ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 98461
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| Date: | Sunday 7 January 1945 |
| Time: | 00:29 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing B-29 Superfortress |
| Owner/operator: | United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) |
| Registration: | 42-93871 |
| MSN: | 7277 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 11 / Occupants: 11 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Dudhkundi,12 miles SE of Jhargram, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal -
 India
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Dudhkundi,12 miles SE of Jhargram, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal |
| USAAF Base A-1. Hsin-ching Airfeld, China |
Boeing B-29A-5-BN Superfortress 42-93871: Delivered to the USAAF 21 September 1944. Modified to F-13A for photo recce operations. Assigned to 678th Bomb Squadron, 444th Bomb Group. Departed CONUS (CONtinental US) and arrived in India 16 December 1944. Re-Assigned to Flight C, 1st Photo Reconnaissance Squadron (VH), CBI (China-Burma-India Theater of Operations).
With 444th BG, 678th BS when crashed on takeoff at Dudhkundi Airfield, 12 miles SE of Jhargram, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, India, January 7, 1945. The official USAAF accident report states in pertinent part:
"Aircraft number 42-93871 was cleared from this station to participate in a photographic mission en route to an advance base in China. The airplane completed what appeared to be a normal takeoff. Minutes after the aircraft became airborne it crashed in a rice paddy area free from trees and brush.
Trees on the edge of the clearing bear evidence that the aircraft struck the tops of them before crashing into the paddy area. The aircraft was immediately enveloped in flame and completely destroyed. All crew members perished in the crash."
The board found the cause of the accident to be undetermined; however, they did state that the most probable cause was that the flaps were raised before sufficient airspeed and altitude had been gained."
Aircraft was destroyed, and all eleven crew on board were killed:
The crew killed were:
1 Lt. John P. Swick, O-734277, MI, Pilot
2 Lt. Henry W. Haines, O-823572, PA, Co-Pilot
2 Lt. Benjamin Cohn, O2056351, PA, Navigator
2 Lt. William A. Williams, O-723546, TX, Photo Navigator
S/Sgt. Albert J. Becker, Jr, 18056889, TX, Flight Engineer
Cpl. Edmund F. Anzalone, 33318592, PA, Photographer/Camera Operator
Cpl. Stanley R. Jackunas, 16080916, IL, Radio Operator
Cpl. Howard W. Lashbrook, 36477048, IL, Left Gunner
Cpl. Eugene L. Lowe, 35299764, OH, Crew Chief/CFC Gunner
Cpl. Robert W. Macchia, 32721537, NY, Right Gunner
Cpl. Samuel B. Scott, 35298659, OH, Tail Gunner
2nd Lt. William A Williams was buried in India until after the war, when his Aunt Olivia requested his remains be returned home for burial. He was re-buried at Saint Johns Lutheran Cemetery New, San Antonio, Texas. S/Sgt. Albert J Becker, Jr was returned from India for reburial at Fort Sam Houston on April 12, 1949.
NOTE: Some sources give the crash location as Chakulia Airfield, Purbi Singhbhum district, State of Jharkhand, but this incorrect, as the official accident report (see link #7) confirms
Sources:
1. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_5.html
2. http://www.444thbg.org/678thsquadron.htm
3. http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbasn.asp?offset=26925
4. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56133103
5. http://www.cbi-history.com/part_vi_1st_photo_sq.html
6. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/77273448
7. Declassified official Accident report: http://www.cbi-history.com/documents/flight_c_swick_accident_report.pdf
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Jun-2017 02:12 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 30-Jun-2017 02:28 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 22-Mar-2020 19:06 | DG333 | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 14-Mar-2022 20:18 | Gumby778 | Updated [Operator, Narrative] |
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