Remembering the Men of the 7406th

The 7406 Support Squadron was activated Rhein-Main Air Base, West Germany in May of 1955. By 1958, they had converted from the RB50-E Super-fortress (a post WW2 revision of the B-29) over to the new C-130A-II Hercules recon aircraft. They had been modified specifically for reconnaissance work.

On September 2, 1958, one of these aircraft took off from Incirlik Airbase in Turkey for a routine mission along the Turkish-Armenian border. It had a crew of 6 along with 11 members of the USAF Security Services. They were flying a route parallel to the Soviet border, not to get closer than 100 miles. The crew reported in over Trabzon, Turkey and then acknowledged a weather report from there. No other communication was made by the crew after that.

It is assumed that they confused a navigational beacon from the USSR with similar beacons from Trabzon that they had been briefed on. Once over Soviet airspace they were confronted by 4 MiG 34 miles NW of Yerevan, Armenia. The 4 MiGs took turns firing at the unarmed C-130 until they shot it down. It took 33 years for the Soviets to release this fact. They initially claimed that it just inexplicably fell from the sky of its own accord.

Of the 17 men on board, the Soviets only returned the remains of the six crew members(five of which were identified). They denied the existence of the remaining 11 and they were never returned.

We remember these 17 men who perished that day, 57 years ago. They died honorably while serving their country.

We will never forget you.

CPT Paul E Duncan

MSG George P Petrochilos

TSG Arthur L Mello

SSG Leroy Price

A1C Robert J Oshinskie

A2C Archie T Bourg Jr.

A2C James E Feguson Jr.

A2C Joel H Fields 

A2C Harold T Kamps

A2C Gerald C Maggiacomo

A2C Clement O Mankins

A2C Gerald H Medeiros

A2C Robert H Moore

CPT John E Simpson

CPT Rudy J Swiestra

CPT Edward J Jeruss

1LT Ricardo M Vallareal