1944 – July 25, USAAF B24 takeoff engine loss/crash, San Pablo Bay 8M SE Hamilton Field, San Rafael, CA–10

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 3-30-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–10  Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 869.

–10  Oakland Tribune, CA “Bay Bomber Crash Kills 10.” 7-25-1944, p. 1.

Narrative Information

Mireles: “At 0555, a Consolidated B-24J crashed into San Pablo Bay eight miles southeast of Hamilton Field, San Rafael, California, killing the crew of ten…. The B-24 took off from Runway 12 at Hamilton Field on a navigation mission to Amarillo, Texas, climbing straight ahead into an 800-foot overcast. Investigation revealed that the number-three and four engines had failed while the airplane was climbing in instrument conditions. The airplane descended out of the bottom of a 500-foot overcast on a heading 40 degrees to the right of the take-off heading and smashed into the bay.”  (Mireles 2006, 869.)

Newspaper

July 25, Oakland Tribune: “A four-motored Army bomber from Hamilton Field, carrying a crew of 10 men, crashed in San Pablo Bay off Point Orient at 5:54 a.m. today. The body of one flier was recovered by a Hamilton Field crash boat crew. Nine men still are missing. Officials at the field said witnesses told them the bomber’s motors began to sputter as it passed over Richmond. The plane was en route east on a cross-country combat training mission.

“The pilot turned toward the bay, apparently in an attempt to make a crash-landing on the water. Then as he was heading for a perfect landing, Army officials said, the piers of Parr-Richmond Terminal No. 4 at Point San Pablo loomed in from of the plane, and the pilot tried in vain to gain altitude. The bomber side-slipped into the water and sank immediately.” (Oakland Tribune, CA “Bay Bomber Crash Kills 10.” 7-25-1944, p. 1.)

Sources

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.

Oakland Tribune, CA “Bay Bomber Crash Kills 10.” 7-25-1944, p. 1. Accessed 3-30-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oakland-tribune-jul-25-1944-p-1/