1942 – Dec 2, USAAF B-17F crash in mountainous terrain at night near Grace, ID    —     10

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 5-26-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

—  10  Evening Gazette, Xenia OH. “Bomber Crash Kills Ten Men,” Dec 5, 1942, p. 1

—  10  Mireles. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in…US, 1941-1945 (V. 1), 2006, 203.

Narrative Information

 Mireles: “At 2010 MWT, a Boe­ing B-17F crashed out of control in mountainous ter­rain near Grace, Idaho, killing ten fliers. The pilot was attempting to remain in visual contact with the ground while flying under low overcast over mountainous ter­rain at night and was flying under the recommended safe altitude of 11,000 feet for this region. The air­plane had taken off from Pocatello Army Air Base, Pocatello, Washington [Idaho] on a night navigation mission. The B-17 was flying from west to east when the pilot, apparently seeing that a collision with rising terrain was imminent, pulled up into a steep climb in an attempt to clear 9,500-foot Soda Peak, causing the B-17 to enter a violent stall and a vertical descent to the ground. The airplane cleared the peak but smashed to the ground on the other side in an area of heavy timber with trees reaching 70 to 80 feet in height. Only three trees were knocked down by the falling B-17 and only three oth­ers had branches stripped from top to bottom, indicat­ing a vertical descent into the terrain. The B-17 exploded in flames upon impact, coming to rest at the 6,500-foot level on the eastern side of the mountain in Wilson Canyon. The pilot had been instructed to avoid flying in the mountains and to turn back if instru­ment conditions were encountered. The accident oc­curred approximately 30 minutes after takeoff from the Army Air Base at Pocatello, Idaho.

 

“Killed in the crash were:  [We place names into separate lines.]

 

  2Lt. Harold K. Simpson, pilot;

2Lt. Wendell L. Sims, co-pilot;

2Lt. Thomas J. Wymond, navigator;

2Lt. Clarence GT. Wenrich, bombardier;

Sgt. Neal L. Slinker, engineer;

SSgt. John N. Lazansky, radio operator;

Cpl. Charles L. Walker, Jr., engineer;

Pvt. Joseph R. Hughes, gunner;

Pvt. Donald W. Seaney, gunner;

Pfc. Nicholas Zompetti, assistant radio operator.” (Mireles 2006, p. 203.)

 

Newspaper

 

Dec 5: “POCATELLO, Ida., Dec. 5. – All personnel of a four-motor bomber perished when the plane crashed in Wilson Canyon near Cleveland, Idaho, the public relations office of the Pocatello airbase said today. The plane carried a crew of ten…. The plane was located late yesterday by ground crews which had been searching in the rugged area around Grace and Soda Springs since the bomber was reported missing Wednesday night from a routine training flight.”  (Evening Gazette (Xenia OH). “Bomber Crash Kills Ten Men,” Dec 5, 1942, p. 1.)

 

Sources

 

Evening Gazette, Xenia OH. “Bomber Crash Kills Ten Men,” Dec 5, 1942, p. 1. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=87495116

 

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.