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| USMC MAW-1 MAG-61 VMB-433 "Fork-Tailed Devils"  USMC 1944 |
Pilot 1st Lt. Charles Leland Ingels, O-22460 USMCR (MIA / KIA) Indianapolis, IN Co-Pilot 1st Lt. Richard Robert Graves, O-25500 USMCR (MIA / KIA) Dayton, OH Navigator SSgt John D. Hughes, 464752 (MIA / KIA) Brownfield, ME Radio Cpl George Royal Johnson, 521082 (MIA / KIA) Huntington, WV Top Turret Sgt Harold Forrest Stowe, 445378 (MIA / KIA) Springfield, OH Tail Gunner Sgt Stanley George Stark, 453270 (KIA, BR) West Canaan, NH Observer Cpl Leonard G. Klinger, 498618 (MIA / KIA) Chicago, IL Crashed September 2, 1944 at 4:12am Aircraft History Built by North American Aviation (NAA). Constructors Number 100-20682. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-25D-25 Mitchell serial number 42-87189. Assigned to the U.S. Navy (USN) as PBJ-1D Mitchell bureau number 35106. Wartime History Assigned to U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) to Marine Air Wing 1 (MAW-1), Marine Air Group 61 (MAG-61), Marine Bombing Squadron 433 (VMB-433) "Fork-Tailed Devils". No known nickname or nose art. Mission History On September 2, 1944 at 3:30am took off from Emirau Airfield piloted by 1st Lt. Charles Leland Ingels call sign 270B21 armed with eight 100 pound bombs and four 250 pound bombs as the last of five PBJ Mitchells flying individual night heckling bombing missions (nuisance raids) over Kavieng on the northwest of New Ireland. The weather was .5 cloud cover over the target with a base at 9,000' and tops at 17,000' with clear visibility over the target. Each bomber planned to release 2-4 bombs per run from an altitude of 12,000' targeting Kavieng barracks, Kaving Airfield, Panapai supply areas and North Cape. The other PBJs reported heavy but meager and inaccurate anti-aircraft fire and search lights on their first runs and no anti-aircraft fire observed afterwards. After take off, there was no radio contact and was due over the target 30 minutes later. At 4:12am last seen on radar over Kavieng or east of Kavieng Peninsula then lost contact. When this bomber failed to return at 6:30am, it was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA). Search Afterwards, searches for the missing plane had nil result. Wreckage In fact, this PBJ crashed into a swamp and exploded on impact inland from Panapae (Panapai). The impact was observed by locals and afterwards, Japanese personnel visited the crash site and buried the remains of at least three of the crew. During July 1946, a team American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) Mission 5-B learned of a "Marine B-25" [PBJ Mitchell] crash site from locals and visited the crash site submerged in a swamp. The team found three marked graves but no remains in the locations marked. The team did locate remains, flight jacket fragment with insignia and dog tag of Stark and recovered pieces of wreckage with the USAAF serial number. During December 1948 a team from 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company (604th QGRC) also investigated the loss but concluded the bomber was lost over the sea. It is unclear if this team was aware of the prior search effort or returned to the crash site. Recovery of Remains Postwar, the remains of Stark were recovered. On October 13, 1949 the other six crew were determined to be non-recoverable by a casualty review board. Ingels, Graves, Hughes, Johnson, Stowe and Klinger remains listed as Missing In Action (MIA) to this day. Memorials The entire crew was officially declared dead on January 18, 1946. Each earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. All are memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. References USMC Casualty Card - Charles Leland Ingels (Reverse) "Determined non-recoverable by field board 13Oct49. (vah)" USMC Casualty Card - Richard Robert Graves (Reverse) "Determined non-recoverable by field board 13Oct49. (vah)" USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-25D-25 Mitchell 42-87189 "87181/87205 to USN as PBJ-1D 35098/35122" Navy Serial Number Search Results - PBJ-1D Mitchell 35106 NARA Marine Air Group 61 War Diary September 1, 1944 to September 30, 1944 pages 15, 17 (Page 15) Combat [Losses] - PBJ Bureau Number 35106 and crew, attached to VMB-433, failed to return form Heckling mission of Kavieng, New Ireland night of 1/2 September 1944... Last contact with plane was at 0412, 2 September 1944, at which time Emirau base radar lost sight of the plane. All searches for missing plane and crew were negative." (Page 17) "1 September 1944... Lt. Ingels, pilot of PBJ Bureau Number 35106, off at 0330, 2 September, failed to return from mission. Pilot and crew listed as Missing In Action." NARA Marine Bombing Squadron 433 September 1, 1944 to September 30, 1944 pages 20, 36 (Page 20) "1 September 1944 - An all night heckling coverage o Kavieng was carried on by squadron planes with each aircraft spending two hours over the target... The final plane on the night's coverage led by First Lieut. Charles L. Ingels failed to return from mission. This plane took off at 0330 (2nd. September) and was due in at 0630." NARA Aircraft Action Report (AAR) VMB-433 September 1-2, 1944 Report No. 25 American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Charles Leland Ingels FindAGrave - Charles Leland Ingels (photos, tablets of the missing) The Indianapolis Star "3 Killed, 3 Wounded; 2 Pilots Are Missing: Missing Charles L. Ingels" Sept 30, 1944 page 2 "Lieutenant Ingels had been overseas only three weeks, and his parents received word that he has been missing in action since September 2. A pilot on a bomber, Lieutenant Ingels failed to return from a mission over New Ireland in the South Pacific." The Indianapolis Star "Missing Lieut. Charles L. Ingels" October 1, 1944 page 1 The Indianapolis News "Marine Air Pilot, Missing Since 1944, Now Declared Dead" January 30, 1946 page 23 The Indianapolis News "War Department Declares 3 City Men Officially Dead" January 31 1946 page 3 Fold3 - Charles Leland Ingels American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Richard R. Graves FindAGrave - 1Lt Richard Robert Graves (photos, tablets of the missing) American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - John David Hughes FindAGrave - SSgt John David Hughes (tablets of the missing) American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - John David Hughes FindAGrave - SSGT John David Hughes (Buried or Lost at Sea) date of death listed as January 18, 1946 American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - George Royal Johnson FindAGrave - Corp George Royal Johnson (tablets of the missing photos) American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Harold Forrest Stowe FindAGrave - Harold Forrest Stowe (photo) date of death listed as September 9, 1944 [sic] FindAGrave - Sgt Stanley George Stark (grave photos) American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Leonard G. Klinger FindAGrave - Corp Leonard George Klinger (registration card, Jewish Welfare Board, tablets of the missing photo) Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated July 31, 2023 |
 PBJ  MIA 6 Missing |
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