1945 — Jan 9, USAAF B-29 lost at sea (Atlantic?), Pratt AAF KS to Puerto Rico         —     16

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard for: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/  Last edit 12-15-2023.

–16  Aviation Safety Network. USAAF B-29 crash 140M ESE of West Palm Beach FL, 1-9-45.

         [Notes that there were 19 fatalities, and names 19, but 3 names are duplicates.]

–16  Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V3, Aug 1944-Dec 1945, 1015.

Narrative Information

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1945, p. 8:

“Date:                          Tuesday 9 January 1945

“Time:                         night

“Type:                         Boeing B-29 Superfortress

“Owner/operator:        29th BGp USAAF

“Registration:              42-6428

“MSN:                         3562

“Fatalities:                   Fatalities: 19 / Occupants: 19

….

“Location:                   Gulf of Mexico, 140 miles ESE of West Palm Beach, Florida – USA

[Blanchard note on location: 140M ESE of W. Palm Beach would not be in the Gulf of Mexico.]

“Phase:                        En route

“Nature:                      Military

“Departure airport:      Pratt AAF, Pratt, Kansas

“Destination airport:   Puerto Rico

“Narrative:

 

“Boeing B-29-20-BW Superfortress 42-6428: Delivered to the USAAF 31 March 1944. Assigned to 29th Bomb Group. Written off (presumed crashed and destroyed) 9 January 1945: Crashed on training flight to Puerto Rico, the night of 8/9 January 1945, all on 19 board (crew of 11 plus 8 passengers) lost. Approximate location of crash was at coordinates 26’20”N, 77’25”W, 140 miles ESE of West Palm Beach, Florida.

 

“The # 42-6428 crew and passengers [19 names]

 

Capt. Irving H. Ward Command Pilot Lost
2nd/Lt. Roy L. Winzer Pilot Lost
2nd/Lt. John W. Osner Navigator Lost
2nd/Lt. John W. Osner Navigator Lost
1st/Lt. William R. Sage Bombardier Lost
2nd/Lt. Shelva F. Harbour Radar Lost
T/Sgt. Stephen R. Pesuth Engineer Lost
Sgt. William J. Geary Gunner Lost
Cpl. Albert J. Mueller Gunner Lost
Sgt. Rex O. Ford Gunner Lost
Sgt. William M. Duncanson Jr. Gunner Lost
Sgt. Domenic DeStefano Gunner Lost
Passengers
Lt/Col. William T. Boren Passenger Lost
2nd/Lt. Borden F. March Passenger Lost
2nd/Lt. Borden F. March Passenger Lost
M/Sgt. Warren G. Allen Passenger Lost
M/Sgt. John N. Matkins Passenger Lost
M/Sgt. John N. Matkins Passenger Lost
S/Sgt. Henry G. Schenker Passenger Lost

 

(Aviation Safety Network. USAAF B-29 crash 140M ESE of West Palm Beach FL, 1-9-1945.]

 

Baugher: “….Boeing B-29-20-BW Superfortress….6428  Delivered to USAAF 31Mar55. Assigned to 29th Bomb Group. Missing Gulf of Mexico …Jan 9, 1945.”

 

Mireles: “At an unknown time after 1445 CWT, a Boeing B-29 disappeared and is presumed to have crashed into the sea. Sixteen pas­sengers and crew were missing and presumed lost at sea. The airplane had taken off from Pratt Army Air Field, Pratt, Kansas, on a navigation training flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and return. There was no fur­ther contact with the airplane after 1445 CWT.”  (Mireles 2006, 1015.)

 

[Blanchard note on Mireles: Appears to indicate 16 persons were onboard, though it could be read to indicate that there were 16 passengers and an unstated number of crew onboard.]

 

Sources

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1945, p. 8. USAAF B-29 crash 140M ESE of West Palm Beach FL, 1-9-1945. Accessed 12-15-2023 at:

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/98462

 

Baugher, Joseph F. 1942 USAAAF Serial Numbers (42-001 to 42-10959). 6-2-2023 revision. Accessed 12-15-2023 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1.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.