Talk:Lajes Field

Hello fellow Wikipedians. I find it strange that a tiny mention of the English use of the base during WWII is made starting in 1943. The RAF had extensive operations, as evidenced by the Lajes War Cemetery, which is still tended by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. 46 RAF personnel and 1 RN Commander. The Royal Navy also had a listening and repeating radio station on Terceira commanded by Commander Lord Charles Alexander Colville, 3rd Viscount Culross. He was killed in that last crash of the RAF at Lajes March 14, 1945. Commander Colville was a 41 year RN veteran and was in charge of the listening post which was being taken out of service at that date so late in the war. Quite a sad occasion. His seat was a courtesy of the RAF commander who was sending home those who were married and had served a longer tour at that base. How terrible to serve from 1904, mentioned in dispatches at the Battle of Jutland, and then with less than 60 days of hostilities in Europe to die in a crash without even getting off the island. His second in command finished the task of dismantling the operation, packing men and equipment on the cruiser which the Commander had original orders to return home on, and that ship too, was never seen nor heard from once out of sight of the Azores. Suspected to be one if not the single last ship sunk by U-Boat. The Lajes War Cemetery holds a total of 47 British service men's remains. That is more dead in 2 years than the US has lost in our 80 years of ops there with USAF and US Navy flight ops. The American dead from war service at Lajes were repatriated, and so there are no Americans interred on Terceira that I have ever heard mention of. My great regret in life about Terceira is that while I was there in '71-'73 I never knew there was a military cemetery. I certainly would have visited. As to the listening post, we visited a bunker on the mountain once and my father told me it was a German WWII bunker. Preposterous. I suspect it was the listening post Commander Colville ran.

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Information added was obtained from http://www.lajes.af.mil/65abw.html No copyright notice appears on the page, and the text was changed in several areas.

This should be merged into the Lajes Air Base article.
 * All the same air station. Some one who knows whats going on should merge these.  Desertsky85451 16:29, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

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Lajes Field - Accidents and Incidents - Pilot Error
On March 30, 1953 a U.S. Air Force B-29 crashed shortly after takeoff from Lajes Field.

Following is from an account described in Combat Crew Magazine, May, 1953:

"Pilot Error.

Aircraft then burst into flames - six crew members died - nine were badly injured.

The Third pilot survived and gave testimony.

Landing Gear was never raised, nor cargo salvoed. On previous flight, #4 throttle slipped and A/C started to feather, but recognized trouble in time. Slippage was not recorded on Form 1. Whether power loss was again due to throttle slippage or perhaps engine failure, it is definite that panic, confusion & poor technique contributed to this accident. With proper procedures, a three-engine go-around should have been possible." ≈≈≈≈

Francis Henderson (A1/C U.S. Air Force)

(On site at time of accident)