Evening star., 1953-08-02
Chances Very Good
5 Parachuted From
B-5O, Roche Says
BY the Associated Press

BY the Associated Press
TOKYO, Sunday, Aug. 2.-The
chances are very good" that
some of the Is other American
crew members of a B-50 recon-
naissance plane shot down in a
Russian jet attack Wednesday
parachuted into the water, the
only known survivor said Sat-
urday.
Capt. John E. Roche, %, of
Washington. D. c., told press
conference that the big plane
was headed due east at 10000
feet-fully 40 miles from Rus
sian territory-when it was hit
without provocation by one or
possibly two Red jets.
He said he believed the engi-
neer, navigator and probably the
waist and tail gunnerS para
chuted, as well as the pilot.
The rescued airman said the
plane had definite orders not to
approach closer than IL miles
to Soviet territory and no nearer
than three miles to Chinese ter
ritory.
There was no possible chance
that they were any closer than
20 miles to Siberia, Capt. Roche
said. He was co-pilot Of the
stricken plane.
He disputed Moscow charges
that the bomber was flying over
Siberia near the Red naval base
of VladivoStok and fired first at
Red jets.
Others May Survive.
The State Department pro-
tested the attack and told Mos
COW it had information some of
the 16 other crewmen had been
saved by Russian vessels.
Rescue planes which secured
the area where the B-50 was
downed, reported several Russian
motor torpedo-type boats had
been sighted in the area and
may have picked up other mem
bers of the crew.
Capt. Roche, who was picked
up by the U. S. Destroyer Pick
ing, said he did not see the Rus
sian craft, nor did he personally
see other crewmen bail out of
the plane. But he said the Pick
ing halted Russian "Trawler
or tug boat" Thursday, % hours
after the crash, and questioned
the crew about survivors.
1T must have been about 6:15
Wednesday morning when it
happened" Capt. Roche told
newsmen. 1t was $40 when he
hit the water, stopping his watch.
Il was sitting there relaxed"
he went on. "It didn't enter my
mind at all we might be at
tackled. It was international
waters"
He had just lit q cigarette
when the No. l engine was rid
died by the first MIG. Then As
seconds later the No. 4 engine on
the other wing was shot up and
crumpled. The crew was ordered
to bail out.
B-5O Returned Fire.
After the first attack gunner
on the B-50 fired a 3-5 second
burst at the marauder. It was
not known whether the MIG was
hit.
IT never saw the second MIG
at alp Capt. Roche said. ut got
our No. 4 engine IS seconds to a
minute after the first attack"
The pilot, Capt. Stanley Keith
OKelly of Topeka, Kans., rang
the alarm bell to bail out as the
right wing collapsed. Capt.
Roche was thrown forward into
the nose by an explosion and
then climbed back into the cock
pit on his hands and knees. The
engineer and navigator were
gone and probably had already
bailed out.
THE plane shook. You could
see daylight through the air
craft" he said. He dived out
past the nose wheel and smelled
smoke so close he thought his
own chute was on fire, but found
1t intact. Then he landed.
"I was about IS feet from the
wreckage of the plane" he said.
THE water all around was on
fire. I swan backward to get
away from it,"
Swan to Pilot.
Capt. Roche heard shout and
swan toward the sound. He
found Capt. O'Kelly and together
the two clung to an air mattress
for the next 1112 hours.
They fired flares and released
green dye when a B-29 rescue
plane was spotted overhead. The
B-29 dropped a life boat some
200 yards from Capt. O'Kelly.
Capt. Roche said he swan to
the boat and clambered in. He
was violently sick and his legs
doubled up with cramps.
II couldn't move" he said. 81
never got a chance to get O'Kelly
after that"
While in the water, Roche and
OKelly heard a voice calling, but
they were too weak to aid him.
He saw no vessels until he
spotted the Picking almost %
hours after the plane had been
shot down. He fired flare pis-
tol from the lifeboat and the
Picking pulled him to safety.