1943 – Aug 24, USAAF B-17F crash, Gibson Ranch near Dovetail & Winnett, MT     –all 11

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-29-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–11  Billings Gazette, MT. “Entire Crew of 11…Killed…Bomber Crash…Winnett.” 8-26-1943.

–11  Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 490.

Narrative Information

Mireles: “At 2300 MWT, a Boeing B-17F flying in poor weather crashed on the Fred Gibson Ranch, Garfield County, Montana, killing the crew of eleven. The airplane took off from Lewiston Army Air Base, Montana, at 2000 with three other B-17 aircraft for local formation train­ing flying. At 2215, the formation broke up and each airplane was to proceed to the Glasgow Bombing Range, Montana, to perform individual bombing runs at an altitude of 14,000 feet above sea level. The B-17 completed its bombing mission at 2245 and let down to about 11,000 feet for the flight back to Lewiston. On the way back the B-17 encountered severe thunder­storms that contained strong turbulence. The pilot ap­parently executed a 180-degree turn in an effort to avoid the weather and to land at the airfield at the Glasgow Range. Minutes later, the B-17 slammed into the ground at a steep angle and exploded into flames 58 miles southwest of the Glasgow Range (83 miles north­east of Lewiston AAB). Investigators could not deter­mine the cause of the accident.”  (Mireles 2006, Vol. 2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 490.)

 

Newspaper

 

Aug 25, Associated Press: “Great Falls, Aug. 25. – (AP) – Crash of a Flying Fortress at 11:30 Tuesday night on the Gibson ranch, two miles from Dovetail, on South Crooked creek north of Winnett, was fatal to the entire crew of 11, base headquarters of the Great Falls army air base announced Wednesday night.  The bomber was operating from the Lewistown army air base, on a routine training flight….”  (Billings Gazette, MT. “Entire Crew of 11 Men Killed in Bomber Crash Near Winnett.” 8-26-1943, p. 1.)

Sources

 

Billings Gazette, MT. “Entire Crew of 11 Men Killed in Bomber Crash Near Winnett.” 8-26-1943, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=77645897

 

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.