Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 5-20-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–14 American War Memorials Overseas, Inc. “…General Andrews Memorial – B-24…Site.”

–14 Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 100043.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 100043:

“Date: Tuesday 4 May 1943

“Time: night

“Type: Consolidated B-24D Liberator

“Owner/operator: United States Army Air Forces (USAAF)

“Registration: 41-23728

“MSN: Co 523/569

“Fatalities: Fatalities: 14 / Occupants: 15

‘Aircraft damage: Destroyed

“Location: near Kaldadarnes – Iceland

“Phase: En route

“Nature: Military

“Departure airport: England

“Destination airport: [Not noted.]

“Narrative:

“Crashed into mountain in poor visibility (40ft) on the way back to USA. Rear gunner Staff/Sgt George A. Eisel was the only survivor. Chaplains Miller and Humphrey were also killed.

“Wreck Of Consolidated B-24 (Ac #123728) In Iceland, Killing Fourteen Members. Among Those Killed Were, Lt. General Frank M. Andrews And Bishop Adna Wright Leonard. Only One Member Of Crew Survived. 2Nd Service Group, 4 May 1943.”

American War Memorials Overseas, Inc. “…General Andrews Memorial – B-24…Site.”

“Off the highway (National Route 43- Grindavíkurvegur) on the large plain in view of Mount Fagradalsfjall. Monument

“A black inscribed marble plaque about 8 feet tall with a stainless steel frame and model of a B-24 above the plaque. The memorial also includes and informational sign that is located adjacent to the standing monument.

“B-24D Liberator (B-24D-1-CO, tail #41-23728) “Hot Stuff” was assigned to the 330th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces flying combat missions out of RAF Bovingdon, England. “Hot Stuff” flew its 25th mission on February 7, 1943, against long odds at a time when many planes were being shot down. “Hot Stuff” became the first heavy bomber in the 8th Air Force to complete twenty-five missions in Europe in World War II and reached its 25th mission three-and-a-half months before the widely celebrated B-17 “Memphis Belle”. After ‘Hot Stuff” completed thirty-one missions, the plane and her crew were on the return flight to the states for a War Bonds publicity and morale-boosting tour on May 3, 1943. Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews, Commander of the European Theater of Operations needed to get back the states as he had been summoned to Washington DC by the General of the Army, George Marshall. Andrews and his entourage hitched a ride on “Hot Stuff”, and in doing so bumped five crew members from the flight. Though they were supposed to refuel at Prestwick, Scotland before heading out over the Atlantic, the crew elected to skip stopping at Prestwick and proceed to their next waypoint, Reykjavik, Iceland. They arrived to find the weather at their destination quite dicey with snow squalls, low clouds and rain. After several aborted attempts to land at the Royal Air Force station at Kaldadarnes, Iceland, the B-24 crashed into the side of 1,600-foot-tall Mount Fagradalsfjall, near Grindavik, Iceland. Upon impact, the aircraft disintegrated except for the tail gunner’s turret which remained relatively intact and 14 of the 15 aboard died except the tail-gunner Sgt Eisel who, though injured, survived the crash.

“Joint Forces Base Andrews in Maryland, where Air Force 1 is stationed, is named in honor of LTG Andrews.

….

“American heroes who perished when the B-24 Liberator Hot Stuff crashed on Mt. Fagradalsfjalli, on May 3, 1943:

Lt. General Frank Maxwell Andrews,

Commander of the European Theater of Operations,

Captain Robert H. Shannon – Pilot,

Lt. General Frank M. Andrews – Copilot,

Captain James E. Gott – Navigator,

Sgt. Kenneth A. Jeffers – Radio Operator,

Sgt Lloyd C. Weir – Crew Chief,

Sgt. Paul H. McQueen – Gunner,

Passengers:

Adna W. Leonard – Methodist Bishop and Chairman of the Corps of Chaplains,

Brig. Gen. Charles H. Barth – Andrews Chief of Staff,

Col. Morrow Krum – Andrews Aide,

Col. Frank L Miller – U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains,

Lt. Col. Fred A. Chapman – Andrews Aide,

Maj. Theodore Totman – Andrews Secretary,

Maj. Robert H. Humphrey – U.S. Army Chaplain,

Capt. Joseph T. Johnson – Andrews Aide.”

Sources

American War Memorials Overseas, Inc. “Fallen but Not Forgotten & General Andrews Memorial – B-24 ‘Hot Stuff’ (41-23728) Crash Site.” Accessed 5-20-2024 at: https://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=1532&MemID=2033

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 100043. Accessed 5-20-2024 at: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/100043

1943 — May 4, USAAF B-24, UK to US, flies into Mt. Fagradalsfjall ~Grindavik Iceland–14