1943 – Sep 5, USAAF B-17F breaks-up in turbulence, Lake Cormorant, MS –all 10
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-27-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–10 Baugher, Joe. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-10960 to 42-30031). 9-8-2023 revision.
–10 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 504.
Narrative Information
Baugher: “….Boeing B-17F-60-BO Fortress….29599 (MSN 4713)….Exploded in mid-air and crashed at Lake Cormorant, southwest of Memphis, MS 5Sep43. 10 killed.”
Mireles: “At 1259 CWT, a Boeing B-17F suffered a catastrophic in-flight break up and crashed at Lake Cormorant, Mississippi, killing the crew of ten. The airplane had taken off from the Army Air Base at Smyrna, Tennessee, and was cleared to Texarkana, Arkansas, on a scheduled transition flight. The airplane had transmitted a position report over Memphis, Tennessee, at 1254, reporting that it was flying at 10,000 feet. Five minutes later, pieces of the B-17 were raining down on the countryside through the overcast. The main portion of the B-17 severed power lines when it slammed to the ground, disrupting electric service to the entire Lake Cormorant area. Investigation revealed that the entire ten-man crew was forward when the in-flight break up occurred and that all of the crew’s parachutes were in the aft portion of the wreckage. Investigators speculated that starboard wing had been torn off while the airplane was flying in very turbulent air. The airplane progressively broke up as it plunged to earth. The port wing and all four engines had separated before the airplane struck the ground. Wreckage of the B-17 was scattered over an area of three square miles.” (Mireles 2006, Vol. 2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 504.)
Newspaper
Sep 6, AP: “Memphis, Tenn., Sept. 6 – (AP) – Army officials reported last night that a Flying Fortress crashed at Lake Cormorant, Miss., shortly after noon yesterday, killing the entire crew. Officers here said the plane was returning to its base at Hobbs Field, NM, on a routine flight and that it fell in an open field, scattering wreckage over a ‘wide area.’ Names of the dead and number of the crew were not immediately available.” (Associated Press. “Flying Fortress Crashes.” The Daily Herald, Gulfport and Biloxi, MS. 9-6-1943, p. 5.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Flying Fortress Crashes.” The Daily Herald, Gulfport and Biloxi, MS. 9-6-1943, p. 5. Accessed 4-27-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/biloxi-daily-herald-sep-06-1943-p-5/
Baugher, Joseph. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-10960 to 42-30031). (-8-2023 revision. Accessed 4-27-2024 at: https://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1a.html
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.