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| Missing In Action (MIA) | Prisoners Of War (POW) | Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) |
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| USAAF 7th AF 15th FG 6th NFS  USAAF 1942 |
Pilot Captain Warren G. Hornaday, O-424954 C. O. 6th NFS (MIA / KIA) Lincoln Township, IN Observer F/O Howard M. Krause, T-192009 (MIA / KIA) Hoskins, NE Crashed May 7, 1943 MACR none Aircraft History Built by Douglas. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as P-70 Havoc serial number 39-790. Wartime History Assigned to the 7th Air Force (7th AF), 15th Fighter Group (15th FG), 6th Night Fighter Squadron (6th NFS). No known nickname, nose art or markings. On April 18, 1943 part of a squadron detachment led by Captain Warren G. Hornaday that moved from Kipapa Airfield on Oahu that was deployed to Port Moresby in New Guinea. Mission History On May 7, 1943 took off from Port Moresby piloted by Captain Warren G. Hornaday with observer F/O Howard M. Krause on a training flight to practice night flying under a hood with P-70 piloted by John Florence. Last seen to dive through a low overcast and failed to pull out entered a spin and crashed into the sea roughly 100 yards off Pyramid Point near the entrance to Bootless Bay. This aircraft was observed crashing by the crew of an anti-aircraft gun on the coast. When this aircraft failed to return it was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA). This aircraft was the 6th Night Fighter Squadron's first fatality in New Guinea. Memorials The crew was declared dead the day of the mission. Neither earned the Purple Heart, posthumously because the mission was a non-combat training mission. Both are memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. Hornaday also has a memorial marker at South Mound Cemetery at section B in New Castle, IN. Krause also has a memorial marker at Trinity Cemetery in Hoskins, NB. References Some sources incorrectly list this aircraft as a P-61. Other sources list the date of loss as May 8, 1943. Another source lists crew member Krause as returned to duty incorrectly. NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Warren G. Hornaday NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Howard M. Krause USAF Serial Number Search Results - P-70 Havoc 39-790 "790 (6th NFS, 15th FG) ditched off Kila Field, Port Moresby, New Guinea May 7, 1943 All three crew killed." PNG Museum Aircraft Status Card - P-61 Black Widow [sic] piloted by Hornaday American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Warren G. Hornaday FindAGrave - Capt Warren Gene Hornaday (photos, tablets of the missing) FindAGrave - CAPT Warren Eugene “Gene” Hornaday (memorial marker photo) American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Howard M. Krause FindAGrave - FltOff Howard M. Krause (tablets of the missing photo) FindAGrave - Howard M. Krause (memorial marker photo) Indiana Soldiers & Sailors Servicemen F - H via Wayback Machine November 30, 2011 "Hornaday, Warren G Captain Hornaday, 25, of New Castle, was killed in action May 7, 1943, while in New Guinea. He had been a fighter pilot stationed in Hawaii until his deployment to the Southwest Pacific. His name appears on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines." Indiana Soldiers & Sailors Photos H thru J via Wayback Machine November 30, 2011 (photo) Queen of the Midnight Skies (1992) "The first fatality on New Guinea was that of the detachments C. O. Capt Hornaday and his R/O ; F/O Howard M Kreuse shortly after their arrival. Hornaday was flying under the hood in a practice flight. He and an accompanying P-70 flown by John Florence entered a thin layer of clouds. When Florence came out of the clouds Hornadays P-70 was nowhere to be seen. It was later learned that an anti-aircraft battery on the coast observed Hornadays plane spin into the sea. Florence recalls: evidently, he looked out while in the cloud layer and became disorientated." Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated May 11, 2025
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