vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
Welcome aboard, and my condolences on the loss of your father. A big to him.
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There were many tragic accidents with great loss of life and aircraft during World War Two. One accident in particular stands out from the rest due to the greatest number of aircraft destroyed and damaged due to one accident. Eniwetok Island was the site of the Navy's worst ever aircraft accident. Read enclosed pdf file to learn the full story of this tragic event. This accident has been researched using the official Navy accident report. I welcome your comments.
V/R
DaveT
Do you have any photos and /or documents related to VB-116My dad, LTJG Bucklew, flew in VB-116 from it's formation in late 1943, to Dec 25, 1944. The squadron went to Kaneohe on 5 June 1944 for forward training, and then on to Eniwetok. During the training in Hawaii, he starting flying one B-24, BN38766, rather than whatever aircraft was assigned to him for the day. He flew this plane until 5 August 1944, when he and his crew apparently had several days off for rest. The plane must have been reassigned to another pilot and crew for the evening of 9 August 1944 and this was the plane that did not make it off the runway. He never talked about this, or any other war event, especially since the accident involved a crew he must have known and it was with his plane. I reconstructed a little of the history through internet, navy records, and his logbook to try to see what happened to the squadron during deployment and found the above information.
daveT,
Looks like I'm a little late to this PB4Y-1-38766 study
Great contribution to this Eniwetok disaster story. A few considerations related to crew member names. The following and attached are results from my search for these crew members, in the order you have listed them:
Lt Romane Camerson Anderson, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63055598
Ens Thomas M Pettit https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/146618023/thomas-m-pettit
Ens Orville Bias Tully https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/24076676/orville-bias-tully
AMM 1c L. Johnson, no findagrave memorial, or other data found
S 1c Arthur. A. Heper, Jr. [5 common] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19420442/arthur-a-heper
ARM 1c John Wilbur Chalmers, Jr. [5 common] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19420285/john-w-chalmers cenotaph (w/photo) https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/105894578/john-wilbur-chalmers
ARM 3c Al Burkhartzmeyer "Still flying!"
AOM 2c John D Rothwell [5 common] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19420336/john-d-rothwell
S 1c Arthur Alexander Van Winkle, Jr [5 common] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19420392/arthur-alexander-van_winkle
S 1c Earl Victor Petri The War Department Files confirmed ancestry.com; headstone app. attached (Born 7 Sep 1921, KIA 9 Aug 1944), and newspaper article. No findagrave memorial found.
AOM 3c Donald Arthur Ehinger https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19420358/donald-arthur-ehinger
Hope this helps with full crew accountability.
25Kingman49 you are not too late. Thank you for the crew information.
I'm still looking for photos and more information about the accident.
WHat is your fathers Name so that I can credit him with the quote. Also I would be interested in the photos you have if they show crowded conditions on the islandI am currently editing my father's autobiography. He was on Eniwetok at the time of the accident. He mentions it but not with much detail. This is what he said:
"Aircraft and bombs were exploding for several hours. One piece of bomb was lodged in a coconut tree in front of our tent. When the accident occurred some of us started down towards the scene but soon retreated as flying missiles were everywhere."
He said that it was probably due to engine failure. Apparently he didn't hear the true cause. He was in a different squadron "VJ-17A". He flew B-26s (Navy JM-1) primarily towing targets for battleship gunnery training. On January 16, 1945 he lost his right wheel on a flight due to a battery explosion in the wheel well. He landed the JM-1 successfully but the PB4Y accident later made him aware of what could have happened. They did have time to burn off fuel and clear aircraft off one side of the landing strip.
I have some photos of his squadron on Eniwetok but they might not be of interest regarding the accident.
He also mentioned that he played basketball in high school against John Rothwell, one of those killed in the crash. He grew up in Moore, Idaho, a tiny town in SE Idaho, where John was born.
My father's name was Ensign C. Clyde Nixon, USNR.WHat is your fathers Name so that I can credit him with the quote. Also I would be interested in the photos you have if they show crowded conditions on the island
My father's name was Ensign C. Clyde Nixon, USNR.
This photo shows wrecked planes on the beach after the accident.
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