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USN Lt. Charles C. Taylor |
Pilot Lt. Charles C. Taylor, USNR (MIA / KIA) Nueces County, TX Gunner AOM3c George Devlin, USNR (MIA / KIA) Brooklyn, NY Radio ARM3c Walter R. Parpart, USNR (MIA / KIA) Brooklyn, NY Missing December 5, 1945 after 6:20pm Aircraft History Built by General Motors, Eastern Aircraft Division as Model G-40. Constructors Number 451. Delivered to the U.S. Navy (USN) as TBM-3 Avenger Bureau Number 23307. Mission History On December 5, 1945 at 2:10pm took off from NAS Fort Lauderdale piloted by Lt. Charles C. Taylor armed with bombs leading a training flight of five TBM Avengers "Flight 19" flying "Navigation problem No. 1" to conduct bombing and navigation flight eastward to Bermuda. Returning, the formation became lost. At 6:04pm Taylor radioed to his flight "Holding 270. We didn't fly far enough east; we may as well just turn around and fly east again". Afterwards, a final radio message "All planes close up tight ... we'll have to ditch unless landfall ... when the first plane drops below 10 gallons, we all go down together". Afterwards, all five Avengers ditched or crashed crashed in the "Bermuda Triangle". All five Avengers were listed as missing with the loss of 14 pilots and air crew all remain listed as missing. Search When it became clear "Flight 19" was lost, at 6:00pm a PBY Catalina took off to search for the flight and guide them back, but was unable to find the Avengers. After dark, two PBM Mariners took off from NAS Banana River and instead of flying a scheduled training mission were diverted to perform a search flying square patterns over the area to the west of f Lat 29°N Long 79°W were "Flight 19" was last reported. Lost was PBM-5 Mariner 59225 after a routine radio message at 7:30pm. Memorials All three crew remembers remain listed as Missing In Action (MIA). A memorial is located at Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum. On December 5th is an annual ceremony open to the public to commemorate the airmen lost on December 5, 1945 plus the 95 other personnel lost during World War II at NAS Fort Lauderdale. References Navy Serial Number Search Results - TBM-3 Avenger 53337 "23307 was a member of the famous Flight 19 which was lost out of NAS Ft Lauderdale, FL Dec 5, 1945. It was flown by the flight leader, Lt. Charles Carroll Taylor." FindAGrave - Charles Carroll Taylor (photo) FindAGrave - George Francis Devlin Jr. (photo) FindAGrave - Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum - The Mystery of Flight 19 Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum - The Disappearance of Flight 19 - Visual Exhibit Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum - Lt. Charles Carroll Taylor, USNR Flight 19 Instructor, FT-28 Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum - George Francis Devlin, Jr. AOM3c, USNR Flight 19 crewman - FT-28 Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum - Walter R. Parpart Jr., ARM3c USNR Flight 19, Radioman in FT-28 Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum - Memorial Flight 19 Complete Naval Report - Volume 1 The Testimony by Andrew Marocco Flight 19 Complete Naval Report - Volume 2 The Exhibits by Andrew Marocco Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated February 22, 2024 |
 Avenger  MIA 3 Missing |
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