1944 – Apr 24, USAAF B-17 crash after 90 degree turn, 6M SW of Ardmore AAF, OK– 11
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-6-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–11 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 765.
–11 The Daily Ardmoreite, OK. “11 Ardmore Army Air Field Fliers Meet Flaming Death…”
Narrative Information
Mireles: “At 1545, a Boeing B-17G crashed six miles southwest of Ardmore Army Air Field, Ardmore, Oklahoma, killing 11 fliers. The airplane took off from Ardmore Army Air Field on a routine training mission. Investigators stated,
Approximately ten minutes [after take-off] the ship was seen circling the Dornick Hills Golf Course about six miles southwest of [the field]. Witnesses stated that the aircraft was doing very steep turns at a seemingly slow airspeed, apparently sight-seeing. After two or three tight turns the aircraft exceeded 90 degrees of bank and went part way on its back. The ship then fell off into a one and a half turn spin to the left and crashed before a recovery could be made. The aircraft was completely destroyed and the wreckage burned. (Mireles 2006, 765.)
Newspaper
April 25: “Flying Fortress Was on Training Flight When It Crashed From Altitude of 800 To 1000 Feet; Explosion Follows Crash.
“Eleven Ardmore army air field fliers died in the flaming crash of a B-17 Flying Fortress at 3:40 p.m. Monday on the Mort Woods farm, approximately two miles north of the city, it was officially announced by Col. Donald W. Eisenhart, commander of the Ardmore army air field. The four-motored bomber was on a combat crew training flight and the accident occurred when the plane spun in from an altitude of 800 to 1000 feet on a steep turn, the public relations officer at the field announced. An official inquiry is being made into the accident. The dead and their next of kin:
Second Lieut. Milton Hannberry, instructor pilot; wife, Mrs. Mary Hannberry, 1230 North Washington, Ardmore.
Second Lieut. Charles H. Boyer Jr., pilot; wife, Mrs. Carolyn Russell Boyer, 17 Seventh avenue northwest, Ardmore (4121 Lowell street, Fort Worth, Texas).
Second Lieut. Loren Crites, co-pilot; wife, Mrs. Mary J. Miller Crites, 500 15th northwest, Ardmore (815 Independence street, Cape Girardeau, Mo.)
Second Lieut. Edward W. Hamlin, bombardier; father, R. J. Hamlin, 702 South Barnes, Mason, Mich.
Cpl. Andres L. Lassater, aerial engineer; wife, Mrs. Anna Luella Lassater, 710 Lake street, Sikeston, Mo.
Pfc. Forrest W. Weissert, assistant aerial engineer-gunner; wife, Mrs. L. Donna Weissert, 111 E. Ewing street, South Bend, Ind.
Cpl. Victor E. Turner, radio operator; mother, Mrs. Velma Turner, Waterloo, Iowa, Rfd. No. 5.
Pfc. Billie F. Morris, assistant radio operator; wife, Mrs. Billie Morris, 505 B southwest, Ardmore.
Pfc. Donald G. Petersen, aerial gunner; ;mother, Mrs. Huldah Y. Petersen, Lansing, Mich.
Pfc. Walter O. Dytman, aerial gunner; mother Mrs. Eunice Dytman, Elmire, N.Y.
Cpl. James C. Demetry, assistant radio operator; father Christ Demetry, 5562 West Edmunds, Chicago Ill.
“The big bomber passed over Mount Washington school around 3:35 p.m. at relatively low altitude and apparently in difficulty, it was said by witnesses. A few seconds later, it plunged to earth in a grove of trees on the Mort Woods Primrose farm about a quarter of a mile south and west of the school. A tremendous blast followed as billowing clouds of black smoke poured up. People in town heard the blast and saw the smoke. Telephones began to ring as excited citizens checked into the source of the explosion….
“This was the fifth major accident since the field has been under its present operation, In only one of the previous mishaps, there were no fatalities.” (The Daily Ardmoreite, OK. “11 Ardmore Army Air Field Fliers Meet Flaming Death in Crash on Primrose Farm.” 4-25-1944, p. 1.)
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.
The Daily Ardmoreite, OK. “11 Ardmore Army Air Field Fliers Meet Flaming Death in Crash on Primrose Farm.” 4-25-1944, p. 1. Accessed 4-7-2024 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/ardmore-daily-ardmoreite-apr-25-1944-p-1/