1943 – Aug 16, USAAF B-24E takeoff climb crash 2M ENE of Pueblo, CO –all 10
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-28-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–10 AP. “10 Men Killed In Bomber Crash At Pueblo Base.” Greeley Daily Tribune, CO. 8-17-1943, 8.
–10 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 477.
Narrative Information
Mireles: “At 1404, a Consolidated B-24E crashed two miles ENE of Pueblo, Colorado, killing the crew of ten. The airplane was on an engineering mission to slow time the number- one engine, which was brand new and had only 15 minutes on it. The airplane was taxied to the runway and the engines run up. The airplane took off at 1403 and just as the wheels left the ground, the port wing suddenly dropped, almost scraping the runway. At this time the number-one propeller began running away and the pilot immediately feathered it and brought up the port wing. The B-24 climbed to about 200 feet when it suddenly went into a 90-degree bank to the left with the nose pointing down. The pilot attempted to right the airplane but put it into a stalling position. The airplane snapped over and entered a diving spiral to the left, flipping over to an inverted attitude. The airplane smashed into the ground in an inverted diving attitude, starboard wing down, and exploded into flames. Wreckage was scattered over a considerable area.” (Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 477.)
Newspaper
Aug 16, AP: “(Associated Press) Pueblo, Aug. 16 – Ten men were killed late this afternoon when a four motored bomber from Pueblo air base crashed and burned just after taking off at the start of a routine training flight and 10 minutes before Brigadier General Eugene L. Eubank, commanding general of second air force, arrived at the base to present distinguished flying crosses to four pilots.
“The plane crashed from an altitude of about 200 feet a mile east of the air base runways. The public relations office announced the following casualties: [We put into single lines.]
First Lt. Joseph M. Dulski, Cleveland, Ohio;
Second Lt. Brinlin U. Cameron, Houston, Texas;
Second Lt. Robert C. Schwerdtman, Chicago, Ill.’
Corp. Early C. Hicks, Gadsden, Ala.;
Staff Sgt. Llewellyn D. Lewis, Vancouver, Wash.;
Corp. Floyd H. Briggs, Onalaska, Wis.’
Pfc. Darrell O. Olson, Au Claire, Wis.;
Corp. Kenneth L. Mason, Berry, Ky.;
Sgt. James R. Sparlding, Walloon, Mich.;
Stafff Sgt. Robert L. Baldwin, Rosemount, Pa.
(AP. “10 Men Killed In Bomber Crash At Pueblo Base.” Greeley Daily Tribune, CO. 8-17-1943, p. 8.)
Sources
Associated Press. “10 Men Killed In Bomber Crash At Pueblo Base.” Greeley Daily Tribune, CO. 8-17-1943, p. 8. Accessed 4-28-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/greeley-daily-tribune-aug-17-1943-p-8/
Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 2: July 1943 – July 1944). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.