Latest edit 11-6-2023 by Wayne Blanchard for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

— 25 Baugher. 1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). 11-7-2011 revision.

— 25 Fitchburg Sentinel, MA. “25 Die as Bomber Hits Mt. Tom.” 7-10-1946, p. 1.

— 25 Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 41.

— 25 National Fire Protec. Assoc. “Large Loss Fires of 1946.” Quarterly, 40/3, Jan 1947, 227.

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Boeing B-17G-105-BO Fortress….39136 crashed on approach to Westover AFB Jul 9, 1946. 25 killed.” (Baugher. 1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). 11-7-2011 revision.)

Gero:

“Date: 9 July 1946 (c.20:10)

“Location: Near Ware, Massachusetts, US

“Operator: US Army Air Forces

“Aircraft type: Boeing B-17G (43-39136)

“All 25 persons aboard perished when the converted four-engine bomber [43-39136] crashed 8 miles (13km) north-west of Westover Field, where it was to have landed. This was an en-route stop during a flight originating in Labrador and ultimately bound for Mitchell Field, Long Island, New York, US. Except for one civilian, the occupants were US Coast Guard or service personnel, including the crew of four. Cleared to descend, but possibly not at the correct time, the aircraft struck a slope of Mount Tom at an approximate elevation of 1,000ft (300m), or some 200ft (60m) below its summit, bursting into flames on impact. It was dark at the time, and the local weather consisted of thundershower activity, with a ceiling of 3,000ft (1,000m)…” (Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 41.)

National Fire Protection Association: “July 9, near Holyoke, Mass. Aircraft. Over $250,000.

“Twenty-five lives were lost in the flaming wreckage of an Army B-17 “Flying Fortress” on the wooded slopes of Mt. Tom, near Holyoke. The official investigation of the crash found that bad weather and the fact that the pilot lacked familiarity with radio procedure were to be blamed for the accident. This contradicts eye-witness stories that fire in one engine was observed prior to the ground collision, but, irrespective of the causal factors, fire played a major role in preventing effective rescue of the trapped victims by volunteers and fire fighters from Holyoke and Westover Field.” (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. 227.)

Newspaper

July 10, Fitchburg Sentinel: “Holyoke, July 10 (AP) – Twenty-five army, navy and coast guard men – the entire crew and passenger list of a converted Flying Fortress carrying the homeward-bound servicemen from Gander, Newfoundland – were killed last night when the plane crashed against 1200-foot Mount Tom.

“Salvage crews summoned to the scene of New England’s worst air disaster, labored today on the mist-shrouded hill that rises, abrupt and alone, above the Connecticut valley not far from Westover field in nearby Chicopee, where the plane was to have landed at 8:27…last night.

“The broken bodies of the occupants…were scattered among the plane’s wreckage along a 400-foot swath shorn by the crashing B-17 through dense woods 200 feet from the hilltop.

“Army rescue forces who struggled up a steep, cobblestoned road, reported that by daybreak they had recovered about 20 bodies and had taken them to Holyoke funeral homes. Five bodies were believed still in the smoking, charred wreckage that was spread in small pieces over the quarter mile square area…..

“Army officers speculated that the pilot, possibly unfamiliar with the terrain did not observe the mountain until it was too late….” (Fitchburg Sentinel, MA. “25 Die as Bomber Hits Mt. Tom.” 7-10-1946, p. 1.)

Sources

Baugher, Joseph F. 1943 USAAF Serial Numbers (43-5109 to 43-52437). Nov 7, 2011 revision. Accessed 12-18-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1943_2.html

Fitchburg Sentinel, MA. “25 Die as Bomber Hits Mt. Tom.” 7-10-1946, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=31910043

Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.

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.

1946 — July 9, USAAF B-17 hits Mount Tom, too-low approach, Westover AFB ~Holyoke, MA–25