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Cowart, Erwin Hall, Capt.
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Contact Info
Home Town Garfield, Georgia
Last Address Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico
Date of Passing Jul 05, 1967
Location of Interment Hebron Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery - Garfield, Georgia
Captain Erwin Cowart was the co-pilot aboard the B-52G (#57-6494) that crashed on take off from Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico on 5 July 1967. The aircraft and crew served with the 72nd Bomb Wing at Ramey AFB (Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, USA).
"Crew S-05. Aircraft climbed straight out on the runway heading and it appeared normal until it reached an altitude of approximately 3000 feet and a distance of 5 miles from the take-off position. At this time a steep nose-over maneuver was noticed and the aircraft continued down in a steep dive until it disappeared below the horizon. Three crewmen ejected and survived. The aircraft struck the ocean at a steep angle. Later analysis indicated that the life raft stowed behind the co-pilot inflated, pushing him into the control yoke."
The aircraft crashed into the water. Military divers recovered the remains of those killed in the incident.
Crew:
Captain Donald Foster, Aircraft Commander, killed (Columbia, SC)
Captain Erwin Cowart, Co-pilot , killed (Twin City, GA)
1st Lt. Richard St. George, EWO, killed (Watsonville, CA)
Captain Taivo Patajan, Radar Navigator or Navigator, ejected/survived (Fresno, CA)
1st Lt. Paul Grimm, Radar-Navigator or Navigator, ejected/survived (Jacksonville, FL)
SSgt Leroy Spencer, Crew Chief, killed (Morrice, MI)
T.Sgt. Ronald Hagis, Gunner, ejected/survived (Angleton, TX)
Captain Cowart was interred in Hebron Cemetery, Garfield, Emanuel County, Georgia.
He is also memorialized in Arlington NC, VA.
Text: "AF Divers Seek Bodies in Bomber", Daily Review(Hayward, California), 6 July 1967, page 2. (Lists crew names, etc..)
Text: USAF Accident-Incident Report AF Form 711, 1967 July 25
s/Otis A. Sleep, Major, Investigating Officer (this text to be found on line)
Note: Memorials for Captain Cowart at Hebron Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Garfield, Emanuel, Georgia and at Arlington National Cemetery, Virgina.
Korean War/Third Korean Winter (1952-53)
From Month/Year
December / 1952
To Month/Year
April / 1953
Description The military stalemate continued throughout the winter of 1952-1953. Allied Sabrejet pilots, meantime, persisted in destroying MiGs at a decidedly favorable ratio. In December the Communists developed an ambush tactic against F-86 pilots patroling along the Yalu River: MiG pilots would catch the UN aircraft as they ran short of fuel and headed south to return to base. During these engagements, some of the F-84 pilots exhausted their fuel and had IO bail out over Cho-do Island, 60 miles southwest of Pyongyang.
United Nations forces held the island and maintained an air rescue detachment there for such emergencies. To avoid combat while low on fuel, Sabre pilots began to fly home over the Yellow Sea. MiG pilots at this time generally sought the advantages of altitude, speed, position, and numbers before engaging in aerial combat. The UN pilots, on the other hand, relied on their skills to achieve aerial victories, even though they were outnumbered and flying aircraft that did not quite match the flight capabilities of the MiG-15s.
One memorable battle occurred on February l8, 1953, near the Sui-ho Reservoir on the Yalu River, 110 miles north of Pyongyang; 4 F-86Fs attacked 48 MiGs, shot down 2, and caused 2 others to crash while taking evasive action. All 4 U.S. aircraft returned safely to their base. While the Fifth Air Force maintained air superiority over North Korea during daylight hours, the Far East Air Forces Bomber Command on nighttime missions ran afoul of increasingly effective Communist interceptors. The aging B- 29s relied on darkness and electronic jamming for protection from both interceptors and antiaircraft gunfire, but the Communists used spotter aircraft and searchlights to reveal bombers to enemy gun crews and fighter-interceptor pilots.
As B-29 losses mounted in late 1952, the Bomber Command compressed bomber formations to shorten the time over targets and increase the effectiveness of electronic countermeasures. The Fifth Air Force joined the Navy and Marines to provide fighter escorts to intercept enemy aircraft before they could attack the B-29s. Bomber Command also restricted.missions along the Yalu to cloudy, dark nights because on clear nights contrails gave away the bombers' positions. FEAF lost no more B-29s after January 1953, although it continued its missions against industrial targets. On March 5 the B-29s penetrated deep into enemy territory to bomb a target at Chongjin in northeastern Korea, only 63 miles from the Soviet border. While Bomber Command struck industrial targets throughout North Korea during the winter of 1952-1953, the Fifth Air Force cooperated with the U.S. Navy's airmen in attacks on supplies, equipment, and troops near the from fines.
In December 1952 the Eighth Army moved its bombline from 10,000 to 3,000 meters from the front lines, enabling Fifth Air Force and naval fighter-bombers to target areas closer to American positions. Beyond the front lines, the Fifth Air Force focused on destroying railroads and bridges, allowing B-26s to bomb stalled vehicles. In January 1953 the Fifth Air Force attempted to cut the 5 railroad bridges over the Chongchon Estoary near Sinanju, 40 miles north of Pyongyang. Expecting trains to back up in marshaling yards at Sinanju, Bomber Command sent B-29s at night to bomb them, but these operations hindered enemy transportation only briefly.
As the ground thawed in the spring, however, the Communist forces had greater difficulty moving supplies and reinforcements in the face of the Fifth Air Force's relentless attacks on transportation. At the end of March 1953, the Chinese Communist government indicated its willingness to exchange injured and ill prisoners of war and discuss terms for a cease-fire in Korea. On April 20 Communist and United Nations officials began an exchange of POWs, and 6 days later, resumed the sessions at Panmunjom.
