16-foot high. But can that really make such a huge ship disintegrate
altogether? Here are some of the important investigation findings of US Coast
Guards:
 The ship was often seen with fire around the Sulphur tanks. This was caused due to
leakage and heat around the tanks. This was so common that often the crew did
not even bother about it. In one occasion, the ship even came to a New Jersey port
with such burning fire, offloaded sulphur and sailed out while there was still fire
around the tanks.
 Due to heavy corrosion, the keel (a structure) in the middle portion of the ship was
becoming very week. It was quite possible that the keel could split up. The ship was
actually due for its routine maintenance in January before its sail. But the owners
still insisted on the ship sailing as it was behind its planned schedule of cargo
delivery. After all nobody likes commercial losses. In fact, before the ship started its
last sail, a crewman was heard telling his wife ... the ship was a "floating garbage
can".
Conclusion
Well, as extensive search resulted into nothing but only some debris and such, the
Coast Guards and the Navy Board reached the conclusion that the ship was actually
lost in the sea. They also concluded that it was lost on February 4, 1963 near the
Straits of Florida.
While they could not assign any definite cause to the loss, they highlighted that the
following could have been the possibilities:
 An explosion could have taken place in the cargo tanks due to leakage.
 The vessel's hull may have split up into two.
 The ship may have been capsized in rough sea.
 A steam explosion may have happened and the crew would have got poisoned.