1943 – Oct 1, USAAF B-24D, too-low in cloud cover, hits Clift Ridge, south Elk, CA  –all 10

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-25-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–10  Aviation Safety Network. USAAF B-24D crash, Clift Ridge near Elk CA 10-1-1943.

–10  Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 536.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1943:

“Date:                          Friday 1 October 1943

“Type:                         Consolidated B-24D Liberator

“Owner/Operator:       United States Army Air Force (USAAF)

“Registration:              42-40184

….

“Fatalities:                   10 / Occupants: 10

“Aircraft damage:       Destroyed

“Location:                   Clift Ridge, near Elk, CA – USA

“Phase:                        En route

“Nature:                      Military

….

“Narrative:

 

“Struck tall Douglas fir tree while at cruise in instrument conditions. Crossed ridge top and crashed in a tributary to the north fork of Elk Creek. All ten aboard killed in crash and post-crash fire.

 

Pilot: Lt. Elwood Allen
Copilot Lt. Leo Kaminski
Navigator Lt. James Woodruff
Bombardier Lt. Charles Barnhart

“The rest of the crew:

            Sergeants

            Moses Hall,

George Griffiths,

Jack Sellers,

James Baker,

David Gegg,

Robert Southern.”

 

Mireles: “At 1250, a Consol­idated B-24D collided with rising terrain and crashed south of Elk, California, killing the crew of ten. Inves­tigators stated,

 

“The accident occurred after the air­craft [was returning to Hamilton Field, California] from an authorized over-water navigation training mis­sion. It is apparent that the navigator had lost his bear­ings as the aircraft was flying at 2,000 feet, the altitude prescribed for the mission over water. The weather at the time of the accident was [obscuring the mountains and surrounding terrain] and the aircraft struck a tree with its right wing while the pilot was flying on instru­ments. The shock of striking the tree caused a change in direction and the aircraft dove into the mountain just south of Elk, California, and exploded upon im­pact. The crash and explosion were fatal to all occu­pants of the aircraft”.”  (Mireles 2006, V2, p. 536.)

 

Sources

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1943. USAAF Consolidated B-24D Liberator crash, Clift Ridge near Elk CA 10-1-1943. Accessed 4-25-2024 at: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/100240

 

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.