1944 — Nov 10, USAAF B-29 Plane Crash, 25 miles SE of Clovis Army Air Field, NM– 15
— 15 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V3, Aug 1944-Dec 1945, p. 967.
— 15 The Bee, Danville, VA. “15 Army Men Are Killed in Bomber Crash.” 11-13-1944, p. 5.
Narrative Information
Baugher: “Boeing B-29A-1-BN Superfortress. 93832 Delivered to USAAF 15Apr44. Assigned to Combat Crew Training Squadron, 234th Airy Air Force Base Unit, Clovis AAF, NM. Crashed 10Nov44 25 miles NE of Clovis, NM.” (Baugher, Joseph F. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-91974 to 42-110188). Oct 28, 2011 revision.)
Mireles: “At 2130, a Boeing B-29 crashed 25 miles southeast of the Army Air Field at Clovis, New Mexico, killing 15 fliers. The airplane took off from Clovis Army Air Field at 2005 MWT on a local night transition flight. The airplane returned and made one successful landing and took off again at 2113. The airplane was heading east to west at the time of the crash. The airplane smashed into the ground on the starboard wing at a steep angle and then cartwheeled into the ground and exploded. Investigation revealed that the airplane was on fire prior to it striking the ground. Pilot-rated passenger…bailed out at extremely low altitude and fell to his death. His body was found about one mile from the main wreckage.” (Mireles 2006, 967.)
Newspaper
Nov 13, AP: “Clovis, N.M., Nov. 13. – (AP) — A son of Representative H. Street Baldwin, (D., Mo.) was one of 15 Army men killed in the crash of a four-engined bomber about 25 miles southwest of Clovis Friday night [Nov 10].
“John Street Baldwin, 26, an instructor at the Clovis base, was the congressman’s second son to die during the war. Lt. Harry Wallace Baldwin, Army Air Forces, was killed in action last April in the Mediterranean area.
“Also killed in the plane crash were Cpl. Wilbur E. Miller…Cumberland, Md., and Capt. Thomas R. Opie, youngest son of Mrs. Hierome L. Opie, and the late Brig. Gen. Opie, of Oakenwold, Staunton, Va….” (The Bee, Danville, VA. “15 Army Men Are Killed in Bomber Crash.” 11-13-1944, p. 5.)
Sources
Baugher, Joseph F. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-91974 to 42-110188). Oct 28, 2011 revision. Accessed 12-17-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_5.html
Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 3: August 1944 – December 1945). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.
The Bee, Danville, VA. “15 Army Men Are Killed in Bomber Crash.” 11-13-1944, p. 5. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=108939048