1944 — Oct 24, USAAF B-17 engine problem, emer. lndg. crash/explosion, Russell, KS– 12
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 3-22-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 12 Hutchinson News-Herald, KS. “Russell Plane Crash Kills 12.” 10-25-1944, p. 1.
— 12 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V3, Aug 1944-Dec 1945, p. 953.
Narrative Information
Mireles: “At 1050 CWT, a Boeing B-17F suffering apparent engine trouble crashed while attempting an emergency forced landing one-quarter mile west of Russell, Kansas, killing 12 crew- members. The airplane took off from Walker Army Air Field, Walker, Kansas, on a routine training mission. The airplane was observed flying west, north of Highway 40, toward Walker Army Air Field at an altitude of about 1,000 feet with the engines laboring. The airplane was observed to go into a spin to the left. The pilot stopped the spin and leveled off momentarily, but the altitude was too low to allow a complete recovery. The airplane smashed into the ground at a 45-degree angle, burying the four engines several feet into the terrain and telescoping the fuselage and throwing it ahead of the impact point. The airplane exploded into flames upon impact and the crew was killed instantly.” (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. 953.)
Contemporary Newspaper Note:
Oct 25: “Russell — With a crash and explosion heard all over the western part of Russell a four-engined bomber from the Walker army, air field crashed within the city limits of Russell at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. All 12 crewmen were instantly killed. It struck, fortunately, in a wheat field, in the west edge of the city, about a block from the nearest residences. Immediately on crashing the bomber exploded, and burst into flames. The fire did not spread, however, as the field of growing wheat was green.
“The plane was on a combat training flight at the time of the crash, having left the Walker field, 13 miles west of here, only a few minutes before….” (Hutchinson News-Herald, KS. “Russell Plane Crash Kills 12.” 10-25-1944, p. 1.)
Sources
Hutchinson News-Herald, KS. “Russell Plane Crash Kills 12.” 10-25-1944, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=137993505&sterm=russell+plane+crash
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.