57th FG P-40s Wiped Out By A B-24

[Old MacDonald]

Supposedly something like 3 to 8 - 57th Fighter Group P-40s being rebuilt from hulks on the Pachino, Sicily, airfield, were wiped out by a B-24 during its emergency landing there on 1 Aug 43. I know the 57th officially left Pachino the day before, 31 Jul 43, for their new base at Scordia, Sicily. Therefore it appears the P-40 rebuild operation at Pachino must have been accomplished by 57th (and/or 112 Sq RAF) mechanics left behind to finish the rebuilds. (Note 112 Sq RAF, also flying P-40s, was based at Pachino the same time as the 57th, and left for Scordia at the same time).

At this point I can only say this is legend, as I've been able to find no official (or even anecdotal) information in 57 FG sources. Carl Molesworth's 57th Fighter Group "First in the Blue" book does not mention it. I've only seen this sgtory in a postwar history of the 93rd Bomb Group.

Can you point me to a reliable (preferably official) source for this story? What actually happened? How many P-40s were damaged or destroyed? What happened after the incident?

TIA

Ol' Mac

 

[mjfur]

Here's a searchable data base for Air Force accidents.You can do various searches, P-40, ITA (Italy), 57 (Fighter group, etc.. Nothing really pops up from what you mentioned above.

Search USAF Accident Reports 1911-1955

AAIR, Aviation Archaeological Investigation & Research, is a source of U. S. military aircraft accident reports, pictures of aircraft crash sites, MACRs (Missing Air Crew Reports) and individual aircraft history cards and historical research. Historic aircraft crash site surveys, search and...

www.aviationarchaeology.com

 

[Old MacDonald]

Hi MJ

First, thanks for the link to the accident report database. This will be useful for many future projects.

Agree your database does not have info related to this incident. I have the B-24 serial number* but not any of the P-40s--which in any case, if the story is correct, would have had accident reports (if filed) dated on unknown various days in the second half of July 1943. In other words, before the B-24 ran them down.

As I understand it, the original accident reports were filed at the Air Force Safety Center, which at one point was located at Norton AFB, CA. In the early '90s the records were purged and all reports filed prior to 1956 were microfilmed and the originals (with excellent photos) were burned. The microfilm and 3x5 index cards file were sent to the Simpson Research Center (now Air Force Historical Research Agency) at Maxwell AFB. I couldn't find any evidence of this incident in the card file, so not surprised your database also shows no hits (but your database is WAY easier to use!).

It occurs to me this accident, if real, might not have been officially documented as such since there appears to have been no "command" structure at Pachino on the day it occurred, the 57th & 112 Sq RAF having departed the day before. The bomber crew would have been exclusively interested in getting their plane repaired and back home, and the P-40 mechanics, after exhausting a copious supply of bad words, had planes to re-repair.

So, still looking for confirmation this event actually occurred, and the details.

* The B-24 serial number is listed in your database twice, both for accidents late in 1944, nearly a year and a half after this incident.

 

[Snautzer01]

On baughers list when entering Pachino only 4 incidents wide apart are registered.

 

[Old MacDonald]

Thanks. I note Baugher's various lists, while extraordinarily helpful, do contain holes. He, like the rest of us, is slave to the references we can find.

Very good idea to check his database, though, so thanks.