ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 101569
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| Date: | Tuesday 12 June 1945 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Consolidated B-24M Liberator |
| Owner/operator: | United States Army Air Force (USAAF) |
| Registration: | 44-50695 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 17 / Occupants: 20 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Ballantrae/ 4mi SE -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
With the war in Europe having ended in the previous month, in June 1945 the personnel at Seething were making preparations to return home and hand the base back to the RAF. All four squadrons drew lots for those who were to go home by air. Twenty airmen were allocated to each B-24: ten air crew and ten ground crew in each bomber. It was cramped but practicable.
On 10 June the first departures started. The route home was via RAF Valley in Anglesey, then on through either the Azores or Iceland depending upon the route weather. During the following twelve days, 64 bombers of the 448th BG, complete with 640 airmen aboard, took off and days later arrived back safely in the U.S. The sixty-fifth and very last B-24 departed a little after daybreak on the morning of 12 June, pounding down the 2,000 yards of runway 24 for the last time as Capt. Jim Blank eased the 27-ton bomber into the air. His orders were to avoid the RAF Valley route because of poor weather brewing up in the west. He was directed instead to fly via Prestwick, Ayr. So, he set course from Seething for Splasher Beacon at Louth in Lines, and on to Marske Beacon and then Middlesborough, achieving excellent reading on each radio compass.
However, as he approached Cheviot Hills on the Scottish border, weather and cloud conditions began to deteriorate rapidly. Inside the aircraft, the occupants could hear the heavy rain battering the fuselage as the doomed B-24 droned on through the eerie mist towards its destination. The pilots could no longer get a satisfactory reading on the radio compass. They sensed that the wind had probably backed and that their estimated drift had changed. The navigator, Lt. Bernard F. Pargh, advised that they should continue on course and await improved visibility. Prestwick reported low clouds and rain, with more to come.
The bomber collided with a hillside four miles southeast of Ballantrae while making a controlled descent on instruments. Disintegrating as it went, the Liberator slid along on its belly for some 125 yards, scattering debris along the way and throwing some of its packed occupants out onto the moor as it came to an abrupt halt. Only the tail and center bomb bay sections were still recognizable as aircraft components; the rest of the aircraft was totally wrecked.
Of those on board, only four had survived the initial impact, and all were badly injured. After lying unconscious for a considerable period of time, one of the four passengers (all of the aircrew were dead), S/Sgt. John R. May awoke to find a scene of utter devastation. All he could remember was that just prior to impact, someone had yelled, Hey! There’s the ground! Shortly, in great pain he lapsed into unconsciousness and only recovered that evening. He was able to establish that there were three other survivors in addition to himself. Everyone else had been killed.
During the night, one of the survivors, Pfc. George Gaffney, died. As soon as he could muster the strength, Sgt. May, despite the acute pain he was experiencing from a broken back, attempted to hobble down the hill, tripping and lapsing into a state of unconsciousness after he fell and struck some rocks, which created a gaping hole close to his temple. Eventually he was found by a gamekeeper for the Lagafater Estate. The RAF and police were informed, and ambulance teams were soon on their way.
Dick Pokorny and Ken Nelson together with Sgt. May were rescued and taken to Prestwick Hospital. While there, T/Sgt. Pokorny had a visit from an English Land Army girl, returning his wallet which had been found at the crash site, still with his money inside. Our British allies are very honorable, he remarked.
Irony often plays a part in tragedies such as this. The pilot, Capt. James Blank, prior to takeoff had placed his wife’s and baby daughter’s photograph above the instrument panel. Then, after his usual request over the intercom of no smoking in flight, he added, this is one mission that we want to be perfect.
Perhaps the aircraft crashed at the height of only 1400 feet on Pildinny Hill because the waters of Loch Ryan were mistaken for Ayr Bay. The accident report states an occasional sight of water prior to the crash. Perhaps a stronger-than-anticipated tail wind caused an underestimated ETA at Prestwick and they thought they were on the final approach for the airfield.
Whatever the cause, the consequences were tragic, as another seventeen of America’s finest lost their lives. Crew Members: Capt. Jim Blank (pilot), Lt. John K. Huber (co-pilot), Lt. Bernard F. Pargh (navigator), Lt. Frank Y. Pollio (bombardier), T/Sgt. Morris L. Kanerak (radio), S/Sgt. Louis Menred (gunner), S/Sgt. Cris C. King (gunner), S/Sgt. John Wildman (gunner), S/Sgt. William T. Harriman (gunner).
Passengers: Ten enlisted men and two officers, Capt. Harold L. Earmant (713th Squadron pilot), Lt. Col. Heber T. Thompson (448th BG Ops Officer, a very experienced top veteran who had come over with the original unit in 1943 as a young 2nd Lieutenant pilot).
Sources:
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/db.asp
B24.net
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Jan-2021 15:33 | Anon. | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source, Narrative] |
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