Mission History
On March 24, 1945 at 10:15am took off from Perry Field (Perry Army Air Field) piloted by 2nd Lt. Roy C. Rom as one of four P-40 Warhawks 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 P-40N Warhawk 43-24362 piloted by F/O Goodyear and second element no. 3 F/O Bajkowski and no. 4 element (this aircraft) P-40N Warhawk 44-7405 piloted by Lt. Rom. Flying up the Suwannee 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, this aircraft collided with P-40N Warhawk 43-24362. Damaged, Rom bailed out and suffer major injuries. Both P-40 before both crashed into a swamp roughly a half mile apart.

Wreckage
This aircraft crashed into a swamp roughly 18 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico near the Suwannee River.

Recovery of Remains
After the crash, the remains of the pilot were recovered by the U.S. Army.

Memorials
Rom was officially declared dead the day of the mission. His burial is unknown, presumed to be in his hometown in the United States.

Salvage
During 1986, Mr. Hal Thompson led the recovery of both P-40s from the swamp, removing every part over the course of two years. Plus, the wreckage of P-40N Warhawk 43-24033 crashed on St. Simons Island, Georgia.

Restoration
Afterwards, the wreckage was displayed on a trailer at airshows, including the Sun 'n Fun Airshow during 1991 and 1992. Later, the wreckage was sold to Mr. Jerry Bensinger of Ohio. Next, owned by Healey Werks in Iowa.

During 2011, the wreckage of this aircraft was purchased by the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum. Using the recovered parts of these three P-40s, a single aircraft is being restored by volunteers led by Mr. Art Wilder for display at the museum. The finished aircraft is estimated to have 25% original parts.

References
NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Roy C. Rom
Army Air Forces Report of Major Accident - 3/24/45 - 43-24362 / 44-7405
Warbirds Magazine "Resurrecting A Warhawk" by Peter Moll February 10, 2012
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

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Last Updated
March 30, 2024