Missing man formation
Photographed from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier: three airplanes are flying in formation while approaching, and a fourth plane is climbing up and away from the formation to signify the missing man.
Pilots assigned to Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3) perform a Missing Man Flyover formation, above USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), during a wreath-laying ceremony held on the flight deck in memory of a service member killed during a training accident.
Statusactive
GenreMemorial service salute
Activityairshows, sporting events

The missing man formation is an aerial salute performed as part of a flypast of aircraft at a funeral or memorial event, typically in memory of a fallen pilot, a well-known military service member or veteran, or a well-known political figure.[1][2][3] The planes fly in a formation with a space where one plane should be, symbolizing the person's absence. Though similar formations have occurred as early as World War I, the first flypast in the modern formation of four planes is believed to have occurred in 1931 at the funeral for Charles W. "Speed" Holman.[4]

Missing man formations are also used in motorsport in memory of a recently deceased driver and in American football in memory of a recently deceased player.[5][6]

Description

Missing man formation based on finger-four; Flight leader (#1), lead's wingman (#2), and second element lead's wingman (#4) are present, but second element lead (#3) has departed or is not present.

Several variants of the formation are seen. The formation most commonly used in the United States is based on the "finger-four" aircraft combat formation composed of two pairs of aircraft.[7] The aircraft fly in a V-shape with the flight leader at the point and their wingman on their left. The second element leader and his wingman fly on the right.[4] The formation flies over the ceremony low enough to be clearly seen and the second element leader abruptly pulls up out of the formation while the rest of the formation continues in level flight until all aircraft are out of sight.[4]

In an older variant, the formation is flown with the second element leader position conspicuously empty.[4] In another variation, the flight approaches from the south, preferably near sundown, and one of the aircraft will suddenly split off to the west, flying into the sunset.[8] In all cases, the aircraft performing the pull-up, split off, or missing from the formation is honoring the person (or persons) who has died, and is representing their departure.[9]

In memorials

Permanent memorial sculptures depicting the missing man aerial formation exist at Randolph Air Force Base (Missing Man Monument, 1977, Mark Pritchett) in San Antonio, Texas,[10][11] Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (Missing Man Memorial, 1995) in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Valor Park (Missing Man Formation, 2000) near the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.[12][13]

Outside the United States, a missing man memorial was dedicated at the Militaire Luchtvaart Museum (Missing man salute [nl], 2004, Leendert Verboom) near Soesterberg Air Base to commemorate the 21 June 1944 crash of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator "Connie" following a bombing raid in Germany;[14][15][16] it was moved to the CRASH Luchtoorlog- en Verzetsmuseum '40-'45 [nl] museum near Rijsenhout in 2014.[17][18]

See also

References

Media related to Missing man formations at Wikimedia Commons

  1. ^ Edwards, Bob (May 28, 2001). "Missing Man Formation" (link to audio). NPR. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  2. ^ "Histories: The Missing Man Formation". All POW-MIA. Archived from the original on 21 November 2000. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  3. ^ "The History of The Missing Man Formation". Old Glory Traditions. Archived from the original on 2013-06-05. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  4. ^ a b c d Ford, Daniel (May 2001). "High Honor". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  5. ^ Riggs, D. Randy (2018-06-21). "F5000 Drivers Honor Racer Jeff Green With Missing Man Formation". Vintage Motorsport. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  6. ^ Stubbs, Roman (September 1, 2018). "Maryland football started its season with a missing-man formation". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  7. ^ Engber, Daniel (December 14, 2005). "What's the "Missing Man" Formation?". Slate. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  8. ^ "Missing Man Flyover honoring San Antonio WWII Veteran happens tonight". KTSA. 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  9. ^ Zielinski, Todd (2012-10-12). "'Missing Man' symbol of loss". Luke Air Force Base. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
  10. ^ "Missing Man Monument, Randolph AFB, Texas | Local ID: 342-USAF-50384". National Archives, Record Group 342: Records of U.S. Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations. March 4, 1977. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Missing Man Monument". The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Valor Park". The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  13. ^ "Civic Memorials Development Guide" (PDF). Tecstone Granite USA. 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  14. ^ Shot down description for Consolidated B-24H-1-CF Liberator at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 6 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Missing Man Salute Memorial". Traces of War. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Soesterberg, 'Missing Man Salute'". Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014.
  17. ^ "U.S. Consul Unveils Relocated Missing Man Salute Monument to U.S. Airmen" (Press release). Consulate General of the United States, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. September 2014. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014.
  18. ^ "Missing Man Salute monument" (in Dutch). CRASH Luchtoorlog- en Verzetsmuseum '40-'45. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
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