1943 — Feb 17, USAAF B-17F structural failure and crash, near Huron, SD — 12
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 5-16-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 12 Evening Huronite, SD. “Twelve Perish in ‘Fortress’ Crash Here.” 2-18-1943, p. 1.
— 12 Mireles 2006, Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents in US 1941-1945, Vol. 1, p. 276.
Narrative Information
Mireles: “At 1530 CWT, a Boeing B-17F suffered a catastrophic structural failure and crashed near Huron, South Dakota, killing 12 AAF and civilian crewmembers.
“The B-17 had taken off from the Army Air Base at Rapid City, South Dakota, at 1349 CWT on a gunnery and instrument mission. Investigators stated,
After due consideration of all available information and the location of the several parts of the subject aircraft it is the assumption of the committee that the left wing panel came off first, immediately followed by the right wing panel. The airplane proceeded in a northeasterly direction for about three-fourths of a mile, losing the no. 1 engine. Upon losing the power on the left hand side by loss of the engine, the airplane was pulled around in a northwest direction losing altitude in a stalling manner until the crash. The right wing panel was seen to hit the ground a few seconds after the airplane crashed.
The top covering of the left inner wing panel was found approximately one-fourth of a mile south of the crash and the bottom left center wing panel was found about one-half mile southwest of the airplane crash. These two pieces of covering are believed to have been pulled off due to the outer wing panels coming off first, the control cables to the ailerons holding the wing, caused the inner wing panels to be torn off. The rear door, which was found about 300 yards south of the airplane crash, could have been knocked off by the outer wing panel coming back and being held by the aileron control cables and hitting the fuselage. The right stabilizer was found about three-fourths of a mile southwest of the airplane crash, and the left stabilizer was found about one mile southwest of the crash. These two supporting surfaces are believed to have been knocked off by the outer wing panels after they came off.
“Killed in the crash were: [We place names into separate lines.]
1Lt. Oliver L. Walker, pilot;
2Lt. Howard D. Stevens, Jr., co-pilot;
2Lt. Norman K. Martice, navigator;
2Lt. George J. Morris, bombardier;
TSgt. Gerald W. Bakr, engineer;
TSgt. Charles R. Hooberry, radio operator;
SSgt. James D. White, assistant engineer;
SSgt. Michael Mitzka, assistant radio operator;
SSgt. Charles Missana, gunner;
Vernon K. Etheridge, civilian technician;
Kenneth Abbey, civilian technician;
Roy L. Fischer, civilian technician.”
(Mireles 2006, Fatal Army AF Accidents in US 1941-1945, Vol. 1, p. 276-277)
Newspaper
Feb 18: “Bodies of 12 men who perished in the worst air disaster in South Dakota history were removed from the battered remains of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber which crashed at the outskirts of Huron late Wednesday afternoon….” (Evening Huronite, SD. “Twelve Perish in ‘Fortress’ Crash Here.” 2-18-1943, p. 1.)
Sources
Evening Huronite, SD. “Twelve Perish in ‘Fortress’ Crash Here.” 2-18-1943, p. 1. Accessed 10-4-2012 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=71464972
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.