1942 — May 3, three USAAF crashes, Meacham & Pleasant Val., OR; McChord Field, WA — 17
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 6-17-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 17 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents...[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 80.
— 16 Bismarck Tribune, ND. “3 Bombers Crash; 16 Fliers Killed.” 5-4-1942, p. 1.
Plane Crash, USAAF Boeing V-17E, Blue Mountains, near Meacham, OR, 1:05 p.m.
— 7 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents...[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 80.
— 7 Montana Standard, Butte. “Sergeant Dies.” 5-7-1942, 2.
— 6 Salt Lake Tribune. “Army Bomber Crashes Take Lives of Nine in Northwest.” 5-4-1942, 1.
— 6 Titusville Herald, PA. “Third Bomber Crash Kills 6 in Northwest.” 5-5-1942, 1.
Plane Crash, USAAF A-29B crash in snowstorm, near Lindsey Peak, near Pleasant Valley, OR.
— 6 Bismarck Tribune, ND. “3 Bombers Crash; 16 Fliers Killed.” 5-4-1942, p. 1.
— 6 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents...[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 80.
— 6 Titusville Herald, PA. “Third Bomber Crash Kills 6 in Northwest.” 5-5-1942, 1.
Plane Crash, USAAF Lockheed A-29 takeoff crash, McChord Field, Tacoma, WA
— 4 Bismarck Tribune, ND. “3 Bombers Crash; 16 Fliers Killed.” 5-4-1942, p. 1.
— 4 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents...[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 80.
— 4 Titusville Herald, PA. “Third Bomber Crash Kills 6 in Northwest.” 5-5-1942, 1.
— 3 Salt Lake Tribune. “Army Bomber Crashes Take Lives of Nine in Northwest.” 5-4-1942, 1.
Blue Mountains, near Meacham, OR
Mireles: “…Investigators noted that the pilot had begun his let down over a particularly dangerous area and that the weather had closed in on the area a lot faster than originally forecasted. Investigation revealed a radio problem plaguing these early model B-17s. Investigators stated,
Army aircraft are seriously handicapped in instrument flying, particularly in making an instrument let-down due to the fact that the radio is almost invariably lost due to static as soon as the airplane goes on instruments. The instrument let-down procedures are based on the proper functioning of the airplane’s radio The airplane cannot work a let-down procedure without the use of the radio; yet the present type receivers fail due to static at the very time they are most needed. Since it was snowing at the scene at the time of the accident, it is very likely that the pilot in this fatal accident did not have full use of his radio receiver.” (Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents...[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 80.)
Newspapers
May 3: “Pendleton, Ore., May 3. (AP) — A big bomber from the Pendleton air base crashed in the Blue Mountains near here today, killing an undetermined number of the eight men aboard. A farmer near Meacham, 20 miles southeast of Pendleton, said the plane exploded on crashing but he believed he could see one or two survivors from his farm. Col. Frank W. Wright, base commander, dispatched wrecking crews to the scene. He said the plane was on routine training flight.” (Greeley Daily Tribune, CO. “Bomber Crashes Near Pendleton.” 5-4-1942, p. 12.)
May 4: “…a four-motored Boeing flying fortress, smashed into the wooded Blue mountains 20 miles southeast of here, killing six of the eight men aboard. The aviators, from Pendleton field, were returning from a flight to Las Vegas, Nev. The huge Boeing plane cut a quarter-mile swath through pine trees on a 4000-foot ridge, just where the mountains slope down sharply toward Pendleton. One hundred feet higher, the plane would have cleared the last obstacle to a landing.
“An explosion followed the crash and bodies were thrown over a wide area. Technical Sergeant Wesley A. Wallace, Philadelphia, survived without losing consciousness. A woodcutter, Robert L. Bowman, found him wandering dazedly into the timber. They propped up the only other survivor, Sergeant John H. Starr, Littleton, Mass., who suffered critical spine injuries, and hiked two miles to a highway to give a passing motorist word of the tragedy….The Dead at Pendleton:
First Lieutenant Joseph T. H. Laycock, Baton Rouge, La., the pilot…also squadron Com.
Second Lieutenant James M. Brown, Pleasant Hill, La., co-pilot.
Sergeant William A. Forrest, Salisbury, N.C.
Staff Sergeant Harry C. Cameron, Medford, Mass.
Staff Sergeant Richard L. Carmichael, Wynnewood, Pa.
Corporal Chester A. Nowak, Alpena, Mich.”
(Salt Lake Tribune. “Army Bomber Crashes Take Lives of Nine in Northwest.” 5-4-1942, p. 1.)
May 6: “Pendleton, Oregon, May 6. – (AP) – Sgt. John H. Starr of Littleton, Mass., died at the Pendleton field hospital Wednesday night, bringing the casualty list to seven in the crash of a big bomber on a Blue mountain ridge Sunday. Six officers and crewmen were instantly killed.” (Montana Standard, Butte. “Sergeant Dies.” 5-7-1942, 2.)
Lindsey Peak, near Pleasant Valley and Baker, OR
Mireles: “At 1520, a Lockheed A-29B collided with terrain near Lindsey Peak, one and a half miles from Pleasant Valley, Oregon, killing the crew of six. The aircraft, which had taken off from Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho, at 1505 on a ferry mission, had encountered a heavy snowstorm mixed with fog at the time of the accident. Numerous civilians in the area heard the aircraft impact the mountain and reported that visibility was very poor with snow falling at the time. Investigators speculated that the pilot might have tried to turn around after encountering the poor weather. The aircraft exploded into flaming pieces upon impact, scattering wreckage and badly mangled bodies over an area of a quarter of a mile by 150 yards. The aircraft struck the ridge about 100 feet from the top….The aircraft was missing until 5-5-42, when it was discovered by two Union Pacific Railroad track foremen working in the area. Killed in the crash were: [Names in single lines.]
Capt. Harold E. Hammers, Spokane, Washington, pilot;
1Lt. Wilbert P. Matthews, Floydada, Texas, co-pilot;
TSgt. Emmett C. Wheaton, Los Angeles, California, engineer;
SSgt. R. O. Massingill, South Bend, Indiana, engineer;
Sgt. John J. Carpenter, El Paso, Texas, radio operator;
Cpl. Carroll B. Rettstatt, Rawlins, Wyoming, assistant radio operator.”
(Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents...[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 80.)
May 4: “Pendleton, Ore. – (AP) – Three army bombers crashed in widely separated areas of the Pacific northwest Sunday, killing 16 fliers and injuring two. The wreckage of a medium bomber, which disappeared on a flight from Gowen Field at Boise, Idaho to Felts field at Spokane, Wash., was found Monday near Baker, Ore. State police at Baker were advised that the ship’s two officers and four men were killed….” (Bismarck Tribune, ND. “3 Bombers Crash; 16 Fliers Killed.” 5-4-1942, p. 1.)
May 4: “Pendleton, Ore., May 4 – (AP) – A low-flying two-motored bomber bounced from the top of a foothill ridge yesterday, killing its six occupants and scattering wreckage hundreds of yards. The mangled bodies and bits of metal were found by two railroad section foremen today east of Baker, Ore. The ship went down a little more than an hour after leaving Gowen Field Boise, on a routine flight to Spokane Wash. This was the third Army bomber lost in the Northwest yesterday. A Flying Fortress crashed in timber near Pendleton, Ore., killing six members of its eight-man crew, and another bomber fell near McChord Field Wash., killing three men and fatally injuring another.” (Titusville Herald, PA. “Third Bomber Crash Kills 6 in Northwest.” 5-5-1942, p. 1.)
McChord Field, Tacoma, WA
Mireles: “At 1630, a Lockheed A-29 crashed on take-off at McChord Field, Tacoma, Washington, killing four fliers. The pilot was on a check ride for first pilot on A-29 type air planes. Investigators stated:
The airplane started on its take-off run and approximately half-way down the runway the ship veered to the left about 45 degrees. The pilot then applied full throttle and full right rudder and the airplane swung back to the right ant took in the air with the right wind down. The airplane reached an altitude of about 50 feet, stalled, and crashed to the ground. The airplane hurtled along for approximately 200 feet scattering debris along its path. ABOUT 30 SECONDS LATER Sgt. [Randolph T.] Correll stumbled from the flaming wreckage with his clothing on fire.
“Sgt. Correll, Perryton, Texas, later died of his injuries. Killed in the crash were: [We place names into single lines.]
1Lt. William E. Comber, Frankfort, Pennsylvania, pilot;
Adolph T. Freichs, Fairfax, Missouri, co-pilot;
Cpl. Frank W. Erwin, San Benito, Texas, radio operator;
“Investigators noted that the installation of the large dorsal turret might be creating turbulent airflow around the tail control surfaces and speculated that the physical shortness of the pilot might have prevented him from regaining control of the airplane.”
May 3: “Pendleton, Ore., May 3 (AP) – Two bombers crashed on training flights in the Pacific northwest Sunday, killing nine army fliers and injuring three others. One cracked up near McChord Field, Wash., carrying three occupants to death and seriously injuring a fourth….The dead at McChord field:
First Lieutenant William E. Comber, pilot, Frankford, Pa.
Second Lieutenant Adolph T. Frerisch, copilot, Fairfax, Mo.
Corporal Frank W. Erwin, San Benita, Texas.”
(Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Army Bomber Crashes Take Lives of Nine in Northwest.” 5-4-1942, 1)
May 4: “Pendleton, Ore. – (AP)….Three fliers were killed outright and another fatally injured when another bomber on a training flight crashed near its base, McChord field in Western Washington….Killed near McChord field [in addition to the three names below]:
St. Randolph I. Correll, Perryton, Tex.”
(Bismarck Tribune, ND. “3 Bombers Crash; 16 Fliers Killed.” 5-4-1942, p. 1.)
PS: In addition, another plane crashed in Mississippi:
Plane Crash, USAAF Cessna AT-17, near Aberdeen, MS, 3:00 p.m.
— 2 Mireles. Fatal [AAF] Aviation Accidents...[US]…V1: 1941–June 1943. 2006, p. 80.
— 2 San Antonio Light, TX. “Mississippi Crash Kills 2 Officers.” 5-4-1942, p. 4.
“Columbus, Miss., May 4. – (AP). Two instructors at the Columbus army flying school met death yesterday in the crash of a twin-engine training plane north of Columbus and five miles south of Aberdeen. The public relations office said the victims had been identified as Second Lieutenants Leroy Chapman of Kilgore, Texas, and Gerald L. Gray of Tonkawa, Okla.” (San Antonio Light, TX. “Mississippi Crash Kills 2 Officers.” 5-4-1942, p. 4.) Mireless writes that the plane crashed “after suffering an in-flight failure of the leading edge of its port wing…”
Sources
Bismarck Tribune, ND. “3 Bombers Crash; 16 Fliers Killed.” 5-4-1942, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=13543841
Greeley Daily Tribune, CO. “Bomber Crashes Near Pendleton.” 5-4-1942, 12. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=52019322
Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 1: Introduction, January 1941 – June 1943). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.
Montana Standard, Butte. “Sergeant Dies.” 5-7-1942, 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=66212370
Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Army Bomber Crashes Take Lives of Nine in Northwest.” 5-4-1942, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=89914423
San Antonio Light, TX. “Mississippi Crash Kills 2 Officers.” 5-4-1942, p. 4. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=68963881
Titusville Herald, PA. “Third Bomber Crash Kills 6 in Northwest.” 5-5-1942, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=106024936