1944 – June 30, USAAF B-24J crash, Atlantic Ocean, 10M off Myrtle Beach, SC –all 10
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-1-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–10 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 840.
Narrative Information
Mireles: “At a time after 1530 EWT, a Consolidated B-24J [42-95614] crashed into the Atlantic Ocean approximately 10 miles offshore of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, killing the crew of ten…. The airplane was part of a six-ship formation that had taken off at 1427 EWT from the Army Air Field at Charleston, South Carolina, on a gunnery mission. When the formation rendezvoused with the Martin AT-23 target-towing airplane, the AT-23 pilot informed the B-24 flight leader that visibility was too poor to conduct the gunnery mission. The B-24 flight leader cancelled the gunnery mission and continued on with a formation-training mission. After flying in formation at 16,000 feet for some time, the formation entered instrument conditions. The flight leader had attempted to elude the clouds but was unsuccessful. The flight leader then led the formation down through the thick overcast. When the flight came out on the bottom, the subject airplane was missing. The B-24 flight leader circled the area looking for the subject airplane and began calling for it on the radio. The airplane never responded. A short time later, pieces of the B-24 were spotted on the surface of the ocean. One body was recovered…” (Mireles 2006, 840)
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.