LYNDEBOROUGH – On Aug. 15, 1959, an Air Force F-100 crashed in North Lyndeborough. The pilot, Capt. James Howard, ejected safely and was found by residents. He was taken to what was then Grenier Field in Manchester.

A few years ago, members of the Historical Society began looking into the incident for inclusion in a planned new town history, and discovered there was very little information available. It was not widely covered in the local press.

What the Society really wanted was a piece of the plane. According to residents, the plane shattered on impact and spread debris over a wide area. Many people picked up pieces before Air Force personnel arrived to guard the wreckage until they could remove it. There is now no sign of the crash at the impact site.

But the crash was more than 50 years ago. Only two of those neighbors are still in the area, and neither kept a piece. Society members decided they would never have one.

But recently the control “stick” from that plane was given to the Society by a person who prefers to remain anonymous. He had owned it for many years, and said it should return to Lyndeborough. It was given to the Heritage Commission, which gave it to the Historical Society.

An Associated Press article in the former Goffstown News details the search for a second plane, piloted by Capt. Russell Nelson of Texas, which crashed in New Boston. He did not survive. His parachute failed to open. That article says the planes were connected to the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, en route from England Air Force Base in Louisiana to Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Somehow the pilots, both trainees, got lost, ran out of fuel, and crashed.

The stick and information on the crash will be included in an exhibits planned for the four new display cases in the meeting room at Citizens’ Hall for the Town Meeting.

According to Wikipedia, the North American F-100 Super Saber first flew in May 1953. It was produced from 1953 to 1959. The Air Force used it from 1954-1971, and the Air National Guard until 1979.

The plane was 50 feet long with a wing span of 39 feet. Powered by a Pratt and Whitney J57 turbo jet engine, it could reach a speed of 863 miles per hour, and was the first jet able to break the sound barrier in level flight. It was used extensively during the Vietnam War.