Date:	Tuesday 17 April 1945
Time:	10:05
Type:	Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Owner/operator:	326th CCTS BU USAAF
Registration:	44-69720
MSN:	10553
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 13
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	15 miles west of Punta Gorda, Florida -   United States of America
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	McDill AFB, Tampa, Florida
Destination airport:	Punta Gorda AAF, Florida

Narrative:
Boeing B-29-60-BW Superfortress 44-69720: Delivered to the USAAF 3 January 1945. Assigned to Combat Crew Training Squadron, 326th Army Air Force Base Unit, MacDill AAF, Florida.

Written off (destroyed) when crashed 17 April 1945 after the crew bailed out 15 miles West of Punta Gorda, Florida due to a fire in the #1 engine. Of the thirteen crew, six were killed, and seven bailed out. According to the following excerpt from the official USAAF accident report (see link #3)

"At 10:05 EWT a Boeing B-29 crashed 15 miles from Punta Gorda AAF, Punta Gorda, Florida, killing six crew members. Seven of the crew were able to parachute to safety. The B-29 took off from McDill AAF, Tampa, Florida, on a high altitude bombing and gunnery training mission.

Investigators stated 'the take of and climb to altitude were uneventful...while flying in trail formation as number three of a three-aircraft flight, at 31,000 feet a high pitched whining noise were heard from the number one engine. Tachometer readings went to over 4,500 rpm, and oil pressure dropped to zero psi.

The pilot pushed the feathering button, and ordered the engineer to use the feathering procedure. During this period, the left gunner reported a fire in the number one engine. The engineer used his normal fire procedure, using both CO2 bottles, one after the other. The propeller remained out of control, and the fire was not extinguished.

The pilot was side slipping and diving the B-29 in an attempt to extinguish the flames. At 25,000 feet, the pilot told the co pilot to prepare for a bail out. The co pilot did so, and received an acknowledgement from the crew in the rear of the aircraft. Flight Officer McKanich reported that all the crew in the rear of the aircraft were preparing to bail out.

The navigator attempted to open the pressure door in the nose at 22,000 feet, unsuccessfully, due to the pressure differential. The pilot was asked to de-pressurise the aircraft, which he did so at 15,000 feet, immediately ordering the co pilot to tell the crew to bail out. The crews of the other B-29s heard the bail out signal on their VHF radios.

All the crew in the nose of the B-29 bailed out, except for the pilot, co pilot, and engineer, who elected to remain, and try to land the aircraft at Punta Gorda Army Air Field. At 5,000 feet the pilot order the remaining crew to bail out. The number one engine fell off the airframe at 3,500 feet, and the pilot bailed out at this altitude; he was the last person to leave the B-29"

Fatalities on board B-29 #44-69720 were:
2nd Lt Ferdinand J. St. Angelo - (navigator) - killed
Flying Officer John G. McKanich - Radar Operator - killed
Sgt James E Hall - Engineer - killed
Corporal Richard J. Hoffman - Left Gunner - killed
Corporal Lewis G. Linder - Right Gunner - killed
Corporal Dewey R. Myers - Tail Gunner - killed

Names of the seven surviving crew not yet established.

1. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_4.h]tml
2. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/Apr1945S.ht]m
3. Searching for Lost Warbirds in Florida Volume 2 By Robert Widner page 41
4. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi/page/gr/%E2%80%9Dhttps://www.findagrave.com/page=gr&GRid=42827771 .

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
11-Jul-2017 17:20	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
11-Jul-2017 17:24	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
11-Jul-2017 17:26	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
13-Feb-2020 17:44	Iwosh	Updated [Operator, Location, Operator]