1945 – Jan 17, USAAF B-17F engine fire and crash, near Bay Minette, AL –all 11
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard for: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/ Last edit 12-14-2023.
–11 Daily Herald, Biloxi, MS. “11 Crewmen Killed in Fortress Crash near Bay Minette.” 1-19-45, 1.
–11 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V3, Aug 1944-Dec 1945, 1022.
Narrative Information
Mireles: “At 2145 CWT, a Boeing B-17F suffering an in-flight fire crashed out of control six miles northwest of Bay Minette, Alabama, killing eleven crewmembers. The airplane took off from Gulfport Army Air Field, Gulfport, Mississippi, on a 1,000-mile cross-country flight to Savannah, Georgia, and return. The airplane transmitted a routine position report at 2133, reporting 40 miles east of Mobile, Alabama. At 2136 the crew reported that the aircraft was on fire. The airplane crashed into a swamp a short time later, exploding violently into flames upon impact. Pieces of the airplane’s engine ring cowl and accessory section were found strewn over a mile from the point of impact. Investigation revealed that the number-one engine had caught fire due to a failed cylinder.” (Mireles 2006, p. 1022.)
Newspaper
Jan 19: “The commanding officer of Gulfport Army Air Field Thursday night released the names of eleven crew members killed when a Flying Fortress crashed near Bay Minette, Ala., during a combat training flight Wednesday night. The dead: [We break paragraph into separate lines.]
First Lt. Sydney Abramson, Dorchester, Mass.;
Second Lt. Ivan P. Richey, Braymer, Mo.;
Second Lt. Douglas W. Mallory, Baytown, Tex.;
Second Lt. Randall A. Weaver, Nashville, Tenn.;
Pfc. Clayton E. Plopper, Yakema, Wash.;
Cpl. James B. Fleming, Shade Gap, Pa.;
Pfc. George H. Smith, Porterville, Cal.;
Cpl. Thomas M. Rutledge, Nashville;
Pfc. James C. White, Wichita Falls, Tex., and
Pfc. John R. Maffei, San Francisco, Cal.
“The Army bomber crashed and burned near the Alabama town about 20 miles northeast of Mobile. An investigation is being made in an effort to determine the cause of the crash.” (The Daily Herald, Biloxi, MS. “11 Crewmen Killed in Fortress Crash near Bay Minette.” 1-19-1945, p. 1.)
Sources
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.
The Daily Herald, Biloxi, MS. “11 Crewmen Killed in Fortress Crash near Bay Minette.” 1-19-1945, p. 1. Accessed 12-14-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/biloxi-daily-herald-jan-19-1945-p-1/