F-100A 53-1544 crash 5 miles east of Tucson International Airport AZ

SCRAMBLE!

At approximately 1:20pm, the scramble horn blew and crews immediately raced into action. Within five minutes of hearing the scramble horn, two Arizona National Guard F-100s started rolling for take-off at Tucson Municipal Airport (now Tucson International Airport).

BANG!

1st Lt. George Arthur Craig was in F-100A, Super Sabre S/N 53-1544. He was speeding down the runway in his Hun when he hit the afterburners - Bang! An explosion blew off pieces of the aircraft. At the time, Craig was unaware of the explosion and became airborne in his F-100. As he turned to the East, the engine fire warning light went off. Moments later Craig successfully ejected. The plane went into a dive and crashed in an area near (present day) Arizona State Prison near Wilmont Road. According to the Air Force mishap report, debris was scattered over “4390” feet. The pilot survived, but suffered major injuries.

Takeoff of North American F-100A (S/N 52-5757, the second production F-100A). Note the original "short" vertical stabilizer. (U.S. Air Force photo)

20mm bullet located among the scattered debris.

Another piece with a "180" stamp and date of 1955.

Switch made by Paul Henry Co, Los Angeles, CA.

"108" part number confirms this is an F-100

Part showing dates of Dec 24 and May 9.

Interesting yellow "pull" handle. The damaged rusty “oval” looks like a possible compass face.

I found a few .50 caliber shells a couple hundred yards away from the F-100 crash site. “S L 43” shows this was manufactured at the St. Louis, MO, ordinance plant in 1943. This was probably from a B-24 out of D-M.

Small debris and broken red glass (or plexiglass).