1946 — Aug 1, USN PB4Y-2 Privateer crash after takeoff from Camp Kearny MCAS, CA–all 12
Latest edit 11-6-2023 by Wayne Blanchard for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 12 National Fire Protect. Assoc. “Large Loss Fires of 1946.” Quarterly, 40/3, Jan 1947, p230.
— 12 Oakland Tribune, CA. “6 Crash Victims Are Identified.” 8-4-1946, p. A7.
— 12 Aviation Safety Network. ASN Wikibase Occurrence #82174. US Navy…PB4Y-2…58397
— 11 Bakersfield Californian. “Investigators Probe Wreckage of Bomber.” 8-2-1946, p. 1.
— 11 Baugher. US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (50360 to 60009). 10-27-2011 rev.
— 11 Oakland Tribune, CA. “11 Killed as Navy Plane Crashes, Burns.” 8-1-1946, p. 1.
Narrative Information
Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1946, p. 20 (USN PB4Y-2):
“Date: Thursday 1 August 1946
….
“Type: Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer
“Owner/operator: United States Navy (USN)
“Registration: 59397
…
“Fatalities: Fatalities: 12 / Occupants: 12
….
“Location: near MCAS Miramar, CA – USA [Was Camp Kearny at the time.]
“Departure airport: MCAS Miramar, CA
“Destination airport: NAS Dallas, TX
“Narrative: Crashed four miles west of Camp Kearney a few minutes after take-off
during transport flight. Twelve Army and Navy personnel, including five
crew members and a woman.
Baugher: “Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer….59397 (FAW-14) crashed 25 mi S of MCAS Miramar, CA during transport flight from MCAS Miramar, CA to Dallas, TX Aug 1, 1946. 11 killed.” (Baugher. US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (50360 to 60009). 10-27-2011 revision.)
National Fire Protection Association: “Aug. 1, near San Diego, Cal. Aircraft. Over $250,000.
“A Navy consolidated patrol bomber (B-24) crashed miles off the Marine Corps Air Station at Miramar, carrying its 12 occupants to death. The heavy 4-engine plane exploded at impact and an estimated 2,300 gallons of gasoline were ignited. Crash equipment responded after an alarm from the control tower and used high pressure fog on the flames in an effort to reach the victims. Limited water supply from booster tanks (total 900 gallons) was not sufficient, however, and the aircraft was completely destroyed by fire.” (National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1946.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 40, No. 3, Jan 1947, pp. 179-248, p. 230.)
Newspapers:
Aug 1, Oakland Tribune: “San Diego, Aug 1. – (AP) – At least 11 service personnel, one of them believed to be a woman were killed today in the crash of a Navy Privateer four-engine bomber four miles west of Camp Kearny. The 11th Naval District reported that the plane, a land-based patrol bomber, crashed and burned four minutes after taking off from Camp Miramar Marine air field en route to Dallas, Tex. The craft carried a crew of five and six Army and Navy passengers. The Navy said all the passengers were officers.
“E. A. Turner, deputy coroner, said 11 bodies had been taken to a San Diego mortuary and he was checking to determine whether one of the victims was a woman. Police said there was possibility that more bodies might be found in the wreckage, which was scattered over a 200-yard area.
“Navy and Marine officers at the scene said it was the most widely scattered wreckage from any airplane they had ever seen. The bodies were badly mangled and burned beyond recognition.
“Officers at Camp Kearny said the plane’s pilot had reported no difficulty in clearing with the airfield tower immediately after takeoff.
“First Lieut. James Hill…who arrived at the scene a few minutes after the crash, said the hillside was aflame with burning gasoline. Camp Miramar firemen extinguished the brush fire.”
(Oakland Tribune, CA. “11 Killed as Navy Plane Crashes, Burns.” 8-1-1946, p. 1.)
Aug 2, Bakersfield Californian: “San Diego, Aug. 2. (UP) – Investigators today probed the scattered wreckage of a huge navy patrol bomber that crashed and burned seconds after its take-off on a routine flight to Dallas, Texas, killing all 11 men aboard. The four-motored PB4Y-2, a navy version of the B-24 Liberator, crashed without apparent reason Thursday only a mile and a quarter from the Camp Kearny Marine Auxiliary Air Station. Rescue crews who sped to the crash scene were too late to save the five crewmen and six military passengers.” (Bakersfield Californian. “Investigators Probe Wreckage of Bomber.” 8-2-1946, p. 1.)
Aug 3, Oakland Tribune: “San Diego, Aug. 3.-(AP) – Names of six of the 12 Navy, Army and
Marine men killed in the flaming crash, of a Navy four-engined transport plane near Camp Miramar Thursday [Aug 1] were released by 11th Naval District Headquarters today. They included five crew members and a passenger. Identified were:
Lieut. Comdr. Kay W. Brown, USNR, the pilot, of San Diego;
Lieut. Ronald Gordon Oskins, co-pilot, of Camden, Ind;
John Patrick Bonner, of Alston, Mass.;
Donald Warren Allison, Staten Island, N.Y.;
Frank Jordan Robinson, of San Diego; and
Lieut. (jg) John Winfield Jones, a passenger, of Bauxite, Ark, whose wife, Mrs. Vida Doris Jones, lives, in Perth, West Australia.”
(Oakland Tribune, CA. “6 Crash Victims Are Identified.” 8-4-1946, p. A7.)
Sources
Aviation Safety Network. ASN Wikibase Occurrence #82174. US Navy…PB4Y-2…58397 Accessed 11-6-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/82174
Bakersfield Californian. “Investigators Probe Wreckage of Bomber.” 8-2-1946, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=153982878
Baugher, Joseph F. US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (50360 to 60009). Oct 27, 2011 revision. Accessed at: http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries6.html
National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1946.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 40, No. 3, Jan 1947, pp. 179-248.
Oakland Tribune, CA. “6 Crash Victims Are Identified.” 8-4-1946, p. A7. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=32457889&sterm=plane+crash+kearny
Oakland Tribune, CA. “11 Killed as Navy Plane Crashes, Burns.” 8-1-1946, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=32404824