Mail List King v1.23 serial key or number

This is a list of notable accidents and incidents involving military aircraft grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred. Not all of the aircraft were in operation at the time. For more exhaustive lists, see the Aircraft Crash Record Office or the Air Safety Network or the Dutch Scramble Website Brush and Dustpan Database. Combat losses are not included except for a very few cases denoted by singular circumstances.

Aircraft terminology[edit]

Information on aircraft gives the type, and if available, the serial number of the operator in italics, the constructors number, also known as the manufacturer's serial number (c/n), exterior codes in apostrophes, nicknames (if any) in quotation marks, flight callsign in italics, and operating units.

1943[edit]

January (?)

"Aviation Cadet Henry A. McGinnis, East Falls Church, Va., crashed within a block of his own home recently while on a routine training flight from the Naval Air Base at Anacostia. He was taken to the Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, where his condition was reported not serious."^[1][2]

1 January

The sole Lockheed XP-49, 40-3055,^[3] a development of the P-38 Lightning, first flown 11 November 1942, suffers a crash landing at Burbank, California when the port landing gear fails to lock down due to a combined hydraulic and electrical problem. Pilot was Joe C. Towle. Repaired, it returns to flight on 16 February 1943, and is sent to Wright Field, Ohio, for further testing. Despite improved performance over the P-38, difficulties with the new engines, as well as the success of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and the P-51 Mustang, leads to no additional orders or production.^[4]

3 January

Boeing B-17F-27-BO Flying Fortress, 41-24620, c/n 3305,^[5] "snap! crackle! pop!", 'PU-O',^[6] of the 360th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, on daylight raid over Saint-Nazaire, France, loses wing due to flak, goes into spiral. Ball turret gunner Alan Eugene Magee (13 January 1919 – 20 December 2003), though suffering 27 shrapnel wounds, bails out (or is thrown from wreckage) without his chute at ~20,000 feet (6,100 m), loses consciousness due to altitude, freefall plunges through glass roof of the Gare de Saint-Nazaire and is found alive but with serious injuries on floor of depot:saved by German medical care, spends rest of war in prison camp.^[7][8] On 3 January 1993, the people of St. Nazaire honored Magee and the crew of his bomber by erecting a 6-foot-tall (1.8 m) memorial to them.

6 January

At 1735 CWT, three miles W of White City, Kansas, a Consolidated B-24D-13-CO Liberator, 41-23961, c/n 756,^[9] of the 469th Bomb Squadron, 333d Bomb Group, out of Topeka Army Air Base, Kansas, piloted by Robert Clyne,^[3] suffers a catastrophic structural failure due to ice. All are killed instantly except for Lt Maleckas, who makes it out with a parachute.

6 January

Consolidated B-24D-20-CO Liberator, 41-24202, c/n 997, of the 504th Bomb Squadron, 346th Bomb Group, out of Salina Army Airfield, Kansas, suffers fire in flight, crashes 15 miles SW of Madill, Oklahoma, destroyed by fire. Pilot was R. G. Bishop.^[9][3]

13 January

Junkers Ju 290 V1, (Junkers Ju 90 V11), modified from Ju 90B-1, Werknummer 90 0007, D-AFHG, "Oldenberg", crashed on takeoff evacuating load of wounded troops from the German 6th Army at Stalingrad. The need for large capacity transports was so dire at this point that the Luftwaffe was taking Ju 290As straight from the assembly line into operation.^[10]

15 January

Prototype Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation CA-4 Wackett Bomber, A23-1001, crashes on a test flight to assess powerplant performance and evaluate aerodynamic effects of a new fixed leading edge slat. During return to CAC airfield at Fisherman's Bend, Australia, pilot Sqn. Leader Jim Harper detects fuel leak in port Pratt & Whitney R-1830 engine; as problem worsens he attempts shut-down and feathering of propeller but actuation of feathering switch causes explosion and uncontrollable fire. Crew of three attempts evacuation at 1000 feet (300 m), but only pilot Harper succeeds in parachuting, CAC test pilot Jim Carter and CAC power plant group engineer Lionel Dudgeon KWF. Airframe impacts ~three miles SW of Kilmore, Victoria. Wreckage recovered by No. 26 Repair and Salvage Unit on 18 January, delivered to No. 1 Aircraft Depot, RAAF Laverton, on the 19th. Final action taken on 26 January when the Air Member for Supply and Equipment approves "conversion to components" for what remains of the CA-4.^[11]

21 January

Pan Am Flight 1104, a Martin M-130, the Philippine Clipper, being operated by Pan American Airways for the U. S. Navy, en route from Honolulu to San Francisco, crashes in northern California, in bad weather and poor visibility, killing 19, including 10 Navy passengers. ComSubPacAdmiralRobert H. English is killed.^[12]

29 January

A Douglas B-23 Dragon, 39-052, c/n 2738,^[13] of the 390th Bomb Squadron, 42d Bomb Group,^[3] assigned at McChord Field, Washington, piloted by Lt. Robert Orr, attempts ferry flight from Tonopah, Nevada, back to McChord Field, with eight aboard, but runs into a snowstorm and has to divert to Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho. Unable to locate another landing field and running low on fuel, pilot spots a clearing which is actually frozen Loon Lake in the Payette National Forest, Stevens County, Washington, and attempts landing, with one engine afire, but overshoots and shears wings as it crashes into a grove of trees on the shore. Only two of eight suffer injuries; wreckage sighted 13 February by veteran civilian pilot Penn Stohr, flying his own private plane from Cascade to Warren, who reports to Gowen Field seeing three men, apparently in uniform, standing around the downed fuselage. His attention was drawn by a string of trees along the south shore with their tops sheared off.^[14] Five airmen who remained with the aircraft are rescued by Stohr who twice landed his ski-equipped plane on the lake.^[15] Three others who left the crash site to seek help reach the Lake Fork ranger station unaided on 16 February, and telephone Gowen Field. The station is 12 miles E of McCall, and 15 miles SW of Loon Lake.^[16] Wreckage is largely still where it came to rest.^[17][18]

5 February

Douglas A-20 Havoc, 39–735, modified as prototype Douglas XP-70 night fighter, assigned to the 349th Night Fighter Squadron, 50th Fighter Group (Special), crashes on takeoff from Kissimmee Army Airfield, Florida,^[19] coming down 1/2 mile NW of the field,^[13] killing pilot James H. Toal. The Army Air Force decides at the end of March that the airframe is beyond repair and scraps it.^[20]

5 February

A Douglas C-49K, 43-2004, msn 6329, piloted by Anthony R. Mensing,^[21] (a DC-3-455 ordered by TWA as NC43982, but taken over by the USAAF before delivery)^[22] en route from Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, to Seattle, Washington, crashes 76 miles SW of Fort Nelson at the 8,500 foot level of Mount Mary Henry, killing all eleven on board. The wreckage is discovered by a party of hunters in 1948. The remains were removed in September 1948 by pack horse and seaplane "from the almost inaccessible peak where the plane crashed," to Tuchodi Lake, 20 miles away. There they were loaded aboard a Canadian air force plane to bring them to Fort Nelson. "Removal of the skeletons and the investigation of the wreckage are under the direction of Maj. Max E. Van Bethuysen of the United States air force, aided by Squadron Leader Maxwell Strange of the Canadian air force and Constable William Bolton of British Columbia. Major Van Bethuysen said no trace of gold bullion or currency has been found amid the wreckage. Debris is scattered over a square mile of the mountainside above the timberline, however, and some of it is buried under 9 feet of rock which has fallen from the cliffs rising approximately 1,000 feet above the site. Early rumors that the ill-fated C-49, which crashed Feb. 5, 1943, ... carried nearly half a million dollars in gold and currency, previously were denied by the air force in Washington. However, the searchers found moldy war department documents in United States mail sacks which also contained envelopes addressed to the United States treasury and hundreds of letters from servicemen in Alaska and the Aleutians to their relatives and friends at home. A rubber oxygen mask that had survived the elements still was on the pilot's skull. The investigators said that some scraps of metal from the plane were fused, indicating part of the wreckage had burned. The wide scattering of the debris was taken to indicate that the plane had either had struck the peak with terrific impact, or that it exploded in midair. The answer may never be known."^[23]

8 February

The second Bell XP-39E Airacobra (of three), 41-19502, is damaged during a forced landing when a Wright Field test pilot runs out of fuel short of Niagara Falls Airport, New York, where the Bell Aircraft plant is located.^[24]

9 February

"San Francisco, February 9, (AP) - A two-motored navy bomber from the Alameda naval air station crashed into San Francisco bay and exploded this afternoon, apparently killing all five members of the crew. The 12th naval district said the ship, on a test flight, had radioed that one engine was failing and that she was returning to base. Just as the plane was ready to come in for a landing, it was seen to dive abruptly into the bay a few hundred feet offshore from the naval station. An explosion shattered the ship as it struck the water, and a few minutes later the crew of a crash barge from the air station was able to find only scattered wreckage on the water."^[25]

11 February

Boeing B-17F-50-BO Flying Fortress, 42-5367,^[26] of the 317th Bomb Squadron, 88th Bomb Group,^[19] with ten aboard goes missing on flight from Walla Walla Army Air Base, Washington. Civil Air Patrol planes spot the wreckage on 14 February in the Blue Mountains, 17 miles E of Walla Walla, where the bomber apparently flew head-on into a ridge at about the 5,000 foot level. Ground parties reach the site on 16 February and confirm the crew dead. Victims: Lt. John T. Ray, Klamath Falls, Oregon, pilot; Lt. Richard H. Reed, temporarily residing at Walla Walla; Lt. David T. Dunning, Madisonville, Kentucky; Lt. Hans N. Lehne, Glen Ellyn, Illinois; Sgt. Alexander Dee, Buffalo, New York; Sgt. Lloyd I. Ball, Huntington Park, California; Sgt. Milton D. Johnson, Midland, Texas; Sgt. C. W. Seifer Jr., San Jose, California; Sgt. Joseph F. Perkins, Fort Worth, Texas; Sgt. Wilmer C. Fankhavel, Barnesville, Minnesota.^[27]

12 February

Eight of nine crew are killed aboard Consolidated B-24D-35-CO Liberator, 42-40144, c/n 1221,^[28] of the 528th Bomb Squadron, 380th Bomb Group, Biggs Field, Texas, piloted by Charles C. Wylie, when it suffers engine failure that results in a stall/spin condition, coming down eight miles NW of Roswell, New Mexico, according to a crash report,^[19] and five miles N of Roswell according to the Associated Press. One crewman successfully parachuted to safety.^[29]

Mid-February

Blohm & Voss BV 222 V1, X4+AH, of air transport squadron Lufttransportstaffel 222 (LTS 222), sinks following a collision with a submerged wreck while landing at Piraeus harbour, Greece. Between 1942 and 1943, the aircraft flew in the Mediterranean theatre.

17 February

Consolidated B-24D-53-CO Liberator, 42-40355, c/n 1432, crashes at Tucson Municipal Airport #2, Tucson, Arizona, this date.^[30] Six Consolidated Aircraft employees riding as passengers are killed and several others injured, of the 34 on board. The damaged airframe is subsequently modified into the first C-87 Liberator Express.

18 February

Second prototype Boeing XB-29 Superfortress, 41-003,^[31] crashes into factory at Seattle, Washington after R-3350 engine catches fire, killing all 10 crew including chief test pilot Edmund T. "Eddie" Allen^[32] along with 20 on the ground.^[33]

22 February

Boeing 314, Pan American "Yankee Clipper", NC18603, c/n 1990, (U.S. Navy BuNo 48224), crashes into the Tagus River near Lisbon, while on approach to Portugal by way of the Azores. Caught in a storm, the flying boat hooked a wingtip in a turn while attempting an emergency landing. 25 of 39 on board die. Among those killed are actress Tamara Drasin and international journalist Ben Robertson, en route to his new job, chief of the New York Herald-Tribune's London bureau. Actress Jane Froman is seriously injured. Her story of survival will be made into the 1952 film "With a Song in My Heart" starring Susan Hayward.

10 March

North American B-25C Mitchell, 41-12740,^[34] of the 473d Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 334th Bombardment Group (Medium),^[35] (activated as a combat crew training group on 16 July 1942) en route from Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina, to Key Field, Meridian, Mississippi, crashed into the Blue Ridge Mountains ~21 miles N of Walhalla in Pickens County, South Carolina, at about midnight,^[36] killing all five crew "apparently instantaneously." The aircraft was assigned at Greenville AAB. Despite a large-scale search by army aircraft along the route from Greenville to Meridian, the wreckage was finally found 21 March 1943 by a 15-year-old mountain boy, Seab Crane, who was riding a horse along a remote path known as the Moody trail. The bomber had clipped off treetops at the peak of a mountain, just off Turnpike road about 2 1/2 miles from the Walhalla State Fish Hatchery, and plunged into a ravine. The altitude where the plane first struck is more than 2,000 feet. Heavy recent rains kept the crash fire isolated to the actual wreckage. Crane, who lived in the Cheohee community, was riding to visit relatives who lived beyond the Tri-State Fishing club house, when his horse balked at an unknown foreign object on the trail. The boy and his mount galloped 2 1/2 miles to the nearest cabin, the club house, where he recruited the caretaker Ben Rogers, and they returned to the site where the mystery object turned out to be one of the Wright R-2600-13 radial engines that had been thrown a hundred yards beyond the main wreckage, the bulk of which had ploughed into an embankment in a ravine after it had sheared through tree tops for a quarter mile. "Three of the airmen were thrown from the plane and they lay as they fell – twisted and gesticulating. One of the men's wrist watches had stopped at 9:30. One of the men had died in his seat and the fifth body was found in the wreckage." One of the motors and the gasoline tank had burned, but only a few square yards of woods had burned. "After Rogers and Crane had found the wrecked ship they reported it to R. A. Stewart at the Fish Hatchery, an aircraft warning service spotter. Stewart put in a 'red flash' call to the filter center in Columbia and immediately afterwards notified Derrill B. Darby, of Walhalla, chief of the aircraft warning service in Oconee county [sic]. That was shortly before 1 o'clock Monday afternoon." After the wreckage had been viewed, home guardsmen took charge and kept watch until army men from the Greenville air base arrived. The victims were: Flight Officer Richard S. Brook, 22, pilot, of 10 Superior Court, Lima, Ohio; Second Lieutenant Earl S. Monroe, 26, co-pilot, of Bolivar, New York; Second Lieutenant Philip J. Graziano, 23, navigator, of 166 Chestnut Street, Lawrence, Massachusetts; Staff Sergeant Harvey M. Capellman, engineer, of Blanchard, Idaho; and Sergeant Michael Sekel, 29, radio operator, of Buffalo, Ohio. "Soldiers, home guardsmen, and volunteers labored into the night to remove the bodies and carry them on stretchers up the steep mountain side to the ambulance. Salvage of the wrecked ship was started on Tuesday."^[37] A later report stated that the B-25 was en route TO Greenville Army Air Base from Meridian, Mississippi.^[36] A memorial marker to the crew was dedicated at the site on 21 March 2014 by the Walhalla American Legion and the Oconee Veterans Council.^[38]

18 March

A Douglas SBD-4 Dauntless hits the rail of the control tower and smashes into the ground at MCAAS Mojave, California, demolishing the airframe. "The flat-hatting pilot was taken to the hospital with 'multiple, extreme injuries.' Incredibly, the mechanic riding as a passenger walked away with only minor cuts and bruises."^[39]

23 March

Waco UC-72A, 42-68676, c/n 5150, civilian Waco ARE, ex-NC29376, impressed by USAAF, flown by Roy F. Brown, of the 5th Ferrying Squadron, 3rd Ferrying Group, out of Romulus Army Airfield, Michigan, is wrecked this date at Hebron, Kentucky.^[40][35]

23 March

A Republic P-47C-2-RE Thunderbolt, 41-6292, of the 328th Fighter Squadron, 352d Fighter Group,^[35] crashes into Barnard Hall at Hofstra College shortly after take-off from Mitchel Field, Long Island, New York, early this date, hitting the west side near the roof, setting the building afire, police announced. Pilot Earl D. Hayward died. The blaze was brought under control within 45 minutes by firemen from Hempstead, East Hempstead and Uniondale. No students were in the vicinity at the time. The Eastern Defense Command in New York City announced that the pilot was killed. He had taken off from Mitchel Field on a training mission shortly before the crash.^[41] This crash led to the abandonment of the use of Runway 18/36 at Mitchel Field.

4 April

North American B-25C Mitchell, 41-12634, of the 376th Bomb Squadron, 309th Bomb Group (M), ditches in Lake Murray, South Carolina, during skip-bombing practice, after starboard engine failure. Crew of five escapes before Mitchell sinks after seven minutes afloat, about two miles (3 km) west of the Saluda Dam in 150 feet (46 m) of water. On 19 September 2005, the bomber was raised to the surface by aircraft recoverer Gary Larkins for preservation (not restoration) at the Southern Museum of Flight, Birmingham, Alabama.^[42]

9 April

Lockheed P-38G-10-LO Lightning, 42-12937, flown by Col. Benjamin S. Kelsey, gets into an inverted spin during dive flap test, loses one wing and entire tail section. Kelsey bails out, suffers broken ankle, while P-38 hits flat on hillside near Calabasas, California.^[43]

13 April

Martin B-26B-2 Marauder, 41-17945,^[44] of the 480th Bomb Squadron (Medium), 336th Bomb Group (Medium), Avon Park Army Air Field,^[45] Florida, while on a training flight crashes and is destroyed by fire at Daniel Army Air Field, Augusta, Georgia. All seven crew are killed. The base public relations office at Avon Park identified the victims as 1st Lt. Robert L. Floyd, McLean, Texas, pilot; 2d Lt. Richard C. Larsen, Rochester, Minnesota; S/Sgt. Carl Justh, York Haven, Pennsylvania; Sgt. Charles S. Elder, Banning, California; Sgt. Lewis F. Haimi, Palmerton, Pennsylvania; Cpl. Woodrow O. Rosell, San Antonio, Texas; and Pvt. James S. Nelson, Seattle, Washington.^[46]

14 April

The crash of Curtiss O-52 Owl, 40-2780, c/n 14313,^[47] of the 392d Observation Training Squadron, Brooks Field, Texas, when it spins in^[45] a short distance from that base, kills 2d Lt. Robert E. Kuhn, 23, Chicago, pilot, and 2d Lt. Robert O. Fechtner, 21, Boling, Texas, observer.^[48]

14 April

Two RAAFBristol Beaufort torpedo bombers, in a flight of three, collided with each other over Jervis Bay. They were A9-27 and A9-268 of Base Torpedo Unit, HMAS Albatros, Nowra, Australia, carrying out a series of dummy runs and torpedo attacks on HMAS Burra Bra for a group of accredited War Correspondents on board the ship when the centre aircraft of the vic, A9-27, coded 'B', pulled up, causing the port wing of the right-hand bomber, A9-268, coded 'I', to clip off its tail with both aircraft crashing. The flight was attempting a "Prince of Wales" break-up formation. KWF aboard A9-27 were F/O Raymond Sydney Green (408110), 23, pilot; Sgt. Albert John Bailey (409976), 22; F/O Maurice Francis Hoban (409118), 30; and P/O Eric William Sweetnam (408077), 20. Fatalities aboard A9-268 were Flt. Lt. David George Dey (280627), 27, pilot; F/O Rex Lindsay Solomon (408149), 21; F/O Jack Norman (407561); and Sgt. Hugh Sydney George Richardson (410093), 23. The accident was filmed by Fox Movietone News cameraman Eric Bieve, and footage is available on the web. "Green, Hoban and Bailey were buried in the Air Force section of the War Cemetery at Nowra on 15 Apr 43 at 1500 hours. The funeral was attended by Wing Commander Dibbs, Base Torpedo Unit (BTU) staff officers, Instructional crews and personnel of No 7 Beaufort course. On 17 April 1943, the body of Sweetnam was recovered and buried at 1600 hours with Air Force honours at Nowra. Late on the same day a diving party reported that they had not located the bodies of Dey, Norman, Solomon and Richardson. A Funeral held on 18 April 1943 on board the "Burra-Bra" at 1030 hours attended by the same people as listed for the 15 April Funeral."^[49]

18 April

Messerschmitt Me 262 V2, WrkNr. 262 000 002, PC+UB, is completely destroyed on a test flight out of Lechfeld, its 48th flight, this date, killing pilot Ofw. Wilhelm Ostertag, after being airborne only seven minutes. "It was thought that the cause was in part due to a disturbance in the tail plane adjustment, but a later investigation found that a section of a rear part of one of the engines had detached and blocked the engine, forcing the aircraft into an uncontrollable downward spiral." Airframe flight time was 18 hours 17 minutes.^[50]

29 April

Republic P-43 Lancer, 41-6718, converted to P-43D. To RAAF as A56-7. Assigned to 1 PRU, it went missing in flight from Wagga, Australia, this date. Aircraft found crashed in thick forest on the side of Gordon Gully near Healesville in Victoria, NE of Melbourne, in June 1958.^[51] The airframe was approved as a write-off on 30 April. The pilot was P/O A. W. Green (406393) of 1 PRU Rear Echelon based at Laverton. His body has not been found.^[52]

U.S. Army personnel remove bodies from the wreckage of General Frank Maxwell Andrews' B-24D after it struck a mountain side in Iceland, 3 May 1943. The rudders and elevators have lost their fabric covering after the accident

3 May

During an inspection tour, Lt. Gen. Frank Maxwell Andrews (1884–1943) is killed in crash of Consolidated B-24D-1-CO Liberator, 41-23728, "Hot Stuff", of the 330th Bomb Squadron, 93d Bomb Group, 8th Air Force,^[53] out of RAF Bovingdon, England, on Mt. Fagradalsfjall on the Reykjanes peninsula after an aborted attempt to land at the RAF Kaldadarnes, Iceland. Andrews and thirteen others died in the crash; only the tail gunner, S/Sgt. George A. Eisel, survived. Others KWF included pilot Capt. Robert H. Shannon, of the 330th BS, 93rd BG; six members of Andrews' staff, including Maj. Ted Trotman, B/Gen. Charlie Barth, Col. Marlow Krum, and the general's aide, Maj. Fred A. Chapman; and Capt. J. H. Gott, navigator. Andrews was the highest-ranking Allied officer to die in the line of duty to that point in the war.^[54] At the time of his death, he was Commanding General, United States Forces, European Theatre of Operations. Camp Springs Army Air Field, Maryland, is renamed Andrews Field (later Andrews Air Force Base), for him on 7 February 1945.^[55][56] It appears that "Hot Stuff" was actually the first heavy bomber to complete 25 missions successfully, despite the publicity given the "Memphis Belle" and "Hell's Angels" of the 303d Bomb Group, when the B-24 bombed Naples on 7 February 1943. The bomber was, in fact, on the first leg of a trip back to the United States for a War Bond Tour when she was lost.^[57]

6 May

Curtiss XP-60D-CU41-19508 (the second Curtiss XP-53-CU re-designated), crashed at Rome Air Depot, New York.

Circa 7 May

The first prototype of the VL Myrsky (State Aircraft Factory Storm), a low-wing single-seat cantilever monoplane fighter completed on 30 April 1943, crashes "a week later."^[58]

8 May

A USAAF Douglas C-33, 36–85, c/n 1518, of the 482d Air Base Squadron, is written off at Hill Field, Ogden, Utah, when the landing gear retracts on take off.^[59][60] Pilot was William B. Cline.^[61]

10 May

First Consolidated XB-32 Dominator, 41–141, crashes on take-off at Lindbergh Field, San Diego, probably from flap failure. Although bomber does not burn when it piles up at end of runway, Consolidated's senior test pilot Dick McMakin is killed. Six others on board injured.^[62] This was one of only two twin-finned B-32s (41–142 was the other) – all subsequent had a PB4Y-style single tail.

10 May

First Curtiss YC-76 Caravan constructed at the Louisville, Kentucky plant, 42-86918, loses tail unit at 1729 hrs. due to lack of "forgotten" securing bolts during test flight, crashes at Okolona, Kentucky, killing three Curtiss-Wright test crew, pilot Ed Schubinger, co-pilot John L. "Duke" Trowbridge, and engineer Robert G. Scudder. All-wood cargo design is cancelled by the USAAF on 3 August with only nineteen completed, all grounded by 12 September 1944. Four Curtiss C-76 Caravans at the St. Louis, Missouri plant are granted one-time flight clearance and flown directly to Air Training Command bases for use as instructional airframes.^[63]

16 May

Handley Page Halifax B Mk.V bomber suffered starboard inner engine failure shortly after takeoff from RAF Holmsley South en route to RAF Hurn. Crashed in Thatcher's Lane, Sopley, at grid reference OS SZ164986. All on board were killed. The names of those that died are: Donald J Smith ( J10798 Fg Offr RCAF Pilot ), M.W. Collins (J10509 Fg Offr RCAF Pilot ), Barrie Noel Stephenson ( RAFVR Flight Engineer ), P.S. Thomas ( Gunner ), Frances Joseph Davies ( Sgt Glider Pilot passenger ), Roland Davies Sunter ( Sgt Glider Pilot passenger ) and Ronald Herbert Borton ( Sgt Glider Pilot passenger ).

19 May

The 1943 RAF Hudson crash was an aerial accident that killed two people. The aircraft crashed in a forced landing attempt near RAF St Eval, Cornwall, England, following engine failure. Lockheed Hudson IIIA, FH168, a lend-lease A-29-LO, 41-36969, c/n 414-6458, operated by No. 38 Wing RAF, based at RAF Netheravon, crashed and burned 7 miles (11 km) south of St. Eval. The aircraft was unable to maintain height due to one engine failing, and the load it was carrying. Air Commodore Sir Nigel Norman, en route to the Middle East for an Airborne Forces Planning Conference, died in this accident.^[64][65]

19 May

Northrop N-9M-1, one-third scale flying testbed for the Northrop XB-35 flying wing design, crashes approximately 12 mi (19 km) W of Muroc Army Air Base, California, killing pilot Max Constant. First flown 27 December 1942, airframe had only logged 22.5 hours, and little data was accumulated before the loss. Post-crash investigation suggested that: "...while Constant was conducting stalls and aft centre of gravity stability tests, aerodynamic forces developed full aft, which were too strong for Constant to overcome, trapping him in the cockpit. To prevent this happening on future flights, a one-shot hydraulic boost device was installed to push the controls forward in an emergency."^[66]

20 May

Consolidated B-24E-5-FO Liberator, 42-7053, c/n 77,^[67] of the 1014th Pilot Transition Training Squadron, Tarrant Army Airfield, Texas, departing there at 0650 hrs. CWT, piloted by David S. Alter,^[61] hits the side of a 20 million cubic foot gasometer^[68] of the People's Gas Light and Coke Company at 3625 73rd Street and Central Park Avenue, the largest of its type in the world, ~2 miles SE of Municipal Airport, Chicago, Illinois, between 1140 and 1145 hrs. CWT, killing all 12 crew.^[61]Joe Baugher cites date as 5 May 1943, but this is incorrect. Approaching the airport from the southwest in light rain, light fog and light smoke, with a 500 foot ceiling and ~.75 miles visibility, the bomber circled the field to the north and east before striking the ~500 foot tall tank at the ~125 foot level whilst on a southern heading, initially with the port wingtip, according to witness Lawrence Kinsella, an employee of People's Gas Light and Coke Company. Much of forward fuselage fell inside the tank structure which exploded, throwing steel plate over 100 yards with heat felt over a mile away. Nine employees were on the grounds but none were injured. Four United Airlines flights rejected landings at the airport between 0957 and 1027 hrs. and continued onto Milwaukee due to conditions. Capt. Monstad of the 9th Tow Target Squadron, Chicago Municipal Airport, made arrangements for a Board of Inquiry.^[69] The dead were identified as Capt. James R. Gilcrease, of Houston, commanding officer of the 1014th PTTS and a flight instructor, in charge of the flight; 2d Lt. David S. Alter, an instructor from Pittsburgh; 1st Lt. Harry B. Messick, Jr., navigator, of Indianapolis; 2d Lt. Frederick L. Dutt, student officer, of Wadsworth, Ohio; 2d Lt. John C. Wallace, student officer, of Luling, Texas; Pvt. Nick Lonchar, aerial engineer, of Weirton, West Virginia; Sgt. Arthur A. Huber, aerial engineer, of Queens, New York; S/Sgt. Norman W. Yutzy, aerial engineer, of Canton, Ohio; and Tech/Sgt. Ben F. Zumwalt, aerial engineer, of Ingram, Texas. The identified passenger was Capt. A. W. Lent, from Hamilton Field, California. The names of the other two passengers were to be announced after notification of the next-of-kin.^[70] The USAAF Report of Aircraft Accident listed the other two victims as 2d Lt. A. L. Gentry and Capt. John M. Wallace.^[69] The storage tank was erected in 1928 at a cost of $2 million, according to a Chicago Daily Tribune account. It was not rebuilt.

28 May

The loss of US Navy Curtiss SB2C-1 Helldiver, BuNo 00154, of VB-5, during launch near Trinidad on 28 May 1943^[71] during the shakedown cruise of the USS Yorktown was incorporated by 20th Century Fox into the 1944 film Wing and a Prayer: The Story of Carrier X.^[72]

30 May

Boeing B-17F-45-BO Flying Fortress, 42-5318, of the 464th Bombardment Squadron, 331st Bombardment Group,^[67] out of Casper Army Air Field, Wyoming, piloted by James O. Westbury,^[61] after departing Marysville Army Airfield^[73] crashes into a mountainside 15 miles NE of Covelo, California^[61] while on a training flight to Eugene, Oregon, killing all six people on board.^[74] The wreckage of the missing plane finally discovered on the weekend of 7–8 August 1943. Badly burned bodies could not be immediately identified.^[73]

June

Second production Mitsubishi J2M2Raiden (Thunderbolt), Allied codename "Jack", noses over shortly after take-off and crashes for unknown reasons. When pilot of tenth production J2M2 experiences same phenomenon just after gear-retraction on test flight, he has enough altitude to drop gear and recover. It is discovered that retractable tailwheel shock strut can press against elevator torque tube during retraction, forcing control stick full-forward. This is modified and fighter production resumes.^[75]

2 June

An hour into a routine training flight from the USS Lexington (CV-16) over the Gulf of Paria off Venezuela, 1939 Heisman Trophy winner Ensign Nile Kinnick, USNR, develops severe oil leak at 0951 hrs., cannot recover to either the carrier or land, and ditches his Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat, BuNo 12042, at Lat. 10° 28' N, Long. 62° 02' 15" W, at 0952 hrs.^[76][77][78] Although rescue forces arrive at the scene in eight minutes, neither he nor his plane are found, only an oil slick. Kinnick was the first Heisman winner to die. The University of Iowa renamed their football stadium "Kinnick Stadium" in 1972.

3 June

A Boeing B-17F-55-DL Flying Fortress, 42-3399, "Scharazad",^[79] of the Plummer Provisional Group, 318th Bomb Squadron,^[67] flying to Grand Island, Nebraska from Pendleton Army Air Base in Oregon crashes on Bomber Mountain in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming. 10 crew members were killed. Wreckage finally discovered on 12 August 1945.

4 June

RAFSupermarine Spitfire Mk.Vc, AR512, of 312 (Czech) squadron based at Churchstanton in the Blackdown Hills hits a train while conducting a mock-attack near Bradford-on-Tone just west of Norton Fitzwarren. The roof of at least one carriage is ripped off and several passengers, mainly WRENs, are killed. The plane flies on before eventually crashing near Castle Cary. The pilot, F/O Jaroslav Cermak, dies and is buried in Taunton.

13 June

Blohm & Voss BV 138C-1, WNr.0310158, K6+AK, of 2.Staffel KüstenFlieger Gruppe 406, capsizes upon landing at Drontheim See Ilsvika in Trondheim harbour, Norway. Crew has to swim underwater to escape. Oblt. Ludwig Schönherr, wounded; Ltn. Günther Behr, wounded; Uffz. Heinz Kitzmann, unhurt; Uffz. Reinhold Zwanzig, unhurt; Ofw. Ernst Neumann, drowned. His body is recovered from inside the flying boat when it is recovered the following day.^[80]

14 June

Boeing B-17C Flying Fortress, 40-2072, "Miss E.M.F." (Every Morning Fixing), of the 19th Bomb Group, heavily damaged on Davao mission 25 December 1941 and converted into transport. With 46th Troop Carrier Squadron, 317th Troop Carrier Group, crashed Bakers Creek, Queensland, Australia, this date while ferrying troops to New Guinea. Six crew and 34 GIs killed. One survived. (see Bakers Creek air crash) A memorial to the victims of this crash was installed at the Selfridge Gate of Arlington National Cemetery on 11 June 2009, donated by the Bakers Creek Memorial Association. The gate is named for Lt. Thomas Selfridge, killed in a 1908 crash at Fort Myer, Virginia, the first victim of a powered air accident.^[81]

16 June

Boeing XB-38-VE, 41-2401, powered with Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled engines, crashed near Tipton, California, on its ninth test flight when the number three (starboard inner) engine caught fire. Attempts to extinguish it were unsuccessful, and as the fire spread to the wing, the pilots bailed out after pointing the aircraft to an uninhabited area. Lockheed test pilot George MacDonald was killed when his parachute did not deploy, and Lockheed test pilot Bud Martin was seriously injured when his parachute did not deploy properly.

1 July

US Navy Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina, BuNo 04447, returning to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, after anti-submarine patrol flight over the Gulf of Mexico, attempts ill-advised landing in a storm brought on by a passing weather front, hits swell, bounces twice and overturns in Pensacola Bay. Nose section breaks away right at the wing tower and sinks, taking with it U.S. Coast Guard Motor Machinists Mate Chief Dana W. Heckart, in the co-pilot's seat as a pilot trainee. Rest of crew, all U.S. Navy personnel, pilot Ltjg. John W. Nichols, Lt. Norman Bennett, Ens. Francis R. Young, AMM3c Van C. Hardin, AM3c William E. Mutch, AMM2c Robert H. Ovink, ASM3c Albert W. Smith, and ARM3c Ralph E. Stuckey, survive as rest of airframe floats. Hardin, Mutch, Ovink and Smith suffer minor injuries, rest of crew more seriously injured. A seaplane wrecking derrick (YSD) retrieves floating section the following day. Heckart's body never recovered. Investigation finds pilot Nichols at fault for trying to land in storm conditions.^[82][83]

3 July

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk.V, LA877, 'ZV-W', of No.19 Operational Training Unit, out of Forres, on the Moray coast, a satellite of RAF Kinloss crashes on Meallan Odhar near Loch Pattack. Fire in the port wing caused structural failure, the wing coming down a half mile from the main wreckage. "At the request of the investigating officer the port engine was excavated from the crash site and sent to Rolls Royce who examined it. They said that there been a failure of one of the pistons with hot gases passing beyond the piston rings of that piston which caused the gudgeon pin to fail and the connecting rod to break away which then broke through the crank case. This allowed a fuel/air mixture as well as engine oil to escape under pressure into the nacelle where it ignited and in less than one minute caused the failure of the forward wing spar and lower skin of the port wing." Five crew killed. They were: Sgt. Dennys Cyril Hunt, pilot; Sgt. Edwin Albert Deacon, navigator; Flt. Sgt. Donald James Gillies RCAF, bomb aimer; Sgt. Robert Norman Cowie, wireless operator / air gunner; and Sgt. Keith Pratt Gemmel, RCAF, air gunner.^[84]

4 July

RAFConsolidated LB-30 Liberator II, AL523, crashes on takeoff from RAF North Front, Gibraltar, killing the exiled Polish Prime Minister General Władysław Sikorski, together with his daughter, his Chief of Staff, Tadeusz Klimecki, and seven others. The flight departed at 2307 hrs., coming down in the sea after only 16 seconds of flight. Only the pilot, Eduard Prchal (1911–1984), survives. "This crash is shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Throughout World War II Sikorski tried to organize the Polish Army and constantly negotiated with Churchill and Roosevelt to circumvent any appeasement deals between the Allies, Russia, and Germany which would come at Poland's expense. By this time, the Free Poles had found out about the Katyn Massacre, and thus terminated relations with the Soviet Union on 26 April 1943. As Sikorski was the most prestigious leader of the Polish exiles, his death was a severe setback to the Polish cause, and was certainly highly convenient for Stalin. It was in some ways also convenient for the western Allies, who were finding the Polish issue a stumbling-block in their efforts to preserve good relations with Stalin. This has given rise to persistent suggestions that Sikorski's death was not accidental. This has never been proved."^[85]

4 July

The prototype Platt-LePage XR-1 helicopter, 41-001, tested at Wright Field, Ohio, by the Rotary Branch of the Air Technical Service Command from May 1943, is damaged this date by the failure of a rotor blade spinner. Never ordered into production, its last flight will take place on 21 June 1946 with 91 hours, 45 minutes of flight time, and it will be donated the National Air Museum in Washington, D.C., where it remains in storage at the Paul Garber Facility at Silver Hill, Maryland.^[86]

21 July

Captain Roberto Roque and his mechanic Fernando Cubas, of the Cuban Army Aviation Corps, suffer a fatal crash in Vultee BT-13, 72, when they come out of a dive and strike a huge tree at Güines.^[87]

31 July

The first prototype Focke-Wulf Ta 154 V1, TE+FE, powered by Jumo 211R engines, first flown 1 July 1943, tested at Rechlin, is written off in a landing accident this date when the landing gear collapsed. This was a recurrent problem that accounted for the loss of several of the type.^[88]

31 July

"Topeka, Kan. (AP) - The army air base reported today five men, all of those aboard the plane, were killed in the crash of a four-engined bomber near Boone, Iowa. The plane was flying with a short crew, Major Forrest Moore, public relations officer at the base, said."^[89]Consolidated B-24E-20-CF Liberator, 41-29052, c/n 44, of the 579th Bombardment Squadron, 392d Bombardment Group,^[90] operating out of Topeka Army Air Base, en route to Duluth, Minnesota, on a navigation training flight, crashes 10 miles SW of Boone,^[91] (N 41° 57.1081', W 93° 58.)^[92] after losing part of starboard wing in a thunderstorm.^[90]

Killed were:

1st Lt. Melvin S. Meeker, Pilot

2nd Lt. Samuel Levitt, Copilot

2nd Lt. Mathew J. Radosvich, Bombardier

T/Sgt. James M. Parker, Engineer

T/Sgt. Thomas J. Leyshon, Radioman

A memorial marker was erected by the landowner, who has also preserved the three impact craters from the crash.^[92]

Joe Baugher cites crash date as 18 July 1945.

1 August

During a demonstration flight of an "all St. Louis-built glider", a WACO CG-4A-RO, 42-78839, built by sub-contractor Robertson Aircraft Corporation, loses its starboard wing due to a defective wing strut support, plummets vertically to the ground at Lambert Field, St. Louis, Missouri, killing all on board, including St. Louis Mayor William D. Becker, Maj. William B. Robertson and Harold Krueger, both of Robertson Aircraft, Thomas Dysart, president of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, Max Doyne, director of public utilities, Charles Cunningham, department comptroller, Henry Mueller, St. Louis Court presiding judge, Lt. Col. Paul Hazleton, pilot Capt. Milton C. Klugh, and co-pilot/mechanic PFC Jack W. Davis, of the USAAF 71st Troop Carrier Squadron.^[93] The failed component had been manufactured by Robertson subcontractor Gardner Metal Products Company, of St. Louis, who, coincidentally, had been a casket maker.^[94] The War Department announces on 11 August that a summary of conclusions by three air forces investigating groups "indicated 'that faulty manufacture by a sub-contractor, faulty inspection by the prime manufacturer, and inadequate enforcement of inspection procedures, combined to produce a fatal hidden defect in a wing strut metal fitting.' The air forces have acted to prevent any recurrence of such parts failure, including the grounding of all similar gliders manufactured in the St. Louis area because they might contain fittings from the same sub-contractors. The glider which crashed Aug. 1 was manufactured by Robertson Aircraft Corp., the Army said, and approximately 100 craft were grounded Aug. 4."^[95]

1 August

A Boeing B-17F-95-BO Flying Fortress, 42-30326, c/n 5440,^[96] of the 541st Bomb Squadron, 383d Bomb Group, piloted by Roy J. Lee,^[97] was headed north up the Oregon coast on a routine patrol flight. The plane had left Pendleton Field, near Pendleton, Oregon, at 0900 and was tasked with flying to Cape Disappointment on the Oregon coast. They were then to fly 500 miles out to sea, followed by a direct flight back to Pendleton Field. On arriving at the coast, the crew found the entire area hidden in overcast clouds which extended to an elevation of 8000 feet. The pilot decided to locate Cape Disappointment by flying below the overcast. The overcast proved to reach almost to the level of the sea. The plane was flying at about 50–150 feet above the waves. Deciding that the risk was too great the crew began to climb back up into the overcast. Unfortunately, the plane crashed into the side of Cape Lookout at about 900 feet in elevation.^[98][99] The Aviation Archeological Investigation & Research website lists the crash date as 2 August.^[97]

2 August

"Phoenix, Arizona, August 2 (UP) - Second Lt. Arthur C. Collins, 22, and Aviation Cadet Wayne B. Bowers, 22, were killed today when their twin engine training plane crashed 10 miles west of Chandler, Ariz."^[100] They went down in Lockheed RP-322 Lightning, AF162, of the 535th Twin Engine Flying Training Squadron, Williams Field, Arizona. One source gives the accident date as 1 August, and gives the location as eight miles W of Chandler.^[101] P-322s were non-turbocharged Lightning Is, originally ordered by France, the order being taken over by the Royal Air Force (hence, the RAF AF162 serial), but only three were actually retained by Great Britain, the rest being used as trainers by the U.S. Army Air Force.

2 August

Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress, 41-2463, "Yankee Doodle", of the 19th Bomb Group, then to 394th Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group, crashes on takeoff due mechanical failure at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, Bombardier Sgt. John P. Kruger and navigator Lt. Talbert H. Woolam are killed. Pilot was Gene Roddenberry, future creator of Star Trek.^[102] The airframe was stricken on 13 August 1943.^[103]

4 August

North American XB-28A-NA, 40-3058, c/n 67-3417, crashes into the Pacific Ocean off California after the crew bails out. Project not proceeded with.^[104]

5 August

Lockheed B-34, 41-38116, that collided with American Airlines Flight 28 on 23 October 1942, was repaired and re-designated as an RB-34A-4 target tug. On 5 August 1943, this same aircraft suffered starboard engine failure during a ferry flight and crashed into Wolf Hill, a mile W of Farnum Pike, near Smithfield, Rhode Island, killing all three crew members. "The pilot having insufficient altitude to recover properly, crashed on a wooded hill," states the accident investigation report, issued 19 August 1943. Killed are 2d Lt. Otis R. Portewig, 27, Richmond, Virginia, pilot, of the 1st Towing Squadron, Otis Field, Massachusetts; T/Sgt. Herbert D. Booth, 21, Rahway, New Jersey, crew chief. also of the 1st Towing Squadron; and 2d Lt. Saul Winsten, 25, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, of the 901st Quartermaster Company, Aviation Service, Otis Field, passenger.^[105]

5 August

"Las Vegas, Nev., Aug. 6, (AP) - Four fliers attached to the Las Vegas Army Air field were killed yesterday as their plane crashed eight miles northwest of here, base officials announced. The plane, a navigator trainer, was on a routine flight when it went into a spin from 3,000 feet. It burst into flames as it struck the ground."^[106]Lockheed AT-18A-LO Hudson, 42-55494, c/n 414-7216,^[107] of the 50th Flexible Gunnery Training Squadron, Las Vegas Army Airfield, piloted by Avalon L. Finlayson, was destroyed.^[101] The Aviation Archaelological Investigation and Research website lists the crash location as 10 miles WSW of the air base.

8 August^[108] or 11 August

^[109] Future ETO double ace Captain Walker Melville "Bud" Mahurin gets off to an ignominious start this date when, "On a training mission over England he had spotted a B-24 Liberator – at the time not a particularly common aeroplane in English skies. While flying formation with the bomber he took his Thunderbolt (41-6334) a little too close resulting in the empennage being slashed off by the Liberator's propellers. Mahurin came down by parachute, his P-47 disintegrated in an English field and the Liberator made a successful landing having sustained only minor damage. Thunderbolts, costing $104,258 each, were still in short supply and Mahurin's folly did not endear him to the authorities."^[108] The P-47C-5-RE, of the 63d Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, impacted ~one mile NW of Metfield, Suffolk.^[110]