20th Century

1931 — Chickenpox, international list #44a, Census Bureau. Mortality Statistics 1931–185

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 2-3-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/-

–185  Bureau of the Census, US Dept. of Commerce. Mortality Statistics 1931, Table II, p. 69.

Narrative Information

CDC: “Chickenpox is a very contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). It causes a blister-like rash, itching, tiredness, and fever. The rash appears first on the stomach, back and face and can spread over the entire body causing between 250 and 500 itchy blisters. Chickenpox can be serious, especially in babies, adults, and people with weakened immune systems. The best way to prevent chickenpox is to get the chickenpox vaccine.” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Chickenpox (Varicella).” 7-1-2016 update.)

 

Sources

 

Bureau of the Census, United States Department of Commerce. Mortality Statistics 1931 [and 1930] (Thirty-Second Annual Report). Washington: GPO, 1935. Accessed 2-3-2025 at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsushistorical/mortstatsh_1931.pdf

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Chickenpox (Varicella).” 7-1-2016 update. Accessed 11-26-2018 at: https://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/about/index.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

2025 – Jan 31. Jet Rescue Air Ambulance plane crash (6), Northeast Philadelphia, PA–  7

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 2-7-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/-

–7  NBC10 Philadelphia. “One week later: What we know about the deadly medical jet crash in Northeast Philly.” 2-7-2025.

Narrative Information

Feb 7, NBC10 Philadelphia. “It’s been one week since the devastating crash of a medical jet in Northeast Philadelphia, and information is coming in about the flight, the victims of the crash and how it’s impacting the community. From progress on the cleanup to new findings in the investigation, here’s what we know so far.

 

“On Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, just after 6 p.m., a Learjet 55 operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance crashed along Cottman Avenue in front of the Roosevelt Mall near Roosevelt Boulevard.

 

“Officials said the plane was in the air for less than a minute before it crashed. That location is about 3 miles from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. 

 

“The medical jet was transporting a child who had just completed treatment for a life-threatening condition, her mother and four others when it crashed, officials have said.

 

“Jet Rescue Air Ambulance identified the crew as Capt. Alan Alejandro Montoya Perales, co-pilot Josue de Jesus Juarez Juarez, Dr. Raul Meza Arredondo and paramedic Rodrigo Lopez Padilla.

 

“The Government of Ensenada also identified the patient and her mother who were in the plane as Valentina Guzman Murillo and Lizeth Murillo Ozuna, respectively.

 

“Everyone aboard the flight was killed in the crash.

 

“Officials have said that all of the individuals on the plane were from Mexico. Guzman Murillo was being transported home, according to Jet Rescue spokesperson Shai Gold. The flight’s final destination was Tijuana after a stop in Branson, Missouri.

 

“Gold said this was a seasoned crew and everyone involved in these flights goes through rigorous training.

 

“No official cause of the crash has yet been provided.

 

“According to the flight tacker company FlightAware, the jet took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport at 6:06 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31.

 

“The air traffic controller made contact with the plane on departure and the pilot responded.

 

“However, shortly after takeoff, the air traffic controller repeatedly tried to make contact with the pilot again, but they got no response. The flight path shows the plane made it about 1,600 feet in the air before air traffic control lost contact. 

 

“On Sunday, Feb. 2 investigators recovered the black box, or cockpit voice recorder (CVR), from the plane. It was located at the site of the initial impact — near Cottman Avenue and Rupert Street — at a depth of 8 feet in crater. The NTSB also recovered the aircraft’s enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS).

 

“On Monday, Feb. 3 in a visit to the site of the crash, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted the investigation is still ongoing into the cause of the crash and officials are still analyzing those devices as they seek answers. ‘We have agreed to be as transparent as possible with information as it comes out,’ he said.

….

“In an update on Monday, Feb.3 Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said that officials now believe at least 24 people were hurt when the plane crashed in Northeast Philly. Also, she said, one person in a car was killed when the plane crashed near the Roosevelt Mall.

 

“On Wednesday, Feb. 5, officials confirmed the identity of the person who died in that vehicle as 37-year-old Steven Dreuitt of Philadelphia.

….

“On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the National Transportation Safety Board finished their work at the site of the deadly medical jet crash in Northeast Philadelphia, Managing Director Adam K. Thiel revealed during a press conference.

….

“Around 366 properties in Northeast Philadelphia were damaged by the crash, according to officials. Thiel said properties in the area remain damaged and warned anyone who was not a resident or business owner to stay away from the area as the restoration efforts continue….”

 

Source

 

NBC10 Philadelphia. “One week later: What we know about the deadly medical jet crash in Northeast Philly.” 2-7-2025. Accessed 2-7-2025 at: https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/one-week-later-fatal-medical-jet-crash-northeast-philadelphia/4102885/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1941 – Apr 7, USN Consolidated PBY-1 Catalina crash ~2M off Machipongo Inlet, VA–   10

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 10-2-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–10  AP. “Wreck of Giant Naval Bomber See Off Coast.” Winchester Evening Star, VA, 4-8-1941, 1.

–10  Aviation Safety Network, Database, 1941. USN Consolidated PBY-1 Catalina.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Database, 1941:

“Date:                          Monday 7 April 1941

“Type:                         Consolidated PBY-1 Catalina

“Owner/operator:        US Navy

“Registration:              0134

“MSN:                         33
“Fatalities:                   Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10

“Other fatalities:          0

“Aircraft damage:       Destroyed, written off

“Location:                   Atlantic Ocean off Machipongo Inlet, VA – USA

“Phase:                        En route

“Nature:                       Military

“Departure airport:      NAS Norfolk, VA

“Destination airport:    NAS Quonset Point, RI

“Narrative:                   Aircraft crashed in the ocean while on a ferry flight.”

Newspaper

April 8, AP: “Norfolk, Va., April 8. (AP) – A wrecked naval bomber was sighted off Cape Charles, VA., today by searchers for a big naval patrol craft which has been missing since yesterday with ten men aboard. Naval authorities here said that it is the missing ship….

“The Cape Charles wreckage was sighted from a Navy plane. Coast Guard headquarters here said that one of their lifeboats, equipped with two-way radio, had reached the scene of the wreckage and had reported that no sign of life was visible in the area. The boat was from the Metomkin Inlet station. A Coast Guard plane flew over the scene and radioed that a yellow life jacket was floating near the wreckage.

“Messages received from the searchers did not say wheth3r they had seen any survivors of the two officers and eight enlisted men aboard the bomber when she took off from here for the naval air station at Quonset Point, R. I.

“The wreckage was sighted about two miles east of Great Machipongo inlet, off Hog Island, Cape Charles, VA. The broken bomber was sighted by a plane attached to a naval air carrier. The plane was not able to land. The pilot flashed word that he also sighted a life raft, but could not tell if anyone was on it.

“The Coast Guard immediately dispatched the cutters Dionne and Rush to the scene, as well as three lifeboats from stations near the scene of the crash.

“It is believed that the giant plane crashed into the sea after running into fog shortly after taking off.

“The Lakehurst (N.J.) naval air station reported that its biggest blimp, the TC14, was about 30 miles from the scene, and proceeding there at once.

“The missing flying boat was piloted by Ensign G. N. Blackburn, naval reservist, of Lenni Mills, Pa., with Ensign G. W. Marson, of Cambridge City, Ind., as co-pilot. The two were assigned to transfer the plane to Quonset Point after it had been based with the Navy’s utility squadron here for several months. With them on the flight were these enlisted men:

T. F. Mueller, chief photographer, San Diego, Calif.;

L. C. Luton, radioman, first class, Little Cypress, Ky.;

F. W. Crowe, aviation machinist mate, first class, Boulevard Heights, Md.;

L. L. Gurganus, radioman, second class, Parrish, Ala.;

W. Broadhurst, aviation machinist mate, third class, Albany, N.Y.;

F. McElrath, aviation ordnance man, third class, Newburgh, N. Y.;

B. A. Taylor, seaman, second class, Rutledge, Ala.’

A. P. Fasano, seaman, second class, Port Washington, L. I.

“….” (Associated Press. “Wreck of Giant Naval Bomber See Off Coast.” Winchester Evening Star, VA, 4-8-1941, pp. 1-2.)

April 9, AP: “Norfolk, April 8. (AP) – The body of one member of the crew of a naval patrol bomber which plunged into the sea off Great Machipongo Inlet Monday was brought into port last night by a destroyer which had been dragging the  sea bottom for several hours….” (Associated Press. “Destroyer Finds Victim’s Body.” Winchester Evening Star, VA, 4-9-1941, p. 6.)

April 10, AP: “Norfolk, April 10. (AP) – the Navy and Coast Guard sought without success today to locate the wreckage and other bodies of the ten-man crew of a navy patrol bomber which crashed into the sea Monday, apparently at Great Machipongo Inlet off the Virginia Eastern Ashore.

“Two bodies and fragments of two or three others were found Tuesday by craft searching the area.

“….The bomber, en route to Quonset Point, R.I., disappeared after reporting by radio ten minutes after takeoff.

“The Destroyer Lansdale Tuesday night brought here the bodies of P. F. Mueller, navy chief photographer, of San Diego, Calif., and one other member of the crew. Identification of the second body was being attempted through fingerprints.” (Associated Press. “No Additional Bodies Found In Bomber Crash.” Winchester Evening Star, VA, 4-10-1941, Section Two, p.1.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Destroyer Finds Victim’s Body.” Winchester Evening Star, VA, 4-9-1941, p. 6.

Accessed 10-2-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/winchester-evening-star-apr-09-1941-p-6/

Associated Press. “No Additional Bodies Found In Bomber Crash.” Winchester Evening Star, VA, 4-10-1941, Section Two, p.1. Accessed 10-2-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/winchester-evening-star-apr-10-1941-p-9/

Associated Press. “Wreck of Giant Naval Bomber See Off Coast.” Winchester Evening Star, VA, 4-8-1941, pp.1-2. Accessed 10-2-2024 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/winchester-evening-star-apr-08-1941-p-1/

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Database, 1941. USN Consolidated PBY-1 Catalina crash off Machipongo Inlet VA, April 7. Accessed 10-2-2024 at: https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/301212

1944 — Feb 16, USN Air Transport R4D-1 Flight Missing, NAS Seattle to Kodiak, AK  —     14

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-13-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–14  Aviation Safety Network. USN Douglas R4D-1 missing, Seattle WA to Kodiak AK. 16Feb1944.

–14  Baugher. US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (00001 to 10316). 9-21-2011

Narrative Information

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1944:

“Date”                         Wednesday 16 February 1944

….

“Type:                         Douglas R4D-1 (DC-3)

“Owner/operator:        United States Navy

“Registration:              01989

“MSN:                         4553

“Year of manufacture:1942

“Fatalities:                   14 / Occupants 14

“Aircraft damage:       Aircraft missing, written off

“Category:                   Accident

“Location:                   between Seattle, WA and Kodiak, AK – USA

“Phase:                        En route

“Nature:                      Military

“Departure airport:      Seattle NAS, WA

“Destination airport:   Kodiak NAS, AK

“Narrative:                  Missing on a flight between Seattle, WA and Kodiak, AK.”

 

Baugher: “…. Douglas R4D-1….01989 (c/n 4553) to US Navy Jul 27, 1942 – VR-2 – missing on flight from NAS Seattle, WA to Kodiak, AK Feb 16, 1944. 14 missing

 

Sources

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1944. USN Douglas R4D-1 missing, Seattle WA to Kodiak AK. 16 February 1944.

Accessed 4-13-2024 at: https://aviation-safety.net/asndb/340293

 

Baugher. US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (00001 to 10316. 9-21-2011 revision). Accessed 4-13-2024 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries1.html

 

 

 

 

 

1937 – Feb 9, United Air Lines Flight 23 crash, San Francisco Bay, CA  — 11

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 11-16-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

—  11  Bureau of Air Commerce, Accident Board. Report of the Accident Board.  April 12, 1937.

—  11  Notable California Aviation Disasters.  The 1930s.

Narrative Information

Bureau of Air Commerce: “On February 9, 1937, at approximately 8:50 p. m. at a point in the Bay about 2 miles off shore from the San Francisco Airport, an airplane of United States registry while being flown as a part of scheduled interstate operation, carrying mail, passengers and express, met with an accident which resulted in death to all on board, and the complete destruction of the aircraft….

 

“The aircraft, a Douglas, model DC-3A…was owned by the United Air Lines Transport Corporation and at the time of the accident as being operated on the Oakland Division of this Corporation as Trip No. 23, scheduled from Los Angeles to Oakland, California, with one stop, at San Francisco….

 

“The flight was cleared from the Union Air Terminal, near Los Angeles, on schedule at 7 00 p. m. and was due to arrive at the San Francisco Airport at 9.00 p. m. Good flying weather existed throughout the flight and nothing unusual was reported enroute.  At 8:44 p. m. when the flight had approached to within approximately 10 miles of San Francisco, the crew radioed to the control tower operator at the airport giving their position and requesting surface winds and directions for landing. The control tower replied that the wind was practically calm and requested the pilot to land south to north, which in effect meant to use the North-South runway. The crew acknowledged these directions.

 

“At 8:47 p.m. when approximately 3 miles from the airport, the crew again contacted the central tower stating that they would use the East-West runway. The control tower operator immediately acknowledged this message giving his approval. This was the last radio contact with the flight. However, the airplane was in sight of several witnesses on the airport from that time on.

 

“The airplane as observed to fly over the airport at an altitude estimate by several witnesses to be between 400 and 500 feet. Then just over the airport, the airplane started a wide turn to the right and out over the Bay, which, if completed, would have described a complete circle over the water and placed it in position for a direct approach to the East-West runway on the airport. The accident occurred before this turn was completed and witnesses vary in their impressions as to whether the turn to the point of accident was continuous or made up of two distinct turns.

 

“While in the turn and flying at an altitude of approximately 400 feet, the airplane was observed to assume a descending angle, estimated to be between 35 and 40 degrees, which continued up to the time of striking the water. The total time for this descent was estimated to be four seconds. One witness believed that the airplane was banked at quite an angle during this descent and the subsequent damage appears to bear this out.

 

“The evidence indicates that the right wing of the airplane contacted the water first and was torn off almost simultaneously with the right propeller, engine and a portion of the right nacelle structure. The propeller was found about 75 feet to the rear of the engine and the wing parts, which were scattered about the vicinity in a radius of approximately 800 feet.. The main body of the airplane was found approximately one mile away from this point in the direction of a four mile per hour tide which was running at the time. Most of the wreckage was recovered through dragging operations which lasted over a period of three weeks.

 

“A detailed investigation of this wreckage showed no evidence of failure the air of the airplane structure, engines or propellers. The separation of right propeller from the engine and the engine from the wing was proven beyond a reasonable doubt to be the result of the impact with the water….

 

“It is the opinion of the Accident Board that the probable cause of this accident was accidental jamming of the elevator controls as the result of a microphone being inadvertently dropped and lodging in such a position that the crew was unable to prevent rapid descent of the airplane.”  (Bureau of Air Commerce, Accident Board. Report of the Accident Board.  April 12, 1937.)

 

Notable California Aviation Disasters:

 

“Date / Time: Tuesday, February 9, 1937 / 9:02 p.m.

“Operator / Flight No.: United Air Lines / Flight 23

“Location: San Francisco Bay, Calif.

 

“Details and Probable Cause:  The United Air Lines aircraft, a twin-engine Douglas DC-3A-197 (NC16073), was nearing the end of its flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco and carrying eight passengers and a crew of three.  While flying in clear weather and descending on a routine nighttime approach to Mills Field (today’s San Francisco International Airport), the DC-3 inexplicably continued its 45-degree descent until it crashed into the waters of San Francisco Bay approximately 1-1/4 miles from the airfield.   All 11 persons on board were killed in the crash; some of the victims’ bodies were never recovered.

 

“Investigators were able to salvage and examine the wreckage, but the plane’s unexplained dive remained a mystery and the cause of the crash was thought to be pilot error.  However, five weeks after the accident, an American Airlines DC-3 was on its takeoff roll at Newark, New Jersey, when its pilot found that the aircraft’s controls had jammed.   He was able to safely abort the takeoff, and a closer examination of the jammed controls revealed that the co-pilot’s radio microphone had fallen off its hook and become wedged in a small, “V”-shaped recess at the base of the control yoke.   When the pilot pried the microphone loose, the aircraft’s controls once again operated normally.  Details of the Newark near-disaster were relayed to the investigators still probing the San Francisco accident, and the officials took another look at the wreckage.   There, amid the tangled debris of the cockpit, they discovered the United co-pilot’s microphone still wedged in the recess at the base of the yoke.   The Douglas Aircraft Company notified all DC-3 operators of the problem and a rubber boot was installed over the recess, a solution to prevent any similar accidents from occurring.

 

“The United Air Lines crash at San Francisco was the first fatal accident involving the legendary Douglas DC-3, which entered commercial airline service in 1936.”  (Notable California Aviation Disasters.  The 1930s.)

Sources

 

Bureau of Air Commerce, Accident Board. Report of the Accident Board…United Air Lines... San Francisco, California, February 9, 1937. Washington, U.S. Department of Commerce. April 12, 1937. Accessed 11-16-2024 at: file:///C:/Users/Wayne/Downloads/dot_32994_DS1.pdf

 

Notable California Aviation Disasters. “The 1930s.” Oct 23, 2008 update. Accessed 2-21-2009 at: http://www.jaydeebee1.com/crash30s.html

 

 

 

1941 — Feb 7, Fire, Salvation Army Homeless Shelter/Lodging, N. Akard St., Dallas, TX–13

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 9-29-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

— 13  National Fire Protect. Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).[1]

— 13  San Antonio Express, TX. “Fire Toll 13.” 2-14-1941, p. 5.

Narrative Information

Feb 7: “Dallas, Tex., Feb. 7. – AP – Five unidentified transients were burned fatally, six were near death and at least 20 others injured severely in a fire that swept through a Salvation Army second-story hotel here tonight. Between 25 and 30 nude men were trapped in the rear of the blazing building, the men’s lodge and mission at 313½ North Akard street.  The fire started in a small front room in which all the clothing of the sleeping men had been piled….

 

“Two of those trapped in the rear were cripples and could not escape.  Several of those who jumped from rear windows were taken to hospitals with broken legs and serious burns….Every available ambulance in the city was pressed into service.

 

“William George Gilks, divisional Salvation Army commander, said 50 men were lodged in the hotel….


“One man hung out of the window and screamed for help but wouldn’t jump.  Finally he was overcome and just collapsed over the window frame.

 

“Fire Chief L. M. Funk said the fire was caused by ‘improper use of inflammable[2] chemical and natural gas.’  ‘Indications are that the fire originated in the delousing room where clothing of the men was sterilized,’ Chief Funk said.  ‘With a small open gas stove the clothes were heated until the bugs dropped off onto the floor where a chemical killed them. The chemical was inflammable.  It was a misuse of gas. We do not know what the chemical was but we are going to have an analysis made of it’.”  (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Five Men Burn to Death as Fire Hits Dallas Hotel. Many Others Hurt in Salvation Army Transients’ House.” 2-8-1941, p. 1.)

 

Feb 8:  “Dallas, Feb. 8. – (AP) – Eight men, mostly homeless wanderers, died and more than a score were scared and injured trying to escape a roaring wall or flames which trapped them in a second-floor Salvation Army lodging in downtown Dallas early today. Another 25 panic-stricken transients fought their way through the inferno to safety, some braving flame through a window.  Many were forced out into freezing weather unclothed.

 

“Salvation Army officials, headed by Major Ernest Pickering, pored over half-burned records trying to identify the dead….

 

“Some of the burned and injured were not expected to survive. Baylor University Hospital, a pioneer in the use of a blood bank, supplied plasma (the dried elements of blood) for numerous fast transfusions to the dying and injured.

 

“The fire started about 11:10 last night in a small cabinet-like room at the front of the second-floor lodging.  This room was piled with clothing around a stove used to delouse the garments.  Outside, on benches, naked men sat waiting for their clothes.

 

“Brig. Gen. William George Gilks, Salvation Army divisional commander in Texas, said the door to the room must have been opened when the nude men saw smoke curling from the delousing room.  When they made their apparent effort to retrieve their clothes, he said, the draft spread the flames.

 

“The spreading flames, flushing across the tar-papered ceiling, threw the men into a panic.  Those who were dressed dashed to the stairway, the only exit, which is at the front and side of the room.  They made it to safety.  Others, nude or wrapped only in sheets or blankets, flung themselves through the flames and tore down the stairway.  Doom lay in wait for the others.  Thinking there was a rear exit, they rushed to the back of the building, but found only two windows between the flames and safety….

 

“Upstairs eight men were sprawled, two through the window, others stacked within a few feet.  Evidently overcome or burned to death as they struggled to get through. Fireman Kelsic Allen said some of the eight lying there were old men, and that nearly all were naked.  Under their bodies lay blankets of the type used by the army in 1917….”  (Denton Record-Chronicle, TX. “Eight Men Burn to Death When Fire Destroys Abode for Homeless in Dallas.” 2-8-1941, p. 1.)

 

Feb 8: “Dallas, Feb. 8. (AP) — Nine men and a boy perished today in a mauling, screaming crowd of homeless transients trapped by fire in a second-floor Salvation Army hotel. About 18 others who fought their way out of the inferno after flames had blocked the only stairway were in hospitals, at least five of them seriously burned or injured.  The death toll was expected to grow.

 

“An emergency call for blood donors went out from Baylor University Hospital’s blood bank after the equivalent of 196 transfusions had been administered the injured and dying. Salvation Army officials and employes immediately volunteered their blood.

 

“A story of heroics and pandemonium was related by one transient, who broke both legs in plunging from a window 35 feet to the ground….He told of what happened, pain from his shattered limbs halting him occasionally:

 

“About 11 p.m. last night about 55 men were lying in the row of cots which stretched to the rear of the big room. At the front sat several naked men, waiting for their clothes to come out of a small cabinet-like room called a “delouser.” In the delouser a gas fire burned, heating the clothes hung around it.  Smoke curled from around the door of the tiny room and someone ran in to grab the clothes. The flames roared out, flashing across the tar-papered ceiling.  The witness said he leaped from his cot, quickly tied two blankets together and reached for a third held by a neighbor. ‘He wouldn’t turn loose, so I slugged him and took it away.’’ He said he tied the third blanket to the others and rushed to a window at the rear of the room, pushing through a plunging mass of men making for the smoke-filled stairway. He anchored the tied blankets to a cot, smashed the window with a shovel and flung the make-shift rope through it. The windows open on an enclosed courtyard.

 

“The crowd of men at the stairway entrance turned back, unable to stand the wall of flame barring then way. Some got through, burned and blackened. The others made a rush for the rear window. One man, the witness said, was literally shoved out, dropping in a heap 35 feet below. The witness himself was shoved, toppling out the window but grasping the blanket rope before a body hurtled down on top of him. Men poured through the window until there was a pile… below. The press at the window grew and when firemen went in they found eight men, some dead, lying in and near it.

 

“Identification of the dead, made difficult because admittance records were destroyed or mutilated, gave this list of men who perished:

 

Julius Benson. 41, Little Rock, Ark.;[3]

an unidentified boy;

John B. Murberger, Dallas;

William H. Nugent, New York City;

James Edward White, who gave his address as 9 Main Street, Tulsa;

Gus Halb, St. Louis;

Oscar Lindley, Desdemona, Tex.;

Thomas Cook and

  1. M. Jenkins, addresses unknown.

The tenth man was not identified.

 

“Lindley, before he died, said he had a wife and a child living in Amarillo…”  (Midland Reporter-Telegram, TX. “Ten Transients Burn to Death in Salvation Army Hotel. Inferno Spreads Swiftly and Entraps Many Homeless on Building’s Second Floor…Eighteen Leap to Safety.” 2-9-1941, p. 1.)

 

Feb 13: “Dallas, Feb. 13. – (AP) – The 12th victim of the disastrous fire that swept the Salvation Army transient hotel last Friday night was Harry Brady, 56, of Dallas, succumbed today.”  (Denton Record-Chronicle, TX. “12th Victim of Dallas Fire Succumbs.” 2-13-1941, p. 4.)

 

Feb 14:  “Dallas, Tex., Feb. 13. – The toll in Dallas’ Salvation Army transient hotel fire of last Friday reached 13 today with the deaths of Harry Brady of Dallas and Leroy Jones, 50, of Bridgeport, Ill.”  (San Antonio Express, TX. “Fire Toll 13.” 2-14-1941, p. 5.)

 

Sources

 

Denton Record-Chronicle, TX. “12th Victim of Dallas Fire Succumbs.” 2-13-1941, p. 4. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=68419771&sterm=fire+salvation+army

 

Denton Record-Chronicle, TX. “Eight Men Burn to Death When Fire Destroys Abode for Homeless in Dallas.” 2-8-1941, p. 1. Accessed 4-18-2013 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=79813737&sterm=fire+salvation+army

 

Galveston Daily News, TX. “Five Men Burn to Death as Fire Hits Dallas Hotel.” 2-8-1941, p.1. http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=45246651&sterm

 

Midland Reporter-Telegram, TX. “Ten Transients Burn to Death in Salvation Army Hotel.” 2-9-1941, p. 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=153508556&sterm

 

National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003). (Email attachment to B. W. Blanchard from Jacob Ratliff, NFPA Archivist/Taxonomy Librarian, 7-8-2013.)

 

San Antonio Express, TX. “Fire Toll 13.” 2-14-1941, p. 5. Accessed 4-18-2013 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=70678146&sterm=fire+salvation+army

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Has the date incorrectly as Feb 8.

[2] Flammable in today’s usage.

[3] “Services for Julius Benson, 41, night watchman who rescued three men from the blazing inferno here late Friday night before he collapsed, will be held at 2 p.m. tomorrow.” (San Antonio Express, TX. “Mass Funeral Set in Victims of Fire.” 2-10-1941, p. A2.)

1943 – Jan 18, USAAF B-24D flies into Bassett Peak, Galiuro Mts. 43M NE Tucson, AZ–11

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 5-17-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–11  Baugher, Joseph.  1941 USAAF Serial Numbers (41-6722 to 41-13296).  10-29-2011 rev.

–11  Mireles 2006, Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents in US 1941-1945, Vol. 1, p. 244.

Narrative Information

Baugher: “Consolidated B-24D-CO Liberator….11887 flew into mountain south of Tucson, AZ Jan 18, 1943, killing all 11 onboard…..Finally located two months after the crash. The official cause of the accident was attributed to pilot error, although the accident report indicated that the tail section was not found in the wreckage (many years later it was found several miles away).  Speculation is that in flight structural failure caused the crash.”  (Baugher, Joseph.  1941 USAAF Serial Numbers (41-6722 to 41-13296).  10-29-2011 revision.)

 

Mireles: “At 0327 MWT, a Consolidated B-24D crashed into Bassett Peak in the Galiuro Mountains 43 miles northeast of Tucson, Arizona, killing the crew of eleven. The airplane had taken off from Davis-Mountain Field at 0037 MWT on a routine bombing training mission and never returned. The bodies of the crew and the wreckage of the B-24 were found 3-7-43 by a CAP airplane. Ground parties did not reach the airplane until 3-10-43. Examination of the wreckage indicated that the airplane collided with the peak while in full flight with all four engines operating at cruise speed. Killed in the crash were:  [We put names into separate lines.]

 

2Lt. John L. Wasson, pilot;

2Lt. Charles A. Beaucond, co-pilot;

2Lt. Frederick E. Neal, bombardier;

2Lt. Joseph Ferio, bombardier;

Pvt. Henry C. Peterson, engineer;

SSgt. Robert E. Story, assistant engineer;

Pvt. Murty J. Huckaby, radio operator;

Sgt. Alman L. Porter, assistant radio operator;

Sgt. Stephen A. Safko, gunner;

Sgt. Henry P. Pelletier, gunner;

SSgt. Ernest M. Breier, gunner.”

 

(Mireles 2006, Fatal Army AF Accidents in US 1941-1945, Vol. 1, p. 243-244.)

 

Sources

 

Baugher, Joseph F. 1941 USAAF Serial Numbers (41-6722 to 41-13296).  Oct 29, 2011 revision.  Accessed 12-6-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1941_2.html

 

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.

 

1946 — Jan 4, TX tornadoes, esp. Clawson/3, Nacogdoches/10 Palestine/15 areas, east TX–30

Compiled 11-9-2023 by Wayne Blanchard for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–32  AP. “Texas Tornado Death Toll Rises to 32.” Wichita Daily Times, TX. 1-8-1946, p. 4.[1]

–30  Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, pp. 504, 922.

            —  3  2030 F3 tornado, Clawson, Angelina County.

            –10  2045 F4 tornado, esp. Nacogdoches and Appleby areas, Nacogdoches County.         

            –15  2100 F4 tornado, esp. Log Lake and Palestine areas, Anderson County.

            —  2  2130 F2 tornado, esp. St. Paul-Shiloh areas, Limestone County.

–30  UP. “Death Toll in Texas Tornado Reaches 30.” Taylor Daily Press, TX, 1-8-1946, p. 1.[2]

–29  Associated Press. “Tornado Toll.” The Abilene Reporter-News, TX. 1-7-1946, p. 3. [Named]

Breakout of Texas tornado fatalities by locality.

—  3  Clawson. San Antonio Sunday Light, TX. “Texas Tornado Toll Reaches 27.” 1-6-1946, p.1.

–10  Nacogdoches. San Antonio Light, TX. “Texas Tornado Toll Reaches 27.” 1-6-1946, p. 1.

–2  Appleby. San Antonio Light, TX. “Texas Tornado Toll Reaches 27.” 1-6-1946, p. 1.

–15  Palestine. UP. “Death Toll in Texas Tornado Reaches 30.” Taylor Daily Press, TX, 1-8-1946, p1.[3]

—  2  Shilo. United Press. “37 Dead in Windstorms.” El Paso Herald-Post, TX. 1-7-1946, p.2.

Narrative Information

Grazulis: “TX  JAN 4, 1946 2030 3k 50inj 800y 10m F3.  ANGELINA — Moved NE through Clawson, destroying 30 homes. Forty-eight homes were listed as destroyed along the entire track. This large tornado hit about 375 buildings. The deaths were in two different homes at Clawson. An aerial survey noted a seven-mile gap in the damage between Clawson and damage SW of Nacogdoches. The damage beyond that gap, further to the NE, is the next event. $300,000.

 

“TX  JAN 4, 1946 2045 10k 200inj 800y 20m F4.  NACOGDOCHES — Moved NE from SW of Nacogdoches. Eighty homes were destroyed, 150 homes were damaged and 75 people were hospitalized. About 300 other buildings were damaged or destroyed, and several thousand acres of forest were flattened. Six people died on the west side of Nacogdoches. Three died NE of Appleby. $1,500,000….

 

“TX  JAN 4, 1946 2100 15k 60inj 400y 18m F4.  ANDERSON — Moved NE from 10m SW of Palestine. Two people were killed near Log Lake, but most of the $600,000 damage was done in the “Southview” community, 2m S of downtown Palestine. The deaths occurred in seven of the 36 homes that were destroyed. At least 22 other homes were damaged, as were 100 other buildings. Many injuries were serious, and the injury total probably represents only the number treated in a hospital. Cars were thrown for several hundred yards through the neighborhood.”

 

“TX  JAN 4, 1946 2130 2k 17inj…5m F2.  LIMESTONE — Nine homes were destroyed in the St. Paul- Shiloh area. A man and a boy were killed in separate homes. $100,000.”  (Grazulis.  Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, p. 922.)

 

Newspapers

 

Jan 5: “Austin, Jan. 5 (INS) – The known death toll in Friday night’s East Texas storm mounted to 24 today….The toll by towns…: Nacogdoches, 6; Palestine, 13; Clawson, 3; Appleby, 2….

 

“A Negro boy was reported killed at Shilo in Leon county.

 

“The known dead at Southview are: Teague Wylie, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Morrisson and son, Charles Ray, 2, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Ray and daughter, Mary Sue, 14, Richard Lipscomb, 9, a Mr. Johes, Mary Axum, 14, Merle Asum, 8, and a Negro named Nixon.

 

“The known dead at Nacogdoches, Roscoe Till, 48, Mrs. William Kirk, Oran Fore, Bonne Reagen, Eugene Scroggins, 12, and Martha Aldridge….

 

“Ce. E. Hendrick, a grocer at Southview, is missing. Neighbors have gone through the rubble of the Hendrick home searching for him….

 

“The tornado cut a 100-yard swath across 18 miles of Anderson county, passing three miles south and east of Palestine….The dead and injured were still being brought in at an early hour today….”

(INS. “Texas Tornado Death Toll Up to 24.” Port Arthur News, TX. 1-5-1946, p. 1.

 

Jan 6: “The known death toll in East Texas tornadoes last night mounted to 27 Saturday. Palestine counted 13 dead; Nacogdoches, 6; Clawson, 3; Lufkin, 3, and Appleby, 2….Those killed in Anderson county resided at Southview, suburb of Palestine…,’’:Southview was hit at 8:25 p.m. by the storm but at 10 minutes to 9 p.m. in Nacogdoches county and Angelina county about the same time….” (San Antonio Light, TX. “Texas Tornado Toll Reaches 27.” 1-6-1946, p. 1.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Texas Tornado Death Toll Rises to 32.” Wichita Daily Times, TX. 1-8-1946, p. 4. Accessed 11-10-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/wichita-daily-times-jan-08-1946-p-4/

 

Associated Press. “Tornado Toll.” The Abilene Reporter-News, TX. 1-7-1946, p. 3. Accessed 11-10-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/abilene-reporter-news-jan-07-1946-p-11/

 

Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VE: Environmental Films, 1993, 1,326 pages.

 

INS. “Texas Tornado Death Toll Up to 24.” Port Arthur News, TX. 1-5-1946, p. 1. Accessed 11-10-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/port-arthur-news-jan-05-1946-p-1/

 

San Antonio Sunday Light, TX. “Texas Tornado Toll Reaches 27.” 1-6-1946, p. 1. Accessed 11-10-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/san-antonio-light-jan-06-1946-p-1/

 

United Press. “37 Dead in Windstorms.” El Paso Herald-Post, TX. 1-7-1946, p.2. Accessed 11-10-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/el-paso-herald-post-jan-07-1946-p-1/

 

United Press. “Death Toll in Texas Tornado Reaches 30.” The Taylor Daily Press, TX, 1-8-1946, p. 1. Accessed 11-10-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/taylor-daily-press-jan-08-1946-p-1/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Cites Leo Durkee, regional director of the American Red Cross. The article provides no new named fatalities.

[2] The 30th death was that of a Palestine woman who died from injuries on Jan 7.

[3] Fourteen deaths reported as immediate deaths. This article notes the death of a woman from injuries on the 7th.

1946 — Jan 29, USAAF C-46, occupants bail out, unable to find Shanghai AP, China –all 12

Compiled 11-11-2023 by Wayne Blanchard for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–12 Aviation Safety Network. USAAF C-46, occupants bail out at night 3M N of Lo-tien-Chen China.

–12 UP. “C-46 Crashes in China, Crew of Four is Missing.” The Daily Register, Harrisburg, IL. 1-30-1946, 11.

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Network, Database, 1946, p. 3:

“Date:                          Tuesday 29 January 1946

“Type:                         Curtiss C-46D-15-CU Commando

“Operator:                   United States Army Air Force – USAF

“Registration:              44-78226

“MSN:                         33622

“First flight:                1945

“Crew:                         Fatalities:   4 / Occupants:   4

“Passengers:                Fatalities:   8 / Occupants:   8

“Total:                         Fatalities: 12 / Occupants: 12

….

“Location:                   5 km (3.1 mls) N of Lo-tien-Chen (China)

“Phase:                        Unknown (UNK)

“Nature:                      Military

“Departure airport:      Jinan Airport…China

“Destination airport:   Shanghai-Jiangwan Airport, China

“Narrative:

 

“All eight passengers and four crew bailed out at night, when the crew was unable to find Shanghai-Jiangwan Airfield (then known as Kiangwan) in thick fog. The occupants came down in the Yangtze River and two bodies were found in March 1946.” (ASN, Database, 1946, p. 3. USAAF C-46, occupants bail out at night 3M N of Lo-tien-Chen China, 1-29-1946.)

 

Jan 30, UP: “Shanghai, Jan. 30 – (U.P.) – A C-46 transport of the U.S. 513th Troop Carrier command crashed last night 50 miles from the Kaingyin airfield in Kiangsu province, Army authorities said today. The four crew members and eight passengers parachuted before the crash but they had not been located today, the announcement said. The plane was enroute from Tsinan to Shanghai….” (United Press. “C-46 Crashes in China, Crew of Four is Missing.” The Daily Register, Harrisburg, IL. 1-30-1946, 11.)

 

 

Sources

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Network, Database, 1946, p. 3. USAAF C-46, occupants bail out at night 3M N of Lo-tien-Chen China, 1-29-1946. Accessed 11-11-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19460129-1

 

United Press. “C-46 Crashes in China, Crew of Four is Missing.” The Daily Register, Harrisburg, IL. 1-30-1946, 11. Accessed 11-11-2023 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/harrisburg-daily-register-jan-30-1946-p-11/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1946 – Oct 1, USAAF B-29 Superfortress crash in storm, burns, Buffalo Valley, NV –all 11

Compiled 11-4-2023 by Wayne Blanchard for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

—     11  Hutchinson News-Herald, KS. “B-29 Explodes in Air and 11…are Dead.” 10-2-1946, 1

—     11  Nat. Fire Protec. Assoc. “Large Loss Fires of 1946.” Quarterly, 40/3, Jan 1947, 239.[1]

–10-11  Nevada State Journal. “B-29 Super-Fortress Crashes…Killing 10…Fliers.” 10-3-46, 16.

—     11  Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Nevada Plane Crash Kills 11.” 10-4-1946, p. 9.

 

Narrative Information

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1946, p. 25 (1 October 1946):

“Date”                         Tuesday 1 October 1946

….

“Type:                         Boeing V-29A Superfortress

“Registration:              45-21726

“MSN:                         13620

“Fatalities:                   Fatalities: 11 / Occupants: 11

….

“Location:                   30 miles SE of Battle Mountain, Lander County, Nevada – USA

“Phase:                        En route

“Nature:                      Military

“Departure airport:      Grand Island AFB, Nebraska

“Destination airport:   Hamilton AFB, Novato, Marin County, California.

“Narrative:                  ….

 

“Written off when crashed during storm October 1, 1946 when flew into the ground 30 miles South East of Battle Mountain, Lander County, Nevada, en-route on training flight to Hamilton AAF, Novato, Marin County, California. No survivors among the eleven crew on board.”

 

National Fire Protection Association: “Oct. 2, near Battle Mountain, Nev. Aircraft. Over $250,000. An Army B-29 Boeing bomber, with a crew of eleven, crashed into the side of Buffalo Mountain, 26 miles from Battle Mountain. The giant aircraft burst into flame immediately upon contact with the ground and all lives were lost. Adverse weather conditions (ceil­ing 150 ft) and poor visibility were believed responsible for the accident, although the pilot had been in radio contact with nearby Army Air Force fields and had ample altitude at last report. The fire, fed by 4,000 gallons of gaso­line, oil, and hydraulic fluids, was so intense that only burned and twisted scraps of metal remained when ranchers reached the scene.” (NFPA. “Large Loss Fires of 1946.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Assoc., Vol. 40, No. 3, Jan 1947, p. 239 in pp. 179-248.)

 

Newspapers

 

Oct 2, Associated Press: “Wendover Utah (AP) – An army B-29 plane exploded in the air over Buffalo Valley, in remote central Nevada, and army authorities said Wednesday they believed there were no survivors among the probable ten crewmen. Wreckage was strewn over the desolate area 30 miles southeast of Battle Mountain, Nev. ….

 

“The girl who reported the crash was Marian Saval. From her ranch home she said she saw the

plane explode about 10:45 a. m. mountain time yesterday [Oct 1]….

 

“Constable Dave Clancy of Battle Mountain said he was told by army men there that 11 persons

were aboard and none survived. 

 

“In addition to Miss Saval, several cowboys also told Clancy they saw ‘a flash in the sky, and then heard an explosion,’ adding to reports that the plane blew up while still aloft over the flat, desert country….” (Hutchinson News-Herald, KS. “B-29 Explodes in Air and 11 Men are Dead.” 10-2-1946, p. 1.)

 

Oct 2, United Press: “Battle Mountain, Oct. 2. (UP) – Ten or possibly 11 army fliers lost their lives Tuesday when a B-29 superfortress crashed in Buffalo Valley 30 miles south of here in a driving rain storm, searchers reported tonight.

 

“Late last night, there was still no official word from an army searching party which battled muddy desert alkali flats to reach the wreckage. Deputy Sheriff Gene Danberg returned from the scene of the wreckage last night and reported that ‘apparently there were ten crewmen aboard the plane.’ He indicated that all ten men were dead but refused to divulge any further information, declaring that the ‘army doesn’t want any information given out about the wreck at this time.’

 

“Earlier, Sheriff Wallace Van Reed of Pershing county, who came here to investigate the wreckage because the crash occurred in the northern tip of that county, said he had been informed there were 11 men aboard the giant bomber – ten crewmen and a military passenger.

 

“The army search party was guided by an 18-year-old girl who saw the bomber explode Tuesday morning on the sagebrush-covered hill in Buffalo Valley.

 

“The heaviest rainstorm in years, depositing nearly two inches of rain, swept the area from late Monday night to noon yesterday and the roads in the area were described as impassable.

 

“First word of the crash was brought to Battle Mountain by Marian Saval, the ranch girl who heard a ‘giant noise like an explosion’ and saw the flash of the exploding bomber through the rainstorm.  With several ranch hands from the Joe Saval ranch in Buffalo Valley, the girl went to investigate the explosion and resulting flash. She told authorities in Battle Mountain that they found bits of the airplane scattered for several acres over the gently rolling sagebrush-covered hills. Miss Saval told authorities that the only trace of the missing fliers was a man’s arm found lying among the wreckage.

 

“Ray Knickren, a civilian flier at Battle Mountain airport flew over the scene of the crash early today and reported the only visible sign of wreckage was a bright yellow oxygen bottle and a darkened patch in the sagebrush where the plane’s giant tires apparently had burned.

 

“The big bomber was en route from Grand Island. Neb., to Fairfield-Suisun army air field at Fairfield, Calif., when the crash occurred about 10 a.m. yesterday, officials at Wendover, Utah, army air base reported.

 

“Officers there said that the airfield there was closed in when the plane passed over Wendover and that weather conditions were ‘extremely poor.’  Residents in the Battle Mountain area described the rainstorm in that region as the worst in years….

 

“The crash occurred seven miles north of the Joe Saval ranch and six miles from the abandoned Buffalo Valley airport in Pershing county….”  (Nevada State Journal, Reno. “B-29 Super-Fortress Crashes Near Battle Mountain in Storm, Killing 10 Army Fliers.” 10-3-1946, p. 16.)

 

Oct 4:  “Battle Mountain, Nev. (AP) – Eleven men, perished in the crash of an Army B-29 bomber in Buffalo valley south of here Tuesday [Oct 1], it was determined Thursday [Oct 3] by Robley E. Burns funeral home at Elko. That type of airplane usually carries only 10 persons. Bodies of the victims were taken to Elko Wednesday night after Army authorities from the Wendover, Utah, Army air base spent the day at the scene of the accident. Burns said identifications had been established and would be made public by the Army after next of kin have been notified.

 

“Sheriff W. C. Van Reed of Pershing county said the bomber exploded after it crashed onto the desert during a driving rain storm. Earlier reports had indicated the plane exploded in the air.

 

“The plane’s motors, buried in the mud, and an oxygen tank were the only pieces of large wreckage left after the explosion the sheriff said. He added that Army authorities advanced no theory as to the cause of the accident.” (Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Nevada Plane Crash Kills 11.” 10-4-1946, 9.)

 

Sources

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1946, p. 25. USAAF B-29 Superfortress, crash during storm 10-1-1946, 11 fatalities. Accessed 11-5-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/98628

 

Hutchinson News-Herald, KS. “B-29 Explodes in Air and 11 Men are Dead.” 10-2-1946, 1. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=138302197&sterm=buffalo+plane+crash+army+battle+mountain+b29

 

National Fire Protection Association. “Large Loss Fires of 1946.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 40, No. 3, Jan 1947, pp. 179-248.

 

Nevada State Journal, Reno. “B-29 Super-Fortress Crashes Near Battle Mountain in Storm, Killing 10 Army Fliers.” 10-3-1946, p. 16. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=12306857&sterm

 

Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Nevada Plane Crash Kills 11.” 10-4-1946, p. 9. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=91105483&sterm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Inaccurately, but understandable, dating the crash Oct 2 (date of first newspaper reports). The NFPA note reports that the crash was on Buffalo Mountain. Newspaper reports have the crash in Buffalo Valley. Buffalo Mt. is nearby.

1 2 3 4›»