Preserving a long-obscured Cold War story
We are pleased to present this research project, Project Milk Bottle: A Cold War Crash in Western New York, which documents the April 10, 1958 mid-air explosion of Boeing B-47E Stratojet 52-0470 over the Town of Collins, New York.
This work brings together newly released material obtained through a 2025–2026 Freedom of Information Act request, historical reporting, and contemporary analysis to provide the most complete account to date of this long-obscured Cold War incident — including the accident sequence, the classified structural-retrofit program known as “Project Milk Bottle,” and the four airmen who were lost.
This site is intended to preserve the historical record, honor the air crew who lost their lives, and provide researchers, educators, and local historians with a consolidated, accessible reference on a significant but often overlooked event in Western New York’s Cold War history.
