Military

A tyre burst in flight, forcing the crew to complete a belly landing in Mauripur Airport, Karachi. While there were no casualties, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The aircraft left Xi'an (Hsian) Airport at 1500LT bound for Kunming with 35 passengers and a crew of four. While cruising at an altitude of 23,000 feet over the cloud layer, the left engine caught fire. The captain ordered the radio operator and the flight engineer to bail out. Shortly later, the aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed 123 km west of Hechi, killing all 37 occupants. Both crew that bailed out survived. The pilot, Major Carrol D. Gregory, and the copilot 2nd Lt Ralph R. Young were killed.

The aircraft left RAF Thorney Island at 0935LT bound for Amiens with six other similar aircraft, carrying 23 people, among them 17 members of the RAF, three of the RCAF, two of the RAAF and one of the RNZAF. Enroute, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with a cloud layer up to 200 feet above the ground. While cruising at a height of some 150 feet, the aircraft hit the top of a hill with its right wing, went out of control and crashed in flames in a wooded area located in Hunters Burgh, near Folkington. All 23 occupants were killed.
Crew:
W/O Peter Matthew Oleinikoff, pilot,
F/Sgt Edgar Alan Barsby, copilot,
F/O Kenneth Gilbert Forseth, navigator,
F/Sgt Ronald Arthur Brock, wireless operator,
Passengers:
F/O Edward William Curtis,
P/O Colin Alexander Rattray,
Cpl Colin Gibson,
Cpl Gerald Ernest Nelson David Lee,
Cpl William George Blair,
Cpl Edwin Bruce Chadd,
Cpl David Cooper,
LAC Frank Bainbridge,
LAC Ronald Grayham Baldry,
LAC Samuel Arthur Bamber,
LAC William Daniel Davies,
LAC Thomas Henry Floody,
LAC Jack Neale,
LAC Woolf Nerden,
LAC Robert Smith,
LAC Sydney MacKenzie Smith,
LAC George Stevens,
LAC Albert Edward Dowler Wilkes,
LAC George Wilson.

Following a relative short takeoff roll, the airplane took off but encountered difficulties to gain height. It stalled, struck an embankment and crashed, bursting into flames. Five crew members were killed.

Crashed in unknown circumstances, killing all six crew members.
Crew (850th Bomb Squadron):
Br Gen William H. Eaton, pilot,
2nd Lt Alfred A. Faflik Jr., copilot,
2nd Lt Helmer O. Balland,
S/Sgt Fred H. Thorton,
2nd Lt Garry I. Leonard,
Cpl Drayton P. Mannies.

While approach RAF Polebrook, the Boeing B-17 registered 43-38080 collided with a second USAAF Boeing B-17 registered 43-37595 and carrying a crew of 9 and that was approaching the same airfield. Both aircraft went out of control and crashed in a field located in Lutton, east of the airbase. All 19 crew members on both aircraft were killed.
Crew on board B-17 43-38080:
T/Sgt James S. Allman,
1st Lt Edward R. Ashton,
F/O George Y. Bowman,
Sgt John C. Connelly,
S/Sgt Bruce Shaffer Cook,
2nd Lt Donald A. Cornell,
S/Sgt John P. Folks Jr.,
2nd Lt John F. McNeill,
Sgt John Y. Nelson,
Sgt Harold R. Wieland.

Crew on board B-17 43-37595:
St Albert Bingham Cantrelle,
Sgt Emerald G. Cutting,
F/O Stanley L. Dietel,
Sgt Francis T. Leonard,
Sgt Philip M. Singleton,
F/O Robert Earle Sollers,
Sgt Joseph E. Ventress,
2nd Lt Reinhold W. Vergen,
S/Sgt Robert L. Wheatley.

While approach RAF Polebrook, the Boeing B-17 registered 43-37595 collided with a second USAAF Boeing B-17 registered 43-38080 and carrying a crew of 10 and that was approaching the same airfield. Both aircraft went out of control and crashed in a field located in Lutton, east of the airbase. All 19 crew members on both aircraft were killed.
Crew on board B-17 43-37595:
St Albert Bingham Cantrelle,
Sgt Emerald G. Cutting,
F/O Stanley L. Dietel,
Sgt Francis T. Leonard,
Sgt Philip M. Singleton,
F/O Robert Earle Sollers,
Sgt Joseph E. Ventress,
2nd Lt Reinhold W. Vergen,
S/Sgt Robert L. Wheatley.

Crew on board B-17 43-38080:
T/Sgt James S. Allman,
1st Lt Edward R. Ashton,
F/O George Y. Bowman,
Sgt John C. Connelly,
S/Sgt Bruce Shaffer Cook,
2nd Lt Donald A. Cornell,
S/Sgt John P. Folks Jr.,
2nd Lt John F. McNeill,
Sgt John Y. Nelson,
Sgt Harold R. Wieland.

Crashed in unknown circumstances in the region of Naples, while performing a flight from Tarquinia, killing all 11 occupants.
Crew:
Cpt Robert R. Baster,
Tech Louis M. Bice,
T/Sgt Paul L. Cloney,
1st Lt Harold G. Ginter,
Sgt Harold P. Kuruzar,
1st Lt Chester L. Nelson,
Cpl Albert H. Olin,
2nd Lt Robert W. Saxton,
Tech Arthur D. Steiner,S
2nd Lt Robert Vallandingham,
2nd Lt Howard P. Wilson.

While cruising some 55 miles west of Jorhat, the crew experienced technical problems and the aircraft caught fire. Out of control, it crashed on the summit of a mountain at an altitude of 2,000 meters and was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire. Only one passenger, T/Sgt Marvin H. Jacobs, survived.
Crew:
Cpt Lawrence C. Archer,
Cpt Kenneth R. Arnette,
Cpl Buster Beck,
1st Lt James W. Brokaw,
S/Sgt Harlan G. Casper,
1st Lt Myron L. Cook,
T/Sgt Allan H. Cousins,
Pvt H. B. Erwin,
T/Sgt Philip Feld,
T/Sgt Robert E. Finks,
1st Lt John A. Flach,
S/Sgt Alva H. Floyd,
Pfc James G. Goodman,
Cpt Thomas J. Harper,
S/Sgt Joseph B. Hewitt Jr.,
S/Sgt Merrill R. Hyde,
T/Sgt Lawrence G. Jacobs,
Sgt Joseph F. Kehrer,
2nd Lt Robert H. Maddox,
Pfc Norman C. Maxfeldt,
1st Lt John F. McDonough Jr.,
S/Sgt David McKissock,
T/Sgt Scott F. Mitchell,
1st Lt Charles B. Moore,
1st Lt Harold B. Morse,
1st Lt Howard S. Pierson,
1st Lt William E. Price,
1st Lt Frederick J. Raubinger,
S/Sgt Ernest B. Schenck,
Cpl Lester F. Sellers,
S/Sgt Forman F. Smith,
F/O Cecil A. Weaver,
1st Lt Louis F. Worland,
1st Lt Marshall Young.

While flying in a valley in poor weather conditions, the captain increased power to gain height when the aircraft hit tree tops and crashed on the slope of a wooded mountain located 5 km west of Montieri. Two passengers and the captain survived while 23 others occupants were killed, among them 12 civilians of which three nurses. Low clouds consisting of strato-cumulus and mist shrouded the mountain at the time of the accident.
Crew:
1st Lt John A. Boronko, †
1st Lt James D. Fitzgerald, †
Cpt Donald B. Kresch, †
T/Sgt William J. Maddox, †
2nd Lt Marjorie L. McBride, †
M/Sgt B. B. McNutt, †
Cpl Edmund J. Miskell, †
2nd Lt Marion C. Phillips, †
Cpt David M. Ruff, †
1st Lt Roger F. Woodbury. †