P-47 Crash

[Gregory Guiteras]

On Sept. 19, 1944, Abilene, TX, I was waiting for the carpool to pick my sister and me up for school. I was enjoying watching, as always, the dogfight exercises of a group of P-47s overhead. Just as we settled down at our desks, I heard a deafening, bloodcurdling yell from outside. I looked out the window and saw a plane; it was not moving right or left, up or down; just holding in place - only getting bigger and bigger. I remember standing up thinking, It's gonna crash! In that instant, the plane suddenly nosed down and threw up a huge, red and black fire ball, a block from our school. Glass shattered, ink wells flew out of their desk holes, kids pointed to a parachute, others to a crack in the wall. Shards of red-hot steel trailing smoke rained down on the school yard. I started crying and couldn't stop shaking. The afternoon paper said the P-47 crashed in a vacant lot, a piece of metal landed in a sand box with a little kid, and another piece flew into the bedroom window of an army general's home next door. No one was hurt, not even the pilot, Lt. Tom Toedt.

 

[daveT]

that was this one
440919 P-47D s/n 42-28553 261BU Abilene AAB, Abilene, TX 2 BOSSP 5 pilot was Toedt, Thomas R USA TX City of Abilene, TX
looks like the pilot Bailed Out due to Stall/ SPin
accident report can be ordered from here
Miltary Aircraft Accident Report Ordering Information
what is in that "vacant lot" where it crashed now? Is it still vacant?

 

[Gregory Guiteras]

that was this one
440919 P-47D s/n 42-28553 261BU Abilene AAB, Abilene, TX 2 BOSSP 5 pilot was Toedt, Thomas R USA TX City of Abilene, TX
looks like the pilot Bailed Out due to Stall/ SPin
accident report can be ordered from here
Miltary Aircraft Accident Report Ordering Information
what is in that "vacant lot" where it crashed now? Is it still vacant?

The P-47 approached from the South and crashed in a vacant lot on the corner of Sayles Blvd and 11 St. betw. Sayles and Highland Ave. According to Google Maps a large house is now on the lot. I recall the two-story Spanish-tyle house just north - that's where a shard crashed through the window. I attended St. Joseph's Academy at Sayles and 10th. I learned years ago that it had been closed and demolished. Alta Vista Elem Sch was on 11th and a block east of Sayles. It appears to be a testing center today.

 

[Gregory Guiteras]

The P-47 approached from the South and crashed in a vacant lot on the corner of Sayles Blvd and 11 St. betw. Sayles and Highland Ave. According to Google Maps a large house is now on the lot. I recall the two-story Spanish-tile house just north - that's where a shard crashed through the window. I attended St. Joseph's Academy at Sayles and 10th. I learned years ago that it had been closed and demolished. Alta Vista Elem Sch was on 11th and a block east of Sayles. It appears to be a testing center today.

About 15 yrs ago I was thinking about that crash and googled the Abilene Reporter News. In it was a mention with the address. I then sent a message on "P-47 Guests" hosted by the air museum in Milleville, NJ. The following year I received an email from a Tim Toedt, saying that the pilot was his dad. Tim was from Biloxi and we carried on a correspondence for about a year. He said his dad died from a cancer believed to be associated with steep dives, In Aug. 2005 the correspondence abruptly stopped. Months later I received an email from Tim's wife saying their home was damaged by Katrina and that Tim died shortly after. She said she and her grown children vaguely recall Tim's dad being a pilot, but never knew about the crash.

 

[vikingBerserker]

That's a cool story, and welcome aboard!

 

[daveT]

"According to Google Maps a large house is now on the lot."
I wonder if the current home owner knows about the crash?

 

[Gregory Guiteras]

"According to Google Maps a large house is now on the lot."
I wonder if the current home owner knows about the crash?

Thanks for your interest, Dave. I don't know if the current owner knows that a WWII fighter plane crashed on their property 74 yrs ago, but I bet they'd be astounded to find out.

 

[Gregory Guiteras]

that was this one
440919 P-47D s/n 42-28553 261BU Abilene AAB, Abilene, TX 2 BOSSP 5 pilot was Toedt, Thomas R USA TX City of Abilene, TX
looks like the pilot Bailed Out due to Stall/ SPin
accident report can be ordered from here
Miltary Aircraft Accident Report Ordering Information
what is in that "vacant lot" where it crashed now? Is it still vacant?

Thanks for the information.

 

[YF12A]

June 3, 1972 at Transpo 72. I was standing on top of the boarding ladder of either a DC-10 or the L-1011 talking to the Factory rep when we heard the sport racers. The rep and I were watching them from a heck of a great viewpoint when we saw the collision between 2 of them. We both knew something very bad had happened and the rep. was very concerned about me as I was only 15 at the time. I told him who my Dad was and that I had been around commercial Aviation all my life and these things happened. To his credit, he insisted he take me to my parents who were close by and told them what had happened. Yes, it shook me up a little, but as I said, I knew this was part of life.

My Mother, while working at American Airlines during WW2 at LaGuardia airport, watched a P-47 go straight in from at least 10,000 feet as she recalled, so as i said, I knew the score at an early age.

 

[Gregory Guiteras]

June 3, 1972 at Transpo 72. I was standing on top of the boarding ladder of either a DC-10 or the L-1011 talking to the Factory rep when we heard the sport racers. The rep and I were watching them from a heck of a great viewpoint when we saw the collision between 2 of them. We both knew something very bad had happened and the rep. was very concerned about me as I was only 15 at the time. I told him who my Dad was and that I had been around commercial Aviation all my life and these things happened. To his credit, he insisted he take me to my parents who were close by and told them what had happened. Yes, it shook me up a little, but as I said, I knew this was part of life.

My Mother, while working at American Airlines during WW2 at LaGuardia airport, watched a P-47 go straight in from at least 10,000 feet as she recalled, so as i said, I knew the score at an early age.

It's amazing how many aviation accidents there were stateside.

 

[Trig39]

The folks living in that house do know about the crash. Several of the rafters in the detached garage were left in place after the subsequent fire and still carry charring from it. Really amazing!

I bought a house across the street and we just met the owners of the house where the crash occurred yesterday. They told us about the crash including the bit about the rafters.

 

[Gregory Guiteras]

The folks living in that house do know about the crash. Several of the rafters in the detached garage were left in place after the subsequent fire and still carry charring from it. Really amazing!

I bought a house across the street and we just met the owners of the house where the crash occurred yesterday. They told us about the crash including the bit about the rafters.

Small world. It really is amazing. I used to feel I was the only one living who remembered the crash.