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| USAAF 13th AF 18th FG 44th FS |
Pilot 2nd Lt. Reginald J. McDonald O-708896, 44th FS (MIA / KIA, BR) MI Passenger 1st Lt. Donald D. Moore, O-766623 (WIA) Crashed June 2, 1945 MACR 14665 Aircraft History Built by Vultee Aircraft Corporation as model 54. Constructors Number 79-898 Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as BT-13B Valiant serial number 42-90179. Disassembled and shipped overseas and reassembled. Wartime History Assigned to the 13th Air Force (13th AF), 18th Fighter Group (18th FG), 44th Fighter Squadron (44th FS) "Vampire Squadron". No known nickname or nose art. When lost, engine R-985-AN-1 serial number 43-7373. No armament was installed. Mission History On June 2, 1945 took off from APO 719 Unit 4 piloted by 2nd Lt. Reginald J McDonald with passenger 1st Lt. Donald D. Moore on an instrument flight. The weather was condition baker with limited visibility. During the flight, this aircraft flew up a blind valley and could not turn or climb over the terrain and stalled at low speed and spun into the ground crashing to the north of Zamboanga on Mindanao. Pilot McDonald was killed in the crash. Fate of the Crew Passenger Moore was injured in the crash and was unable to move the pilot and left to seek help. Search After this aircraft went missing, 1st Lt. Jerome R. Heyer was the officer in charge of the search efforts. A total of sixty-two sorties were flown covering the area with a radius of 70 miles. Meanwhile, searches continued by both air and ground search parties. Recovery of Remains Afterwards, the remains of McDonald were recovered from the crash site. Postwar, his remains were transported to the United States for permanent burial. Memorials McDonald is buried at White Chapel Memorial Park Cemetery in Troy, MI. References USAF Serial Number Search Results - BT-13B Valiant 42-90179 Missing Air Crew Report 14665 (MACR 14665) created June 4, 1945 NAA Valiant - U.S Missing Aircraft (NAA: A9845, 304) "Valiant (BT13-B 42-90179) HALMAHERA'S [sic Mindanao] FindAGrave - 2LT Reginald J McDonald (grave photo) FindAGrave - Jerome R. Heyer (grave photo) 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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 BT-13  Map June 2, 1945 |
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