F86E

F-86E Saber 50-646
June 22, 1951
Stockholm

75th Fighter Interceptor Squadron
Presque Isle Air Force Base

1Lt. Leonard Levin Jr. had recently returned from a combat tour flying F-80s in Korea and was transitioning to F86E aircraft. He was one of two 75th FIS pilots scheduled for night transition flights and both took off around 8:30 PM to seperate areas of local airspace assigned to them. At 8:40, the Operations Officer from their sister squadron, the 74th FIS, spotted Lt. Levin below him at about 15,000 feet and proceeded to "bounce" him. A brief simulated air combat ensued that ended when Levin executed a split S at 10,000 and the other pilot lost sight of him in the twilight. A short time later, the 74th pilot realized that Levin was on his tail. He executed a maximum rate turn and maneuvered onto Levin's tail. Lt. Levin again executed a split S manuever at less than 6000 feet and was unable to recover in time. The aircraft crashed into a heavily wooded area in a large fireball killing Lt. Levin instantly.

A typical Maine cedar swamp. I had been on numerous hikes over 3 years while working in the area looking for this site. My witness put the crash site a little too far south, in a different swamp. One evening in 2010, I searched this swamp solo, after a different witness indicated that the crash site was a quarter mile north of the brook.

After a pass through the swamp with no wreckage spotted, I found the remains of an old hunting camp with F-86 parts in the camp dump! I knew I was close. Appearantly, hunters lugged parts back to the camp over the years.

While cutting back through the swamp towards my truck, I locate the first piece of wreckage at the actual crash site- this section of cockpit floor.

Bent canopy rail embedded in the swamp floor.