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| USAAF 5th AF 3rd BG 13th BS  Jack Heyn 1942  Dean Cropp 2006 |
Pilot 1st Lt. William C. Hellriegel Passenger Charley Valade Passenger Lt. Schwartz Passenger Sgt McMann Crashed December 20, 1942 MACR none Aircraft History Built by North American Aviation (NAA). Constructors Number 87-7873. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-25D Mitchell serial number 41-29709. Ferried overseas via Hickam Field then across the Pacific to Australia. Wartime History Assigned to the 3rd Bombardment Group (3rd BG), 13th Bombardment Squadron (13th BS). Nicknamed "Eight Ball Esquire". Mission History On December 20, 1942 at 5:10pm took off from Cooktown Airfield piloted by 1st Lt. William C. Hellriegel on a flight bound for Port Moresby. After take off, the left engine oil pressure failed and Hellriegel feathered the propeller and he turned back as the bomber lost altitude rapidly and made a hard ditching approximately 25 miles north and slightly east of Cooktown. Of the twelve on board, seven were injured and the plane sank in roughly three minutes. Fates of the Crew Everyone aboard swam to the beach roughly half way between the mouth of Morgan River and Cape Flattery. Ashore, the crew spent the night. On December 21, 1942 in the early morning, Lt. Schwartz and Sgt McMann who were not injured began walking towards Cooktown to find help. Two days later, in the early morning of December 23, 1943 they found help and organized the rescue of the remaining crew. Rescue On December 24, 1942 in the early morning a rescue boat picked up the rest of the crew and four hours later returned them to Cooktown. Wreckage The plane is lying upside down and two-thirds covered in mud. Dean Cropp adds: "I have been digging through that mud in zero visibility to find these. I recovered one 50 cal from nose and in the process of removing a second (flexible nose gun with handles). In the process of pulling these out, I have found two smaller machine guns with sights and handles, I am guessing they are 30 cal. Not sure why they are loose in the nose though. Plenty of ammunition for them as well. So, as far as I can tell, this plane had a .50 cal mounted nose gun, a .50 cal flexible nose gunners gun and two 30cal loose in the nose section that I have dug out." References USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-25D Mitchell 41-29709 Oz @ War - Crash of a B-25 Mitchell on December 20, 1942 Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated
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