ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 97427
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| Date: | Friday 12 March 1943 |
| Time: | 15:35 |
| Type: |  Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress |
| Owner/operator: | United States Army Air Force (USAAF) |
| Registration: | 42-29532 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 9 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 9 Mi N Sheridan, AR -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Smokey Hill Air Field, Salina Kansas |
| West Palm Beach Florida |
The 9 man crew known as crew #18 from Smoky Hill Army Air Field were given orders on March 12, 1943 and departed their station at 1300 hours (1:00 p.m.) for Morrison Field in West Palm Beach Florida.Statements made to family members of the airmen weeks prior to the crash, indicated that the crew already knew that their assigned Flying Fortress serial number 42-29532 might very well cause the death of them all. They were all willing to die fighting for their Country but none of them wanted to die in an non-combat accident because the plane they had been issued was a “lemon”. As they departed for Florida they never imagined that the mechanical/structural problems of their Flying Fortress would bring them down just 2-hours and 35 minutes later (3:35 p.m.).
The aircraft apparently had serious problems from the time it rolled off the Boeing assembly line in Seattle, Washington. Confidential Exhibit “I” indicated that engines #1 and 3 had been replaced with only 17 hours and 45 minutes of flight time and engines #2 and 4 were scheduled to be replaced just 16 hours and 15 minutes of flight time following its scheduled landing in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Flying Fortress only had 25 hours and 35 minutes of flight time prior to it’s departure on March 12, 1943 and approximately 28 hours and 20 minutes total flying time at the time of the crash. On February 29, 1943 Special Orders were issued from Washington D.C. for the nine-member crew to “deliver the shipment” (the B-17F) to West Palm Beach, Florida. In addition to the normal nine-man crew, the special orders also directed the following officers to accompany the “shipment” on temporary duty and upon delivery immediately return to Smoky Hill Army Air Field. The four officers that were to be aboard were:
• Major Fred T. Crimmins, Provisional Group Commander
• Captain Richard F. Ezzard, Provisional Flight Commander
• Captain Columbus E. Griffin, Provisional Flight Commander
• Warrant Officer J.G. Morris I. Gold, Provisional Group Adjutant
It is hoped that genealogy research will lead us to surviving family members that would not have been born had they been aboard as the “Special Orders” directed. It is a “mystery” why these four officers were ordered and another “mystery” as to why they were not on board the plane when it crashed as directed by the Special Orders.
We hope that research can be conducted that will find the records of these four officers. Major Crimmins was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroic actions on December 8, 1941 at Clark Field, Pampanga, Philippine Islands where he also received a Purple Heart for his wounds. Captain Ezzard was a Pilot of a B-17E landing at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941 during the Japanese attach, he aborted the flight and landed at Hamilton Field.
According to the A.C. Order #W535-ac-20292 (1) on March 11, 1943 the aircraft was Condemned. In spite of the aircraft being condemned on March 11, the crew followed their new order #13 to depart for Morrison Field on March 12, 1943 at 1300 hours to “ship #9532″ to West Palm Beach Florida. It is not known if the Pilot Davis and his fellow crew members were notified that their aircraft was condemned by the U.S. Army, but Crew #18 like most crews serving during the war would follow orders even in the face of imminent danger.
Their orders required commander Davis to fly at 10,000 feet on a direct path from Salina, Kansas to their West Palm Beach, Florida destination but it is clear that something went terribly wrong with the aircraft during their flight over Arkansas that caused severe vibrations and required the crew to alter their course.
The aircraft should have been no closer to Sheridan that 100-miles but due to the severe vibrations the crew was forced to circle back toward the Northwest in an attempt to either return to Salina Kansas or land at Adams Field in Little Rock. Newspaper reports stated that the military said that Co-Pilot Robert Turchetto had been in contact with Ada
Sources:
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/db.asp
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Apr-2012 01:17 | nelsonmears | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Embed code, Narrative] |
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