ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 162078
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| Date: | Tuesday 23 November 1943 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  North American B-25C Mitchell |
| Owner/operator: | 75th BSqn /42nd BGp USAAF |
| Registration: | 42-32255 |
| MSN: | 94-12663 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Matchin Bay, Bougainville -
 Papua New Guinea
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Renard Field, Banika Island |
On 23 November 1943 16 B-25s of 42nd BG USAAF took off from Renard Field on Banika Island for a low altitude bombing and strafing attack against Chabai Island, in Matchin Bay, on Bougainville northwest coast. The formation comprised twelve aircraft from the 75th BS led by Captain Davidson, and an element of four B-25s from the 70th BS led by Lt Blackburn. Over the target, the bombers met intense anti-aircraft fire while dropping parafrag bombs and strafing. Three B-25 were hit, one fatally.
The latter was the B-25C-10 42-32255 of 75th BS. It was part of the third element, on the right wing of the element leader, F/O Jack B Routh. The latter saw it drop its bombs but then saw its left engine starting to smoke badly. He throttled back to stay with it, a few seconds later F/O Schaffner, the pilot of 42-32255, feathered his right engine and started to turn left. Routh could not slow down enough to stay with him so Schaffner passed behind him and headed toward Taiof Island in Matchin Bay. Routh got on his right wing and flew with him. He lost altitude steadily and about 300 yards off Taoif Island he made a water landing at about 0915 hrs.
Just before he touched the wayer his left engine exploded, throwing the ship into a skid. He practically crashed into the water. As the plane hit the whole nove section disintegrated in the front. Routh reported later that he didn’t think anyone could have survived the landing.
At this time Routh was about 25’ off the water and in a steep bank to the left to keep the crippled B-25 in sight. The crew watched the wreck for about 50 seconds and saw no sign of life. By this time it was submerged except for the tail up past the turet. The radio in Routh’s B-25 was faulty and as all other aircraft had by now disappeared from sight, Routh considered it useless to stay at the scene of the crash, as he didn’t think there were any survivors. While he was leaving the crash scene, one member of Routh’s crew, S/Sgt James H Walgren, kept looking back and thought he saw someone bobing up out of the water, but it might have just been a part of the plane. They were flying very low then and the wind hitting his face made it hard for him to see very well.
Routh returned to the north coast of Bougainville at top speed and managed to catch up with the 69th BS. He made repeated efforts to contact rescue craft but the radio would not work. He reported the happenings to COMAIRSOLS after landing at Munda at about 1030 hrs. A search mission was then ordered by the Fighter Command Watch Officer. Four F4U’s of VF-17 were airborne at 1205 hrs to search the Matchin Bay area. At 1545 hrs eight F4U’s of VLF-212 searched the same area after leaving station at Empress Bay. At 1600 hrs eight F4U’s of VLF-222 left station at Empress Augusta Bay and searched the Matchin Bay area at an altitude of 100 feet. The results of all searches were negative.
The entire crew was declared dead on November 24, 1944 and are memorialized on the tablets of the missing at Manila American Cemetery.
Crew (all missing):
F/O Richard Schaffner (pilot)
2nd Lt John A. Bailey (co-pilot)
2nd Lt William H. Levernier (bombardier)
S/Sgt Patrick G. Quinn (flight engineer)
S/Sgt Peter Caravella (radio operator)
S/Sgt William Garrity (air gunner)
But Walgren might have been right when he believed seeing someone in the water. One member of the crew, John A. Bailey, survived and was taken prisoner by the Japanese and transported to Rabaul. Held captive by the 81st Naval Guard Unit, he did not survive the war and was probably executed there, as many other POWs were.
Sources:
https://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-25/42-32255.html
MACR 1217 (available online at https://www.fold3.com/image/28682179/)
https://www.findagrave.com/page=gr&GRid=58758129
https://www.pacificwrecks.com/history/pow.html
https://mapcarta.com/16517660
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Nov-2013 11:24 | Uli Elch | Added |
| 23-Nov-2015 19:35 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Total occupants, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 14-Dec-2018 09:46 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Operator] |
| 22-Mar-2020 19:35 | DG333 | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 28-Nov-2021 01:38 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
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