1946 — June 12, USAAF B29 Crash/Fire, Collins Gap, near Clingman’s Dome, TN — 12

–12 Baugher. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-83886 to 44-92098). 10-15-2011 rev.
–12 Kingsport News, TN. “B-29 Crash in Smokies Kills Crew. 12 Die…” 6-13-1946, p. 1.
–12 NFPA. “Large Loss Fires of 1946.” Quarterly, Vol. 40, No. 3, Jan 1947, p. 221.
–12 Wadley and McCarter. Mayday! Mayday! Aircraft Crashes…1920-2000. 1978, p. 23.

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Martin-Omaha B-29-45-MO Superfortress….86313 (TB-29A, 875BS 498BG) while on a night navigation training flight from MacDill Field, Florida to Chicago and back, flew into the Clingmans dome mountain (Alt. 6,643 feet), approx. 200-400 below the crest during thunderstorms and cloudy weather Jun 11/12, 1946 with the loss of 12 aircrew.” (Baugher. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-83886 to 44-92098). 10-15-2011 revision.)

National Fire Protection Association: “June 12, near Gatlinburg, Tenn. Aircraft. Over $250,000. An Army B-29 bomber crashed into the wooded slopes of Clingman’s Dome, killing all 12 members of the crew. Fire broke out in¬stantly from the impact and when rescue par¬ties reached the scene, several hours later, all the bodies were burned and parts of the wreck¬age were still smoking. Forest rangers gave the first alarm and worked with Army crash convoy crews removing the bodies.” (National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1946.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 40, No. 3, Jan 1947, p. 221 in pp. 179-248.)

Wadley and McCarter (p. 23): Victims identified as:

Capt. Robert C. Morre, thirty-two, of LaGrange, Illinois
1st Lt. James H. Reid, twenty-nine, of Montgomery, Alabama
1st Lt. Eugene B. Selleck, twenty-six, of Park Ridge, Illinois
1st Lt. Frederick Lee, thirty-one, of Lockport, New York
1st Lt. Carrol L. Wilkinson, twenty-nine, of Wasco, California
2nd Lt. John R. McElwee of East Orange, New Jersey
2nd Lt. O. C. Cook, twenty-five, of McRae, Georgia
M.Sgt. Taylor Powell, twenty-seven, of Mountain View, California
M.Sgt. Charles E. Bausch, twenty, of Bettendorf, Iowa
M.Sgt. Frank S. Smith, twenty-seven, of Cibolo, Texas
T.Sgt. Alfred G. Parker Jr., twenty-three, of Forest, Louisiana
Sgt. Julius N. Guest, twenty-two, of Tampa Florida.

Newspapers — Chronological

June 12: “Gatlinburg, Tenn., June 12. – (UP) – A B-29 Army bomber from McDill Field, Fla.., crashed today near the peak of Clingman’s Dome, highest peak in the great Smoky Mountains near here. The Army air base at Greenville, S.C., announced that nine bodies had been recovered from the wreckage which was strewn through the forested mountainside.

“The huge bomber had last reported to the Knoxville air base at 2:16 a. m. EST., on a routine route check. It presumably crashed a few moments later, but the wreckage was not found until several hours after when a Ranger in Great Smoky Mountain National Park sighted it from a highway.

“Although only nine bodies had been recovered, it was believed that at least 10 or 11 Army men
had been in the plane.

“Clingmans Dome is 6.642 feet high, the second highest peak east of the Mississippi River.” (Statesville Daily Record, NC. “9 Bodies Found as B-29 Crashes.” 6-12-1946, p. 1.)

June 13: “Gatlinburg – AP – An Army Third Air Force B-29 Superfortress crashed into a towering peak in the rugged Great Smoky Mountains National Park early Wednesday, killing the 12 men aboard. Park Supt. Blair Ross, who went to the scene of the crash, said the wreckage of the huge craft was strewn over “an acre or more of ground.” “If it had been flying 200 feet higher it probably would have cleared the mountains,” Ross declared. “The plane sheared off trees for a hundred and fifty yards or more.” The ship struck about 200 feet from the crest of the ridge on the Tennessee side of the state line, then cut a swath through the virgin forest over the top and finally stopped about 1,000 feet down the slope near the road in North Cartica [Carolina?].

“The crash occurred at Collins Gap, about a mile east of Clingman’s Dome, a 6,643-foot peak and the highest in the park.

“The huge craft, enroute from MacDill Field, Fla., to Chicago on a night navigational flight, was last reported over Knoxville, about 45 miles northwest of here, at 2:16 a.m.

“Parts of the plane burned, Ross said, but other parts were scattered on the mountainside, which is heavily wooded. One engine was found in the road which crosses the mountains into North Carolina.

“The bodies of the 12 airmen were all burned or badly crushed and have been moved to mortuaries at Sevierville and Maryville, Ross reported.

“The superintendent said nothing unusual had been reported about the weather in the park Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, but he pointed out that fogs and low clouds are frequent in this section….

“The crashed plane left MacDill Field at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“It was the third Army plane to meet with mishap overnight in Tennessee, two P-38 fighters, enroute from Little Rock, Ark., to the Smyrna Army Base, crashed and burned within ten minutes of each other near Murfreesboro late Tuesday.

“The place where the bomber crashed in the rock and tree studded mountains is about seven miles from Newfound Gap, where the late President Roosevelt dedicated the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1940.

“Even on some of the sunniest days and brightest moonlit nights, the barren face of Clingman’s Dome, rising high above the timber line, is hidden among the clouds.” (Kingsport News, TN. “B-29 Crash in Smokies Kills Crew. 12 Die…” 6-13-1946, p. 1.)

Sources

Baugher, Joseph F. 1944 USAAF Serial Numbers (44-83886 to 44-92098). Oct 15, 2011 revision. Accessed 12-31-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_6.html

Kingsport News, TN. “B-29 Crash in Smokies Kills Crew. 12 Die…” 6-13-1946, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=49014364

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.

Wadley, Jeff, and Dwight McCarter. Mayday! Mayday! Aircraft Crashes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 1920-2000. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2002.