ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 149461
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Sunday 3 December 1944 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  North American P-51C Mustang |
| Owner/operator: | United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) |
| Registration: | 44-10794 |
| MSN: | 111-28927 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Wuhu -
 China
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Kanchow |
On 3 December 1944, 5 B-24s placed delayed action bombs near Pengpu bridge, in China; 4 B-25s and 10 P-51s bombed a storage area at Sintsiang; 67 fighter-bombers on armed reconnaissance blasted trucks, railroad targets, warehouses, shipping and other targets of opportunity at Wanling, Burma, and in China, Loyang, Yuncheng, Hei-Shih Kuan, Wuhu, and particularly in areas around Shihhweiyao and from Hengyang to Siangtan and Lingling.
On this day, 1st Lt Manchester Boyington Watson, Jr. of 74th FS, 23rd FG took off from Kanchow, China, to take part in a fighter sweep to Wuhu with his P-51C-11 44-10794. The formation landed at Nancheng to refuel and then took a direct course to Wuhu. There a large freighter was seen sitting about one hundred yards off the south shore of the Yangtze River. Watson and Major Philip Chapman both started a low skip bombing run west to east towards this ship.
Chapman later reported that Watson was flying on his right wing and that he noticed him closing in, realizing they were both going after the same boat. He was below his level and not over 30 feet away. Chapman thought at the time that Watson didn’t see him as he was too concentrated on his bombing run. He called him and told him to aim for the right end of the boat. Chapman launched his bombs, which hit just short of the boat, pulled up sharply to avoid hitting the boat and to give him room. As he started evasive action going over the town, he heard and felt a large explosion. He looked back and saw a very large cloud of dark reddish orange flame and black smoke. The whole building area seemed to collapse under a terrific impact. He circled the town for several minutes and failed to contact or see Lt Watson again.
Chapman was convinced that the quick explosion on the building area indicated that Watson crashed there. They were bombed up with 4-5 second delayed action fuses on 250lb bombs. If bombs alone had hit the building there would have been a longer delay before they exploded and the building would have continued to burn if it were a fuel dump. As it was the smoke from the building changed to white very shortly after the initial explosion. Furthermore Chapman did not believe two 250lb bombs could have caused such an explosion.
His conclusions were accepted and 1st Lt Manchester Boyington Watson, Jr. was declared KIA on 19 December 1944.
Immediately after graduation from Clemson university Watson had entered the Army and transferred to the Air Corps. He received his wings at Moore Field, Texas in August 1943. He went overseas on 15 April 1944 and served in India and China. He was survived by his wife and daughter, Susan.
Sources:
MACR 10363 (available online at https://www.fold3.com/image/29248306)
https://cualumni.clemson.edu/page.aspx?pid=1371
http://paul.rutgers.edu/~mcgrew/wwii/usaf/html/Dec.44.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuhu
http://www.maplandia.com/china/anhui/wuwei/wuhu/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Oct-2012 10:27 | Uli Elch | Added |
| 06-Oct-2012 10:31 | Uli Elch | Updated [Date, Registration, Cn] |
| 04-Dec-2015 09:47 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Total fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation