1945 — Sep 10, USAAF B-24 Liberator with freed POWs crash, Taitung, Taiwan-16 US of 25
–25 Baugher. 1944 USAFFF Serial Numbers (44-40049 to 44-70254). Last revised 2-14-2019.
–25 Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Consolidated B-24M-15.CO…”
–25 (16 US).[1] Foster, Richard. “Exploring the ‘Sancha Mountain Incident’.” (in Turton blog.)
–25 (16 US). Lin. “Fallen from the skies: forgotten souls of WWII in Taitung.” Focus Taiwan, 9-3-2017.
–25 O’Leary. Production Line to Frontline. Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Osprey, 2002, p. 89.
–25 (16 US). Turton. The View from Taiwan. “Forgotten WWII Plane Crash in Taitung.” 9-6-2017.
Narrative Information
Baugher: “44-42049/42148. Consolidated B-24M-15-CO Liberator…. 42052 (494th BG, 866th BS) crashed in South Pacific Sep 10, 1945 while ferrying former POWs from US/Dutch/Australian armed forces. MACR 14972. 5 crew and 20 passengers killed.”
Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives:
“Date & Time: Sep 10, 1945
“Type of aircraft: Consolidated B-24 Liberator
“Operator: USAAF [United States Army Air Force]
“Registration: 44-42052
“Flight Phase: Flight
“Flight Type: Military
“Survivors: No
“Site: Mountains
“Schedule: Naha – Nichols
“MSN: 5988
“YOM: 1944 [year of manufacture]
“Country: Taiwan
….
“Crew of board: 5
“Crew fatalities: 5
“Pax on board: 20
“Pax fatalities: 20
….
“Total fatalities: 25
“Circumstances: The crew was performing a flight from Naha, Okinawa, to the airbase of Nichols, in the suburb of Manila. Enroute, while flying away from a cyclone in marginal weather conditions, the four engine aircraft christened ‘Liquidator’ hit the slope of a mountain located in the Seaboard Mountain Range, northeast of Taitung, Taiwan. All 24 occupants, among them POW recently released by the Japanese troops, were killed.”
(Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Consolidated B-24M-15.CO Liberator Near Taitung: 25 Killed.” Accessed 2-20-2019.)
Foster in Turton blog: “Not far from Jiaming Lake on the way to Sinkang Mountain, about a 3-days hike north of Taiwan’s Southern Cross-Island Highway is a location marked on hiking maps as ‘Remains of American Plane’….
“A short account. On the 10th of September 1945 two American military planes took off from Okinawa on route to Manila. These converted B-24 Liberator bombers, carrying liberated allied prisoners of war, ran into the tail end of a typhoon. The ‘Les Miserables’ crashed into the sea; the ‘Liquidator’ (Serial Number 44-42052) crashed in the mountains of Southern Taiwan. The 5 crew, 11 American POWs, 4 Dutch POWs, and 5 Australian POWs all perished.
“The crash was witnessed by local hunters and a recovery mission, which included Japanese military, local Taiwanese, and native tribes, was undertaken shortly afterwards. A second recovery team was caught in a subsequent typhoon, and 26 members of the team died. A third team was sent up in October, 1945, to bury the bodies near the crash site. A further mission several years later, recovered the bodies for reburial in Hong Kong – Sai Wan War Cemetery, and the US – Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.
“Passenger and crew on board the Liquidator.
“Crew
1) O-715399 – SCRUGGS, Charles C. 1st Lt, Pilot
2) O-925827 – BALCOM, Charles A. 2nd Lt, Co-Pilot
3) T131846 – JONES, William D. F/O, Navigator
4) 34799372 – DENHAM, John D. Sgt, Engineer
5) 37565964 – McFARLANE, George E. Sgt, Radio Operator
“US POWs
6) 19054413 – WATSON, W.J. Pfc
7) 14042312 – THOMAS, William J. S/Sgt
8) 18050020 – DAVIS, Ben F. Pfc
9) 17010090 – WILSON, Robert J. Pvt
10) 18045741 – WADE, Elbert E. Cpl
11) 12007085 – BRILL, Arthur Pvt
12) 16003943 – GABSKI, Hobert J. Pfc
13) 14056710 – WYATT, James R. Pvt
14) 6557283 – CRAMER, Thomas L. Sgt
15) 19010290 – THORNSBERY, Jim M. Sgt
16) 15047583 – HOLLON, Dexter J. Pvt
“Dutch POWs
17) V13644 – WINGERDEW, P.H. Sailor
18) V96498 – BELZEN, Job, Kpl. MGD – buried in Sai Wan War Cemetery, Hong Kong…
19) 90334 – OUWENS, Antonius Bernardus, Sergt. Art. – buried in Sai Wan War Cemetery….
20) 93362 – DEKKER, Daniel Cornelis, Sld. – buried in Sai Wan War Cemetery, Hong Kong….
“Australian POWs
21) NX60056 – JAMES, Albert Arthur, Sgt. – 2/19 Battalion – buried in Sai Wan War Cemetery..
22) NX35741 – NOBLE, Richard Thomas, S/Sgt.-2/30 Battalion-buried in Sai Wan War Cemetery…
23) VX35009 – ROGERSON, Harry, WO2 – 2/29 Battalion – buried in Sai Wan War Cemetery…
24) VX58497 – COOPER, Ronald Simmons, Gunner – 4 Anti Tank Regiment-buried…Sai Wan War Cemetery…
25) SX10013 – GILDING, Jack Livingstone, Cpl. – 8 Australian Division Ammunition Sub Park – buried in Sai Wan War Cemetery, Hong Kong…” (Foster, Richard. “Exploring the ‘Sancha Mountain Incident’.” Accessed 2-20-2019 on Michael Turton blog site.)
Lin: “Somewhere, nestled in the dense forests of Taiwan’s central mountain range near Taitung County lies the wreck of a Second World War B-24 bomber, a site to which Liu Jui-cheng… and his friends have come to pay tribute to the 25 people who died in the 1945 crash. ‘We hope this bit of history will not be forgotten,’ said Liu, a history buff and a retired Republic of China Air Force major-general.
“According to Liu, historical records show that just days after the end of WWII, on Sept. 10, 1945, one of two American B-24 Liberator bombers carrying 20 freed allied prisoners of war (POWs) on route to Manila from Okinawa ran into the tail of a typhoon and crashed into the mountains of southeastern Taiwan. Aboard the plane were five crew members, and 11 American, four Dutch and five Australian POWs. The Liberator, with the serial number 44-42052, had belonged to the 494th Bomb Group….
“Between 1947 and 1948, the bodies were…recovered for reburial in Hong Kong, and a number of them were also taken to the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in the United States….”
(Lin, Ko (CAN staff writer). “Fallen from the skies: forgotten souls of WWII in Taitung.” Focus Taiwan News Channel, 9-3-2017.)
O’Leary: “….San Diego-built B-24M USAAF s/n 44-42052 operated with the 866th BX/49th BG in the Pacific…The B-24 survived the war, but not for long, for on 10 September 1945 Liquidator was repatriating 20 Australian, Dutch and American PoWs when it crashed into a mountain on Formosa during a typhoon. There were no survivors.” (O’Leary. Production Line to Frontline. Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Osprey, 2002, p. 89.)
Turton: “According to Liu, historical records show that just days after the end of WWII, on Sept. 10, 1945, one of two American B-24 Liberator bombers carrying 20 freed allied prisoners of war (POWs) on route to Manila from Okinawa ran into the tail of a typhoon and crashed into the mountains of southeastern Taiwan.
“Aboard the plane were five crew members, and 11 American, four Dutch and five Australian POWs. The Liberator, with the serial number 44-42052, had belonged to the 494th Bomb Group….” (Turton, Michael. The View from Taiwan (Blog on history and politics in Taiwan from Taichung, Taiwan. “Forgotten WWII Plane Crash in Taitung.” 9-6-2017.)
Sources
Baugher, Joe. 1944 USAFFF Serial Numbers (44-40049 to 44-70254). Last revised February 14, 2019. Accessed 2-21-2019 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_4.html
Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Consolidated B-24M-15.CO Liberator Near Taitung: 25 Killed.” Accessed 2-20-2019 at: https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-consolidated-b-24m-15-co-liberator-near-taitung-25-killed
Foster, Richard. “Exploring the ‘Sancha Mountain Incident’.” Accessed 2-20-2019 at: https://michaelturton.blogspot.com/2017/09/forgotten-wwii-plane-crash-in-taitung.html
Lin, Ko (CAN staff writer). “Fallen from the skies: forgotten souls of WWII in Taitung.” Focus Taiwan News Channel, 9-3-2017. Accessed 2-21-2019 at: http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aftr/201709030021.aspx
O’Leary, Michael. Production Line to Frontline. Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Oxford, UK, Osprey Publishing, 2002. Accessed 2-20-2019 at: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi64f6o9cvgAhUDKK0KHUNjBecQFjADegQICRAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.39-45.org%2Fvideos%2F3945%2FPROD004.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0yxzXLNkdyKAeBz0mDrYTi
Turton, Michael. The View from Taiwan (Blog on history and politics in Taiwan from Taichung, Taiwan). “Forgotten WWII Plane Crash in Taitung.” 9-6-2017. Accessed 2-20-2019 at: https://michaelturton.blogspot.com/2017/09/forgotten-wwii-plane-crash-in-taitung.html
[1] There were eleven U.S. freed prisoners of war and the bomber crew of five — all US Army Air Force personnel.