Date & Time:
Feb 14, 1945 at 0604 LT
Type of aircraft:
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
Operator:
Registration:
A72-124
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Cunderdin - Cunderdin
MSN:
5593
YOM:
1944
Country:
Australia
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
11
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Cunderdin Airport, while in initial climb, the aircraft reached the altitude of 30 feet when it drop back to the ground. It hit the ground 3 times and skidded through a fence about 800 feet from the end of the strip and exploded. Five crew members were killed while six others were injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The cause of the crash was unknown although one private theory was that the squadron had an absolute minimum of training flights.
Crew (25th Squadron):
F/O Francis Leo Hannah, pilot,
F/Sgt Francis Gregory Coman, copilot,
F/O Claremont Logie Taylor, navigator,
Sgt Bernard McTernan, flight engineer,
Sgt Francis Joseph Naughton, air gunner, †
Sgt Roy Higginbottom, air gunner, †
Sgt Kenneth William Uhr, wireless operator and air gunner, †
Sgt Charles Ronald Taylor, wireless operator and air gunner, †
F/Sgt Brian John Troy Johnson, bombardier, †
Sgt George Keith Leroy, air gunner,
F/Sgt Campbell Edward Earle Verey, wireless operator and air gunner.
Source: http://www.ozatwar.com/ozcrashes/wa07.htm
Crew (25th Squadron):
F/O Francis Leo Hannah, pilot,
F/Sgt Francis Gregory Coman, copilot,
F/O Claremont Logie Taylor, navigator,
Sgt Bernard McTernan, flight engineer,
Sgt Francis Joseph Naughton, air gunner, †
Sgt Roy Higginbottom, air gunner, †
Sgt Kenneth William Uhr, wireless operator and air gunner, †
Sgt Charles Ronald Taylor, wireless operator and air gunner, †
F/Sgt Brian John Troy Johnson, bombardier, †
Sgt George Keith Leroy, air gunner,
F/Sgt Campbell Edward Earle Verey, wireless operator and air gunner.
Source: http://www.ozatwar.com/ozcrashes/wa07.htm
