1943 — Aug 14, USAAF B-24E crash into box canyon cliff 13M S of Dubois, WY –all 11
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-29-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–11 Baugher, Joseph F. 1941 USAAF Serial Numbers (41-24340 to 41-30847). 9-12-2011 rev.
–11 Hansen, R.G. “Stories of Two World War II Big Bomber Crashes in Wyoming.” May 2009
–11 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 475.
Narrative Information
Baugher: “Consolidated B-24E-15-CF Liberator….29032 (453rd BG, 735th BS) crashed into side of mountain 13 mi S of Dubois, WY while on training mission. All 11 onboard killed.” (Baugher, Joseph F. 1941 USAAF Serial Numbers (41-24340 to 41-30847). 9-12-2011 revision.)
Hansen: “Aug. 14, 1943—a B24 four-engine bomber with a crew of 11 crashed in the Shoshone National Forest near…Trail #801….” Someone called in to report a forest fire on the other side of Trail Lake,” Pat Boland said on Aug. 14, 1943. According to accounts in the newspapers, the four-engine bomber crashed into a mountain peak located on the upper South Fork of Torrey Creek between Hidden Lake and Lewis Lake. According to the story, “The bodies of the men were badly mangled and burned when the bomber exploded as it hit, starting a forest fire in that location.”
“The fact that the bomber had crashed wasn’t known until firefighters, under the direction of Forest Ranger C. S. Thornock, arrived at the scene to extinguish the blaze. An official investigation party from the Pocatello air base arrived in Dubois shortly, including staff officers, doctors, and 50 enlisted men with trucks and ambulances. Horses were secured from the Trail Lake and CM Ranches to pack into the site. The group from Pocatello later came and stayed at the ranch to investigate the accident. According to the officials from the air base, the plane was way off course.” (Hansen, R.G. “Stories of Two World War II Big Bomber Crashes in Wyoming.” May 2009.)
Mireles: “At 1545 MWT, a Consolidated B-24E crashed in a box canyon 13 miles south of Dubois, Wyoming, killing 11 flyers. Investigators stated, At 1420 MWT, B-24E #41-29032 took off [from Pocatello Army Air Base, Idaho] on a transition, familiarization and photography mission. [Between] 1330 and 1400, a four-engine airplane was reported by a witness to be flying low over a house [at an altitude of about 50 feet above the terrain] 15 miles east of Dubois, Wyoming. This airplane was traveling directly west, and after circling headed south. At 1400, a four-engine airplane was reported flying around the Circle Ranch five miles southeast of Dubois, Wyoming, at an altitude of about 8,500 feet [100 feet above the ground] and then headed southwest. At about 1500, a four-engine airplane was reported circling another ranch near Dubois at about 8,000 feet above sea level, just clearing the tops of ridges in that locality then headed south up the canyon toward the Washakie National Forest. At about 1545 the airplane crashed and burned, starting a forest fire. This airplane crashed in a canyon at an altitude of about 10,000 feet above sea level. It is the belief of the committee that the pilot headed up this canyon with the belief that he could continue on and climb fast enough to clear the ridge at the top and that after proceeding some distance up the canyon the pilot decided he could not clear the ridge, which was about 13,000 feet. [The pilot] tried to make a steep turn in the narrow canyon and crashed or stalled into the side of a cliff. The airplane was more than 90 miles away from the area that it was authorized to be flying and the canyon was only one mile wide where the crash occurred.” (Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 475.)
Sources
Baugher, Joseph F. 1941 USAAF Serial Numbers (41-24340 to 41-30847). Sep 12, 2011 revision. Accessed 12-7-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1941_4.html
Hansen, Richard G. “Stories of Two World War II Big Bomber Crashes in Wyoming.” AirportJournals.com, May 2009. Accessed 12-8-2011: http://www.airportjournals.com/Display.cfm?varID=0905004
Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 2: July 1943 – July 1944). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.