1943 – June 28/29, USAAF B-17 crash on ridge, Big Horn Mts., near Cloud Peak, WY– 10
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 5-6-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–10 Baugher, Joseph F. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-001 to 42-30031). 10-28-2011 rev.
–10 Hansen, R.G. “Stories of Two World War II Big Bomber Crashes in Wyoming.” May 2009
–10 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V. 1 Jan 1941-Jun 1943, 421.[1]
Narrative Information
Baugher: “Douglas-Long Beach B-17F-55-DL Fortress….3399 (Plummer Provisional Gp, 318 Bomb. Sqdn) crashed Jun 28/29, 1943 on ridge near Cloud Peak, Big Horn Mts., WY during positioning flight from Pendleton AAB to Grand Isle AAF. All 10 onboard killed. Wreck not found until August 1945.” (Baugher. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-001 to 42-30031). 10-28-2011 revision.)
Hansen: “On June 28, 1943, there was a B-17F four-engine bomber with 10 aboard that crashed in the Big Horn Mountains in North Central Wyoming. This crash was not found for several years….
“After completing their various forms of training, 10 men reported for flight duty to the 318th Bomber Squadron at the Army Air Base in Walla Walla, Wash. Under the command of pilot 2nd Lt. William R. Ronaghan, the crew was reassigned to the Plummer Provisional Group at Pendleton Army Air Base in Oregon. The Plummer Group was required to have 30 B-17F Bombers in its unit. Since one of the original crews was unable to accompany the group, Ronaghan’s Bomber was ordered to fill the 30th spot on June 27, 1943. In addition to being a replacement, Ronaghan’s plane was also missing one of its original 10 members. In this man’s absence, assistant radio operator Charles E. Newbum, Jr. became the crew’s unlucky 10th member.
“Upon arriving at Pendleton at 4:00 p.m. on June 28th, 1943, Ronaghan and the rest of the crew were to fly to the Plummer Group’s home base in Grand Island, Neb., later that evening. After filling up with fuel and picking up the remaining cargo in Grand Island, the Plummer Group would leave to participate in the bombing campaign against Nazi Germany.
“At 8:52 p.m. on June 28, Ronaghan’s B-17F Flying Fortress was cleared for takeoff along with one other remaining B-17F from the Plummer Group. Around midnight, pilot Ronaghan radioed the plane’s position near Powder River, Wyo., 40 miles from the then operating Casper Army Air Base. Following this report, nothing further was heard from the 10 men. On June 29, Pendleton was notified that the plane was missing, and on July 18 and July 21, notices were sent to the crew’s next of kin that the plane was missing. No further details were released, leaving family members to speculate that neither the plane nor crew had yet been recovered.
“Since the plane was still missing in August 1944, the Army suggested a search of Wyoming’s Wind River Mountains, Absaroka Mountains and the Bighorn Mountains. Despite help from the Utah Mountain and Ski Corp, no wreckage was found. When the Army contacted forestry officials for each of the three ranges, the Bighorn Mountain Forest supervisor suggested that the only area untouched during the previous year was a five-mile radius around the Bighorn’s tallest peak, Cloud Peak. Mysteriously, the wreckage was still not spotted.
“Then, on Sunday, Aug. 12, 1945, Wyoming cowboys Berl Bader and Albert Kirkpatrick noticed something shiny on the skyline. Climbing up the unnamed mountain ridge to investigate, the two discovered the wreckage and the deceased crew. Reporting the wreckage to the nearest Forest Service work site, men from Rapid City, South Dakota’s Army Air Base and personnel from Colorado’s 2nd Air Force headquarters joined in the recovery effort on Aug. 13. Civilians who were enjoying Wyoming’s mountains and encountered the recovery team were asked to help in transporting the bodies down the mountain. On Aug. 17, 1945, the crewmembers were taken to Rapid City to be returned to their families, and on Aug. 18, the Army began contacting families with word that the plane and their loved ones had finally been found.
“Although the plane reported its last position 40 miles northwest of Casper, the wreckage was found 110 miles north of Casper, indicating that the plane was either off-course or its navigational instruments were malfunctioning. It appeared the plane needed just 50 to 100 feet more to have cleared the mountain ridge. No matter what caused the plane to crash, it is surmised that the plane simply was not found earlier as its paint allowed the wreckage to blend in with the mountain’s giant rocks. Not until the paint began to wear off and the shiny aluminum reflected in the sunlight was the plane spotted.
“Some rescuers feel that at least one of the crew may have miraculously survived the crash. During the recovery operation, one well-clothed man was found propped next to a rock. Beside him were an open Bible and his billfold with family members’ pictures lying next to him. Among the wreckage were letters to and from sweethearts and wives of the crewmembers, an artist’s kit of paints, well-preserved clothing and flight jackets, and several other personal effects of the crew. Several items are surely buried underneath the massive boulders. Today, much of the wreckage remains, although more and more curious spectators are carrying off pieces of the plane as mementos instead of preserving the site. Dispersed across a wide radius are the plane’s engines, landing gear, pieces of the fuselage, the plane’s tail section, the horizontal stabilizer, a radio, pieces of a gun turret and several other massive pieces of twisted aluminum that smashed into the mountainside.
“In honor of the fallen men, the Forest Service christened the 12,887-ft. mountain “Bomber Mountain” on Aug. 22, 1946. The Sheridan War Dads and Auxiliary also placed a plaque recognizing the fallen men 1.5 miles southwest of the crash site on the shores of Florence Lake in late August 1945. The memorial reads: “The following officers and enlisted men of the United States Army Air Force gave their lives while on active duty in flight on or about June 28, 1943. Their bomber crashed on the crest of the mountain above this place. Lieutenants: Leonard H. Phillips, Charles H. Suppes, William R. Ronaghan, Anthony J. Tilotta; Sergeants: James A. Hinds, Lewis M. Shepard, Charles E. Newburn, Jr., Lee V. Miller, Ferguson T. Bell, Jr., Jake E. Penick.” Their sacrifice to their country will always be remembered.” (Hansen, R.G. “Stories of Two World War II Big Bomber Crashes in Wyoming.” May 2009.)
Mireles: “6-29-43, At a time after 0001 PWT, a Boeing B-17F collided with rising terrain in the Big Horn Mountains near Cloud Peak, 18 miles NNE of Ten Sleep, Wyoming, killing the crew of ten. The B-17 took off from Pendleton Field, Oregon, at 2052 PWT (6-28-43) and disappeared on a flight to Grand Island, Nebraska. The B-17 was found on 8-11-45. The airplane was last heard from when it transmitted a routine position report at 0000 PWT, reporting its position as approximately 60 miles due south of where it collided with a ridge at an elevation of 12,800, about 50 feet from the peak. Investigators speculated that the pilots sighted the terrain at the last moment and attempted to pull the airplane up and over the ridge. The airplane smashed into the west side of the mountain in a tail-low attitude, breaking up as it careened over the peak. Wreckage and bodies were scattered over one-third of a mile across the peak and both the western and eastern slopes.” (Mireles 2006, Vol. 1, Jan 1941-Jun 1943, p. 421.)
Sources
Baugher, Joseph F. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-001 to 42-30031). Oct 28 2011 revision. Accessed 12-9-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1.html
Hansen, Richard G. “Stories of Two World War II Big Bomber Crashes in Wyoming.” AirportJournals.com, May 2009. Accessed 12-8-2011 at: http://www.airportjournals.com/Display.cfm?varID=0905004
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.
[1] Mireles dates the crash June 29.