Pacific Wrecks

Missing In Action (MIA)

Prisoners Of War (POW)

Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)

Chronology

B-24D-10-CO Liberator Serial Number 41-23901

USAAF
7th AF
307th BG
371st BS

Questmasters 2001

Crew 2nd Lt. Charles H. Miller, O-662813 (KIA, BR) IL
Crew SSgt Charles C. Hatton, 35127642 (KIA, BR) KY
Crew SSgt Harold D. Dillon, 19059162 (KIA, BR) WA
Crashed December 16, 1942
MACR none

Aircraft History
Built by Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in San Diego. Constructors Number 696. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-24D-10-CO Liberator serial number 41-23901.

Wartime History
Assigned to the 7th Air Force (7th AF), 307th Bombardment Group (307th BG), 371st Bombardment Squadron (371st BS). No known nose art or nickname.

Misison History
On December 16, 1942 took off from Wheeler Field on Oahu piloted by 2nd Lt. Charles H. Miller on a patrol off Hawaii. During the flight, suffered an in flight fire and crashed. Five bailed out and three were killed in the crash. Afterwards, official U.S. Army Air Force reports concluded that the aircraft was on final approach when it crashed into a sugar cane field near Waimea Falls.

Memorial
Three of the crew were officially declared dead the day of the mission. Their bodies were recovered from the crash site and were buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl). Dillon at C, 1570. Hatton at M, 0 1181. Miller at M, 58.

Wreckage
During 1994, the wreckage was relocated on the Wailua Suger Cane Plantation fields near Waimea Falls. The aircraft was stripped in the late 1980's for aluminum scrap, but many pieces remain on the crash site. Due to the lack of fuel onboard the aircraft, very little fire damage to the aircraft is present. The aircraft was painted in an overall olive drab paint scheme with "early" wartime U.S. national insignia. The aircraft remains today in a very sorry state.

Recovery
Several small pieces were recovered for the QuestMasters Museum including the port wing star (seen in photo), an E-6B flight computer, several gun chutes, a mess kit, a match container, multiple .50 cal armor piecing rounds, a portion of a Browning .50 cal machine gun and a propeller hub from one of the engines.

References
USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-24D-10-CO Liberator 41-23901
"23901 (307th BG, 371st BS) out of Wheeler Field, Oahu, Hawaii suffered inflight fire and crashed Dec 16, 1942."
Questmasters B-24 Liberator Heavy Bomber Wreck Index (down 2005 via WayBack Machine)
"This Consolidated B-24D Liberator was found on the Wailua Suger Cane Plantation fields near Waimea Falls, 1994, in Hawaii. This aircraft crashed March 1942 during a routine costal patrol of the Hawaiian coast. Three of her eight man crew died in the crash. Official Army Air Force reports concluded that the aircraft was on final approach when fuel ran out and the pilot ditched the aircraft in a suger cane field. The aircraft remains today in a very sorry state. The aircraft was stripped in the late 1980's for aluminum scrap, but many pieces remain on the crash site. Due to the lack of fuel onboard the aircraft, very little fire damage to the aircraft is present. The aircraft was painted in an overall olive drab paint scheme with "early" wartime U.S. national insignia. Several small pieces were recovered for the QuestMasters Museum including the port wing star (seen in photo), an E-6B flight computer, several gun chutes, a mess kit, a match container, multiple .50cal armor piecing rounds, a portion of a Browning .50cal machine gun and a propeller hub from one of the engines"
Other sources state the date of the crash as "March 1942" and crashing "out of fuel".
FindAGrave - Charles H. Miller (grave photo)
FindAGrave - SSgt Charles C Hatton (grave photo)
FindAGave - SSGT Harold Douglas Dillon (grave photo)

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Last Updated
August 20, 2026

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