1944 — Oct 15, USAAF B-29 crash just after takeoff, Alamogordo Army Air Base, NM–  11

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 3-23-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

— 12  Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V3, Aug 1944-Dec 1945, p. 942.

            [Blanchard: Not using, though Mireles is reliable source. Three other accounts note 11

fatalities, and that the three survivors were uninjured.]

— 11  Associated Press. “11 Killed In Plane Crash.” Clovis News Journal, NM. 10-17-1944, p. 3.

— 11  Aviation Safety Network. USAAF B-29 crash 1M off runway, Alamogordo AAF, NM.

— 11  Daily News, Huntingdon, PA. “11 Die in Crash of 4-Engined Bomber.” 10-16-1944, p. 1.

Narrative Information

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database:

“Date and Time:          Sunday 15 October 1944; 03:00

“Type:                         Boeing B-29 Superfortress

“Owner/operator:        231st BU USAAF

“Registration:              42-24480

“MSN:                         4141

“Fatalities:                   Fatalities: 11 / Occupants: 14

“Location:                   1 mile off end of Runway, Alamogordo AAF, New Mexico – USA

“Phase:                        Take off

“Nature:                      Military

“Departure airport:      Alamogordo AAF, Alamogordo, New Mexico

“Destination airport:   Alamogordo AAF, Alamogordo, New Mexico

“Narrative:

 

“B-29-30-BW 42-24480: Delivered to the USAAF 27 June 1944. Assigned to Combat Crew Training Squadron, 231st Army Air Force Base Unit, Alamogordo AAF, New Mexico. Written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed 15 October 1944, one mile from the end of the runway at Alamogordo AAF, New Mexico, during take-off….following is a transcription of newspaper clipping [which we abbreviate]:

 

The 4-engine bomber took off at 3 am, carrying a load of bombs for target practice. It was only 30 feet off the ground when the two engines failed, and the plane nosed into the ground, killing 11 men instantly, including Captain Hammond. Three members of the crew escaped uninjured, two of them being tail-gunners, who were thrown out when the tail assembly cracked open.”

 

Mireles: “At 0600 MWT, a Boeing B-29 crashed while attempting a take-off from the Army Air Base at Alamogordo, New Mexico, killing 12 fliers and injuring two others….The airplane was taking off on an instrument training flight. The B-29 made a normal take-off, the landing gear and flaps were retracted and the airplane climbed to about 50 feet agl. The airplane then flew back into the ground about one-half mile from the end of the runway, breaking up and bursting into flames as it skidded across a highway and came to rest about 300 yards from the point of impact.”  (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, p. 942.)

 

Newspaper

 

Oct 16, AP: “Alamogordo, Oct. 16 (AP) – Eleven army fliers were killed when their four-engined bomber crashed a mile south of the Alamogordo Army Air Field Sunday while on a combat training flight. Three other crewmen escaped unhurt. The dead: [We put into single lines.]

 

Capt. Earl L. Hammond, Eau Claire, Wis.;

Capt. Herbert C. Davis, Chattanooga, Tenn.;

First Lt. John W. Wilczewski, Chicago;

First Lt. Jack W. Griffith, Johnstown, Penn.;

Second Lt. William L. Wagner, Los Angeles:

Second Lt. Salvador J. Martinez, Los Angeles;

Second Lt. William E. Camp, Jr., Atlanta, Ga.;

T-Sgt. Franklin J. Harrison, Brooks, Ga.;

Sgt. Theodore T. Powell, Fullerton, Calif.’

Pvt. Allen M. Zart, Bethlehem, Penn.;

Pvt. Robert E. Stephens, Buffalo, N.Y.”

 

(Associated Press. “11 Killed In Plane Crash.” Clovis News Journal, NM. 10-17-1944, p. 3.)

 

Oct 16: “Alamogordo, N.M., Oct. 16. — Seven officers and four enlisted men died last night in the crash of a four-engined bomber from the Alamogordo Army Air Base while three other crew members escaped uninjured, Col. R. C. Wriston, commanding officer of the base, announced today. Those killed included: 1st Lt. Jack W. Griffith, son of James C. Griffith of…Johnstown, Pa. and Pvt. Allen M. Zart, husband of Mrs. Helen Zart of…Bethlehem, Pa.” (Daily News, Huntingdon, PA. “11 Die in Crash of 4-Engined Bomber.” 10-16-1944, p. 1.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “11 Killed In Plane Crash.” Clovis News Journal, NM. 10-17-1944, p. 3. Accessed 3-23-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/clovis-news-journal-oct-17-1944-p-3/

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database. USAAF B-29 crash 1M off runway, Alamogordo AAF, NM, 10-15-1944. Accessed 3-33-2024 at:

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/98454

 

Daily News, Huntingdon, PA. “11 Die in Crash of 4-Engined Bomber.” 10-16-1944, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=102299153&sterm=alamogordo+plane

 

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.