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| USAAF 3rd AF 3rd FC 342nd AAFBU |
Pilot F/O Earl R. Goodyear, T-66354 (died, BR) Crashed March 24, 1945 MACR none Aircraft History Built by Curtiss in Buffalo, New York completed February 22, 1944. Constructors Number 32301. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as P-40N-25-CU Warhawk serial number 43-24362. Wartime History Assigned to the 3rd Air Force (3rd AF), 3rd Fighter Command (3rd FC), 342nd Army Air Force Base Unit (342nd AAFBU). No known nickname or nose art. When lost, this P-40 had a total of 1,163.5 hours of flight time. Mission History On March 24, 1945 at 10:15am took off from Perry Field (Perry Army Air Field) piloted by F/O Earl R. Goodyear on a local training flight to practice low level formation flying. Weather was high overcast over 10,000' with unrestricted visibility and winds east 5 miles per hour. The formation included the first element no. 1 flight leader F/O Southoott, no. 2 (this aircraft) P-40N 43-24362 piloted by F/O Goodyear and second element no. 3 element leader F/O Bajkowski and no. 4 element P-40N Warhawk 44-7305 piloted by 2nd Lt. Rom. Flying up the Swannee River, the formation made turns, including a sharp left turn to the left. This aircraft was flying in the no. 2 position on the flight leader's right wing in the four plane formation. While flying in formation, P-40N Warhawk 44-7405 piloted by Lt. Rom collided with this aircraft. Damaged, Goodyear did not bail out and died in the colision or crash. Both P-40s crashed into a swamp killing the pilot. No fire was observed after the crash. Wreckage This aircraft crashed into a swamp roughly 18 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico near the Suwannee River. After the crash was located by U.S. Army personnel and declared a total loss. Recovery of Remains After the crash, the remains of the pilot were recovered by the U.S. Army personnel. Memorials Goodyear was officially declared dead the day of the mission. After his remains were recovered, he was buried at Highland Park Cemetery in Highland Hills, OH. References USAF Serial Number Search Results - P-40N Warhawk 43-24362 Army Air Forces Report of Major Accident - 3/24/45 - 43-24362 / 44-7405 FindAGrave - Earl Robert Goodyear (photo, grave photo) Warbirds Magazine "Resurrecting A Warhawk" by Peter Moll February 10, 2012 Glenn H. Curtiss Museum - P-40 Project "The Restoration Shop purchased a P-40 project in August 2011. The project arrived from Iowa via truck, courtesy of Mercury Aircraft. The project consists of the wreckage of three of these historic WWII fighters, two of which crashed following a mid-air collision in the Everglades in 1943. The third is one from a crash at St. Simon Island at about the same time. This is a long term restoration project." YouTube - P-40 Friday (Playlist) Videos of P-40 Restoration 2020 FindAGrave - Earl Robert Goodyear (photo, grave photo) Thanks to the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum for additional information 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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