B-24D Lost Pacific Oct 6th 1943

Rocky · Post by **Rocky** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 4:52 pm

I am new to this type of research so please bear with me. I am trying to research a B-24 that was lost on October 6th 1943, in the Pacific near California. The aircrafts number was 41-24041 and was based with the 382nd Bomber Group out of Pocatello Idaho. The mission was a training mission that was scheduled from Pocatello to Klamath Falls Oregon, then to Ft. Dick California, then to a point of 41 deg 50 mi W – 127 deg W. I have obtained the accident report, which is quite interesting. The one and only time that the aircraft was heard from was at 8:20am when they reported they had made the required practice bombing run over Klamath Falls at 7:30am. They were never heard from after that, and were presumed lost “Over water”. I have several questions over the information that I have read, mainly why the pilot and the navigator were given different instructions (mainly that the navigator was told to maintain 11,000’ and the pilot was told to drop to 2000’ on approach to the coast), and why the military conducted an extensive air search over Klamath Falls when they said it was 50 minutes flight time behind them. I truly believe that the aircraft never made it to the coast and went down in the mountains of northern California, but in all honesty it is just a guess. I would like to find out all of the information that I can on this aircraft, so any help would be appreciated.

Crew:

Benton, Donald E
Brennan, Harry F
Herrle, Joseph L
Boniface, John J
Pettruny, Edward R
Schmidt, Robert H
Shelton, James B
Hagemeier, Connie C
Moare, Norman J
Hall, Neil L

Anthony J. Mireles · Post by **Anthony J. Mireles** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 8:54 pm

Over 75 AAF airplanes remain missing in the United States and surrounding waters from WWII. Most had over water flight plans. Two are known to still be missing over dry land. One in Arizona (AT-6 Cadet Fischer) and one (UC-78) near Maggie, North Carolina. A P-38 missing since 1942 was found in 1997 in Washington State. The B-24 you are looking for may very well have crashed on dry land. But is more likely to have crashed at sea. For more information concerning missing AAF aircraft from WWII see the three volume reference book "FATAL ARMY AIR FORCES AVIATION ACCIDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1941-1945". Good luck with your research.
Tony Mireles
http://www.warbirdcrash.com

Mrgoodhair · Post by **Mrgoodhair** » Sat May 24, 2014 11:12 pm

: Flight Plan; 41-24041 Page 9.jpg (89.2 KiB) Viewed 10197 times

James B. Shelton of this flight, was my Great Uncle. I've been searching for any information about his plane and crew for years. I have all documents from the incident and following investigation but not sure who to contact to stir interest in locating the plane or its' crew. As Rocky stated above, 24041 made only one radio contact at 0820 and in this transmission, confirmed it was over Klammath Falls at 0730. This would mean that 24041 was directly over this lighthouse when it made radio contact at 0820. 24041's pre-flight instruction was to "climb to, and maintain 11,000 feet until reaching the coast." "Then lose altitude to 2,000 feet when approaching the coast and pinpoint yourself by pilotage so you will know exactly where you are when you leave the coast".
I recently spoke to a group of volunteers that are trying to restore the St. George Reef Lighthouse mentioned in the flight plan. I spoke to a gentleman who tended the lighthouse in the late 40's and he stated he often saw and heard the planes when they came off the coast doing the training missions over the lighthouse. He also stated that October mornings can be heavy with fog and might make it difficult to fly-by-sight just off the coast. The pilot had only 25:50 hours instrument time. I'm not sure if this is a substantial amount of instrument time but I think if the plane was making a decent from 11,000 feet to 2,000 feet through thick fog, and inexperienced pilot might just fly the plane right into the water at cruising speed. This would then explain why no further radio contact was made and no wreckage has ever been found.
That said, with modern day sea floor bottom mapping (http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2012/20120416_bathymetry.html) off the northern California coast and side-scanning sonar, the plane's wreckage may have already been found but not yet identified as a WWII aircraft. I'm almost certain this plane went down within 10 miles of the coast and could probably be located on existing bottom maps. I just don't know who to contact to inspire such a search. It would sure be nice to be able to honor my Great Uncle by locating his remains and giving him the proper burial he deserves. It would bring closure to a family mystery that has grieved my Father and his family for so many years. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Mrgoodhair · Post by **Mrgoodhair** » Sat May 24, 2014 11:29 pm

I also wanted to post a picture of my Uncle Jimmy Shelton.

: Jimmy-Shelton.jpg (105.33 KiB) Viewed 10196 times

Mrgoodhair · Post by **Mrgoodhair** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 8:50 pm

I received the attached information regarding this aircraft after requesting all documents regarding its loss. I have several more but not sure if the administrator would allow me to post them. After reading all the documents, it appears the plane went down somewhere just off the coast of Crescent City California. The Navigator's Brief contained in the Crew Briefing instructs the aircraft over a "Lighthouse". It is my uneducated opinion this plane was losing altitude at the coast as instructed and flew directly into the water just west of the lighthouse.
A detailed search was conducted during the mid to late 1990's by a company called Deep Sea Research Inc. while searching for the sunken steamer "Brother Jonathan" in the same exact location. Their search was for gold bullion but when they tried to apply claim to the wreck after it was found, the state of California's court system declared the remaining gold the property of the State. Therefor, no further search was executed.