1944 – July 30, USAAF B-17G breaks-up in thunderstorm/crashes, 6M E of St. Marks, FL–9

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 3-28-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–10  Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 873.

—  9  Aviation Safety Network. USAAF B-17G crash 6M E St. Marks, FL, 7-30-1944.

—  9  Find A Grave. Commemorative Marker: “Fatal B-17 Crast on St. Marks…July 30, 1944.”

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1944:

“Date and Time:          Sunday 30 July 1944; 17:30

“Type:                         Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

“Owner/operator:        United States Army Air Force (UAAF)

“Registration:              42-102746

…

“Fatalities:                   Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 10

“Aircraft damage:       Destroyed

“Location:                   6 mi E of St. Marks, FL – USA

“Phase:                        En route

“Nature:                      Military

“Departure airport:      Avon Park Army Airfield, Florida

“Destination airport:   return to same

“Narrative:

 

“Crashed. B-17G Flying Fortress #42-102746, with the 325th Base Unit, Avon Park Army Airfield, suffered a structural failure after encountering a severe thunderstorm and turbulence during a training flight, and crashed six miles east of St. Marks, Florida. Thirteen bombers had taken off for a mock bombing target at Tallahassee and were flying at about 13,000 feet elevation when strong storm clouds, rising up to 25,000 feet high, were entered. This airplane disintegrated in flight and crashed into a marshy area of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. The accident investigation board concluded the Boeing bomber had broken up in flight due to severe weather, as evidenced by another flying fortress that returned to base with severe hail damage. One crewmember survived by bailing out and parachuting.

 

“Killed were:

 

2nd Lt. Gordon E. Thrall, O-825331, CT, Pilot
2nd Lt. Charles W. Shannon Jr., O-828247, MA, Co-Pilot
2nd Lt. John W. Smidt, O2060402, NC, Navigator
2nd Lt. Donald L. Price, O-547269, NV, Bombardier
Cpl. James Dracopoulos, 11004260, RI, Flight Engineer
Cpl. Arthur L. Davis, 19041031, CA, Asst. Radio Operator
Pvt. Albert C. Fries, 16187991, IL, Gunner
Pvt. William M. Gehman Jr., 6908916, NJ, Asst. Flt. Engineer
Pvt. Horace W. Newton, 39209593, WA, Gunner

 

“Corporal Marvin J Magee Jr., the radio operator, survived by bailing out and parachuting.”

 

Find A Grave. Commemorative Marker photograph: “Fatal B-17 Crash…St. Marks…”

 

Inscription: “On July 30, 1944, thirteen B-17s from the 325th Bomber Squadron left Avon Park Army Airfield on a routine mock-bombing exercise over Tallahassee and Waycross, Georgia. Severe thunderstorms near Tallahassee caused the formation to separate as individual planes sought calmer air. One plane suffered structural failure and broke into sections that fell on St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. One crewmember parachuted to safety before the crash. Pvt. Marvin J. Magee, the sole survivor, wandered through thick swamps in the summer heat before finding Abel Strickland on his horse. Magee accepted a ride to Lighthouse Road, where he proceeded to the Coast Guard station at the St. Marks Lighthouse. Crash crews from Dale Mabry Army Airfield in Tallahassee and the Coast Guard Station combed the crash area and found the remains of the other crew members.

 

“Killed in the crash were: 2nd Lt. Gordon E. Thrall, Manchester, CT. pilot; 2nd Lt. John W. Smidt, Wilmington, NC; 2nd Lt. Charles W. Dracopoulos, Newport, RI; Cpl. Arthur L. Davis, San Francisco, CA; Pvt. Horace W. Newton, Texarkana, TX; Pvt. William Gehman, Gibbstown, NJ; and Pvt. Albert C. Fries, Westmont, IL.”

 

Mireles: “At 1730 EWT, a Boeing B-17G flying in severe thunderstorms broke up in flight and crashed six miles east of St. Marks, Florida, killing the crew of ten…. Investigators stated,

 

Subject B-17 was a member of a 13-ship formation on a high-altitude formation camera- gunnery and camera-bombing mission. Extensive thun­derstorm activity was reported over the entire area with tops of cumulus at 16,000 to 17,000 feet and thunder­heads building up to over 25,000 feet. Apparently near Tallahassee, Florida, several ships in the formation be­came separated. The B-17 piloted by Lt. Thrall fol­lowed the flight leader into a large thunderhead in which extreme turbulence was encountered causing the airplane to break up. In the opinion of the accident committee, the aircraft was broken up by the severe air currents existing in the thunderhead. These findings are [demonstrated] by the resultant damage to the B­17 which returned to the base showing evidence of se­vere strain and heavy hail encountered in flight.”  (Mireles 2006, p. 873.)

Sources

 

Aviation Safety Network Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1944. USAAF B-17G crash 6M E St. Marks, FL, 7-30-1944. Accessed 3-28-2024 at: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/98031

 

Find A Grave. Commemorative Marker photograph: “Fatal B-17 Crash on St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge July 30, 1944.” Accessed 3-28-2024 at: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/133533670/charles-w-shannon#view-photo=262769214

 

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.