1943 – Sep 6, USAAF B-17F airport approach crash 1M north of Rapid City, SD –all 10
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-26-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–10 AP. “List 10 Who Died in Crash at Rapid City.” The Evening Huronite, SD, 9-8-1943, p. 1.
–10 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 506.
Narrative Information
Mireles: “At 2310 MWT, a Boeing B-17F crashed onto a hill one mile north of Rapid City, South Dakota, killing the crew of ten. The B-17, which had been on a local night transition flight, had been called back to the field because of deteriorating weather conditions. Witnesses on the ground observed the airplane traveling northeast over Rapid City at an altitude of approximately 600 feet. The airplane had been apparently trying to enter the traffic pattern for the Army Air Base at Rapid City when it was seen to suddenly pull up into a steep climb. The B-17 stalled and fell off straight down, entering a vertical dive and smashing into the hill. The airplane exploded violently into flames and the crew was killed instantly. Wreckage and dismembered bodies were scattered over an area of several hundred feet. Investigators were unable to determine the cause of the accident.” (Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 506.)
Newspapers
Sep 7, AP: “Rapid City, Sept. 7 – (AP) – A heavy bomber crashed and burned within a few rods of the eastern city limits of Rapid City shortly after 11 p.m. last night. The explosion of the ship as it hit the ground, almost directly on Highway 40 at a point less than a mile east of the Pennington County fair grounds, aroused residents in the city and a large crowd quickly gathered. Officials of the Rapid City Army air base, from which the plane was aloft on a routine training flight, up to midmorning had not announced the number of persons involved or their names. Witnesses, however, said they believed all crew members were killed instantly.” (Associated Press. “Bomber Crashes At Edge Of Rapid City.” The Evening Huronite, SD, 9-7-1943, p. 2.)
Sep 7, INS: “Rapid City, S.D., Sept. 7. – (INS) – The Rapid City army air base disclosed tonight that 10 flyers were killed in the crash of a four-motored bomber near the field last night. The dead included: [We break paragraph into single lines.}
Second lieutenant Orville E. Prater, Olustee, Okla.;
Walter Duma, Cleveland;
Grover C. Bryant, Birmingham, Ala., and
Steven Kosciow, Detroit; and
Sergeants John W. McCarty, Akron, O.;
George A Barton, Chicago;
Frank E. Heuser, Chicago;
Robert L. Van Natia, New Castle, Ind.;
Paul H. Eisenhart, Frankville, Pa., and
Thomas Cox, Fall River, Mass.”
(INS. “10 Flyers Killed in Bomber’s Crash.” Long Beach Independent, CA. 9-8-1943, p. 3.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Bomber Crashes At Edge Of Rapid City.” The Evening Huronite, SD, 9-7-1943, p. 2. Accessed 4-26-2024 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/huron-evening-huronite-sep-07-1943-p-2/
Associated Press. “List 10 Who Died in Crash at Rapid City.” The Evening Huronite, SD, 9-8-1943, p. 1. Accessed 4-26-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/evening-huronite-sep-08-1943-p-1/
INS. “10 Flyers Killed in Bomber’s Crash.” Long Beach Independent, CA. 9-8-1943, p. 3. Accessed 4-26-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/long-beach-independent-sep-08-1943-p-3/
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.