Colonel Mike McCoys B-47 crash site. #3 Traditional Cache
kleetus: As the last log says the tree has been pruned. I came over to repair the series but all three of them had issues.
Colonel Mike McCoys B-47 crash site. #3
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Stand on the hill behind the cache and face the apartments. The crew compartment came to rest about 700 feet in front of where you are standing and to the left. The last of the wreckage was about 45 degrees to your right and about 1000 feet away. The cache, rosemont mini GC1TX6A, is very close to where the crew compartment was found. This area was a big pasture in 1957.
I'm not sure if there's any historical marker near here. I didn't see one. There should be. Here's a short biography of the crews.
****Col. Michael N.W. McCoy Commander, 321st Bomb Wing, Pinecastle Air Force Base
Col. Michael Norman Wright McCoy lived like he flew: at maximum performance. He was a boxer in his youth under the name the "Real McCoy." He went on to report for a Los Angeles newspaper, give flying lessons, fly for the Royal Canadian Air Force and join the U.S. Army Air Force in time to bomb Japan during World War II.
In late 1953, he arrived at Pinecastle Air Force Base to command a wing of the nation's first jet-powered bombers. He had been among the earliest class of pilots trained in B-47s and developed methods for refueling them in flight. He earned the distinction of being the "dean" of the Strategic Air Command’s B-47 "Stratojet" aircraft commanders. A hugely popular figure in Central Florida, McCoy was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in a funeral that included a flyover of B-47s led by friend Les Gaskins of Pinecastle. The Pinecastle base was named after McCoy the following year.
****Lt. Col. Charles Joyce Operations director, 321st Bomb Wing
Family members said Charles Joyce was called "Doc" because he managed to fly planes badly wounded in combat to safe landings.
After high school, he enrolled at the Mississippi Institute of Aeronautics and eventually flew B-29 bombers in World War II.
During one mission, after bombing Singapore and returning home, his B-29 ran low on fuel. Several crewmen bailed out, while Joyce and six others stayed aboard. From 10,000 feet, he glided to a "dead stick" landing.
Joyce's family had wanted him buried in New England. But his wife, Jimmie, expected to raise her three children near the Pinecastle air base. She buried her husband at Greenwood Cemetery, making him the only crew member to remain in the Orlando area.
****Maj. Vernon D. Stuff Chief of bombing division, 321st Bomb Wing
Vernon Stuff was a favorite navigator for McCoy, who as base commander didn't have a regular crew. During World War II, Stuff flew 27 combat missions over Italy.
While stationed at Pinecastle, Stuff chose to live in Orlando and raise his children in a home on Bumby Avenue within walking distance of Audubon Elementary.Stuff was buried in Houston.
****Group Capt. John Woodroffe Detachment commander, Royal Air Force
Woodroffe was at least as legendary in England as McCoy was in America. He also was probably more tested in harrowing and critical battles.
In World War II, he led massive bombing raids over Germany, having the crushing responsibility of remaining over target areas to direct precise strikes by scores of bombers at night and in bad weather.
In 1955, he assumed command of the Royal Air Force Wittering station, where a fleet of England's early jet bombers, the Valiant, was operated.
Two years later, and on a career path for a top rank in the RAF, he flew to Pinecastle to oversee four British jets, participating in an annual Strategic Air Command bombing competition.
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