Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 6-11-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

— 9-10 Blanchard tally based on breakouts below.

Alameda NAS Navy Consolidated PBY-5 Crash, Scarper Peak, Half Moon Bay, CA – 7-8

— 8 ASN. Accident description…United States Navy…Consolidated PBY-5…1 Jun 1942…”

— 8 Baugher. US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (00001 to 10316). 3-10-2013.

— 7 Oakland Tribune, CA. “7 Killed in Crash of Bay Navy Bomber.” 6-2-1942, p. 1.

ASN: “….Registration: 04439….E of Half Moon Bay, CA…Hit mountains.” (Aviation Safety Network. Accident description…United States Navy…Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina…1 Jun 1942…” Accessed 4-28-2013: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19420601-0 )

Baugher: “04439 (VP-43) hit mountains east of Half Moon Bay, CA 6/1/1942. Pilot and 7 killed.” (Baugher, Joseph F. US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (00001 to 10316). March 10, 2013 revision.)

June 2, Oakland Tribune: “One man of a crew of eight escaped with his life last night when a Navy patrol bomber from the Alameda Naval Air Station crashed and burned in the rugged coastal hills near Half Moon Bay. Badly burned and near delirium, the lone survivor, Ensign G. H. Apitz, 22, staggered into the little beach town shortly before 4 a.m. and sought help. Hours later a Navy patrol and officers from nearby counties indicated the wreckage of the plane on the Flynn Ranch, five miles northeast of Half Moon Bay. It was in the Scarper Peak area.

“Six bodies were in the burned wreckage and one other was missing.

“Apitz, the bombardier on the flying boat, apparently was thrown clear by the impact when the plane crashed 25 feet below the crest of the peak. He was too shaken up to give a coherent account of the crash. It ‘just came,’ he said, about 10 p.m. last night. The ensign said that he thought he had walked about 10 miles in six hours before he located the town and pounded on the door of the general store and service station operated by Frank Dalrymple. Dalrymple answered the knock and found the khaki-clad aviator, his face, neck and hands badly burned and cut, slumped on the doorstop. The store owner summoned Dr. Roswell B. Borley, who gave first aid and sent for an ambulance from San Mateo. While the doctor worked on him, Apitz managed to gasp out part of the story. ‘I walked from the scene when I appeared to be the only one alive,’ he said. ‘I don’t now how I got out of that plane.’

“By chance, his stumbling feet found the only road out of the brushy region into Half Moon Bay. ….Authorities agreed that his escape was miraculous when they reached the wreckage later. It was necessary to call a tractor to pull the debris apart and get the other bodies.

“Apitz was taken to the Mills Memorial Hospital in San Mateo…He lapsed into unconsciousness and was unable to identify the other crew members….” (Oakland Tribune, CA. “7 Killed in Crash of Bay Navy Bomber.” 6-2-1942, p. 1.)

USAAF Republic P-43A crash, Billingsley, MD – 1

–1 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents...[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 94.

Mireles: “6-1-42A. Billingsley, Maryland. At 1230, a Republic P-43A flying in instrument conditions crashed into a wooded area at Billingsley, Maryland, killing pilot Capt. Donald E. Wilburn, 25, Fountain City, Tennessee. Investigators noted that the pilot was instrument rated and had an approved instrument flight plan for the flight. It was not known why the pilot was trying to fly contact in the poor weather.” (Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 1: Introduction, January 1941 – June 1943). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006, p. 94.)

USAAF Vultee BT-13A crash, ~Pine Grove Furnace, South Mt., Cumberland Co. PA – 1

— 1 Altoona Mirror, PA. “Pilot Killed in Army Plane Crash.” 6-3-1942, p. 1.

— 1 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents...[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 94.

Mireles: “6-1-42B. Pine Grove, Pennsylvania. At 1415, a Vultee BT-13A on a cross-country navigation training flight descended into rising terrain while flying in instrument conditions near Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, killing pilot 1Lt. John C. Famenella and seriously injuring 2Lt. Henry A. Salm. Lt. Salm, who regained consciousness in the wreck on the morning of 6-2-42 and was found soon after, could not remember exactly how the crash occurred. Lt. Famenella, in instrument instructor at the time of the crash, probably misjudged his position relative o the high terrain when he began his let down.” (Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 1: Introduction, January 1941 – June 1943). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006, p. 94.)

June 3, Altoona Mirror: “Chambersburg, Pa., June 3. – Second Lieutenant Henry Alexander Salm, aged 23, of Tuxedo Park, N. Y., was in a serious condition at Chambersburg hospital today from injuries suffered when an army plane crashed Monday on South mountain, near Pine Grove Furnace, killing the pilot, First Lieutenant John C. Femenelia. State police and forest rangers located the wrecked plane late yesterday through clues provided by Salm who was found in a dazed condition on Dead Woman’s hollow road earlier in the day by a truck driver, Charles Polls, Hagerstown, Md., and taken to the hospital.” (Altoona Mirror, PA. “Pilot Killed in Army Plane Crash.” 6-3-1942, p. 1.)

Sources

Altoona Mirror, PA. “Pilot Killed in Army Plane Crash.” 6-3-1942, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=69359692&sterm=plane+crash+pine

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1942. Accident Description. United States Navy…Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina…1 Jun 1942…” Accessed 4-28-2013 at: http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19420601-0

Baugher, Joseph F. US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (00001 to 10316). March 10, 2013 revision. Accessed at: http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries1.html

Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 1: Introduction, January 1941 – June 1943). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.

Oakland Tribune, CA. “7 Killed in Crash of Bay Navy Bomber.” 6-2-1942, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=34474561&sterm=half+moon+bay

1942 – June 1, three planes crash, two USAAF (MD and PA) and one US Navy (CA) –9-10