1944 — Apr 9, too-low USAAF B-24D spinout in clouds, 3M SW USMC Air Station, Mojave, CA-10
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-6-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 10 Bakersfield Californian. “10 Killed in Bomber Crash Near Mojave.” 4-10-1944, p. 1.
— 10 Baugher. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-39758 to 42-50026). 5-18-2011 rev.
— 10 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 749.
Narrative Information
Baugher: “Consolidated B-24D-135-CO Liberator….41128 destroyed Apr 9, 1944 in weather-related accident near Mojave, CA. All 10 crew perished.” (Baugher. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-39758 to 42-50026). 5-18-2011 revision.)
Mireles: 4-7-1944:[1] “At 0825, a Consolidated B-24D flying in instrument conditions crashed three miles southwest of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station at Mojave, California, killing ten fliers. The airplane had taken off at 0710 from March Field, Riverside, California, on a navigation training mission to Redding, California, and return. Qualified witnesses on the ground stated that the airplane was flying west at 1,000 feet agl when it flew into a large, low-hanging cumulus cloud. Moments later the B-24 was seen spinning out of the cloud. The airplane spun straight clown, describing about one and a half turns of spin to the right before smashing into the ground and exploding into flames. Investigators speculated that the airplane encountered severe turbulence while flying in the cloud, causing the pilot to lose control. Investigators noted that the-cloud base began at about 1,000 feet agl and the top of the cloud extended upward several thousand feet. The airplane was assigned an altitude of 18,000 feet and it was not known why the airplane was flying at such a low altitude. All four engines were running and producing power at the time of the crash. It was speculated that the pilot had entered the large cloud voluntarily to get actual instrument conditions for a short period of instrument flying practice….” (Mireles 2006, Vol. 2, p. 749.)
April 10: “Ten persons were instantly killed yesterday when a B-24 bomber crashed three miles west of the Mojave Marine Base, March Field army officers reported today, while air force crews sought to extricate the remaining two bodies of the crew from the wreckage of the plane. Names of the eight victims were announced by the public relations as
Master Sergeant Jessie H. Church, 36, whose widow…resides at Riverside;
Second Lieutenant Frank A. Gurley, Jr., 24, Louisville, Ky.;
Second Lieutenant William Dethirn, 20, Waukegan, III.;
Sergeant Michael Rudnick, 19, Charleston, S. C.;
Corporal Morris J. Youngblood, 19, Tuttle, Okla.;
Corporal, Thomas Perry, 20, Los Angeles;
Sergeant William Mahan, 19, Fort Lewis, Wash.; and
Sergeant George W. Buck, 21, New Holland, Ill.”
(Bakersfield Californian. “10 Killed in Bomber Crash Near Mojave.” 4-10-1944, p. 1.)
Sources
Bakersfield Californian. “10 Killed in Bomber Crash Near Mojave.” 4-10-1944, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=156331344
Baugher, Joseph F. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-39758 to 42-50026). 5-18-2011 revision. Accessed 10-19-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_2a.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.
[1] Incorrect date – was April 9.