So I was headed back from the deer woods a week or two back and saw a new sign on Highway 35, just south of Little Rock, pointing to a B-17 Crash Memorial. Naturally it piqued my interest so I turned off and headed to the site. What I didn't know was that this was a brand-new memorial in the process of being constructed on the site. I wrote down the website and looked it up once I got home.
The memorial is built to remember the crew of 42-29532, a B-17F that crashed in severe weather in March 1943. From what I've found on the site, the aircraft was listed as "Condemned" due to a number of mechanical issues, but the crew was ordered to ferry it to FL anyway.
I've shamelessly lifted the following from the website, as it's a heartbreaking story:
"According to the A.C. Order #W535-ac-20292 (1) on March 11, 1943 the aircraft was Condemned. In spite of the aircraft being condemned on March 11, the crew followed their new order #13 to depart for Morrison Field on March 12, 1943 at 1300 hours to “ship #9532″ to West Palm Beach Florida. It is not known if the Pilot Davis and his fellow crew members were notified that their aircraft was condemned by the U.S. Army, but Crew #18 like most crews serving during the war would follow orders even in the face of imminent danger.
The AIRCRAFT CLEARANCE (Exhibit “F”) Stated: Estimated Flight Time: 8 plus 30 with a weather forcast for route: “Overcast 1500-3000 ft. through Kansas and Northern Arkansas with overcast 200-800 ft. through Southern Ark. moderate turbulence- frontal zone, Light ice in clouds in Ark. Visby. 1-3 mi. Winds Aloft: West 20-30 M.P.H., 1-6 thsd ft scattered to broken clouds 2000-3000 ft with scattered rain showers in Florida with vsby above five miles.” Where the signature line is the following was typed: “S/-GOERGE H. DAVIS, 2nd Lt.” Commander Davis did not sigh this Aircraft Clearance.
CONFIDENTIAL EXHIBIT “G” stated: Instructions given to Lt. Davis in aircraft 42-29532 by AIRWAYS TRAFFIC CONTROL before departing Salina for Morrison.
1. Kansas City Area Clearance. (a.) “Cross airway near Cassidy and Chanute. Contact Neosho Radio.”
2. Additional Clearance. (a.) “Cross airway near Brinkley Arkansas.. Also 50 miles south of Memphis. Cross airway near Eutaw Alabama. Maintain 10,000 feet on civil airways. Contact Little Rock or Memphis Radio.”
Confidential Exhibit “G” has no title, date or signatures.
The Army Air Corps Investigation Item #3 stated: Due to the lack of evidence indicating material or mechanical failure, the Board must assume the opinion that the pilot was the responsible factor for the following reasons:
1.Pilot was on instrument clearance; an altitude of 10,000 feet, however, he was observed flying between four hundred (400) and (500) feet and crashed in the worse portion of the front.
2.the pilot did not contact any radio range stations along his route.
3.It appears that the pilot did not fully familiarize himself with existing weather conditions along his proposed route. Weather maps indicate unlimited ceilings at either end of his flight route with a front approximately four hundred (400) to five hundred (500) miles wide laying between. He had sufficient fuel on board to return to his point of departure or to continue on across the front to his point of destination.
The orders instructed Commander Davis to fly at 10,000 feet on a direct path from Salina, Kansas to their West Palm Beach, Florida destination. It is more likely than not that Commander Davis altered the scheduled flight path to prevent flying directly into a severe thunderstorm with ceilings of 35,000 feet. The thunderstorms ran north to south and Commander Davis turned his heavy bomber to the south, flying parallel to the thunderstorm. This preventative measure brought the flying fortress 90-miles south which resulted in the plane flying over Sheridan instead of Searcy. It is believed that while Commander Davis was dealing with the weather problems, the aircraft developed severe engine problems began causing extreme vibrations.
Newspaper reports stated that the military said that Co-Pilot Robert Turchetto(e) had been in contact with Adams Field officials since the vibrations started and was asking for help in finding an area large enough on which to land.
It is known that that the aircraft was in such critical condition that by the time the aircraft made it over Sheridan Arkansas, that Commander Davis had descended his aircraft from 10,000 feet to between 300 to 400 feet above the Town of Sheridan Arkansas. Weather reports at the time of the crash showed the thunderstorm floor at 300 to 400 feet which was the approximate height that witnesses saw the aircraft flying.
Commander George Davis, Co-Pilot Robert Turchette and their entire crew knew that they were about to crash land and were struggling to keep the Flying Fortress airborne long enough to find a field on which to land in an area free of civilian population.
Peter Ivanovich (radio operator) knowing that he was about to be involved in a plane crash; wrapped one of his dog tag’s, his rosary, and a miniature deck of playing cards into his red army air corps handkerchief and threw the bundle out of the B-17 to someone (unknown) below. The individual that saw the red handkerchief being thrown from the aircraft, opened it and following the crash sent the items to Peter’s Mother in Bisbee, Arizona. Peter’s Daughter Paula now has those items in her possession. Paula was told by her mother that her Father was seen leaning from an opening in the side of the B-17 as he shouted “GET THESE TO MY MOTHER”.
After circling Sheridan several times (approximately 15-minutes). An area resident said that he believed that the Pilot of the B-17 was lining up to attempt a landing on a large field near the Sheridan Elementary School but after seeing a house at the end of the field he pulled up and flew North.
Local lore has it that there were children playing on the elementary school playground and when they looked up at the low flying aircraft, it was so low that they could see the men’s faces looking out at them from above.
The crew then located a field approximately six-miles North of Sheridan parallel to Grant County Road 51 (Corinth Road). According to witnesses, by this time the Flying Fortress had at least one engine on fire and was trailing smoke. In spite of extreme vibrations and serious problems with one or more engines, Commander Davis and Co-Pilot Turchette were in control of their aircraft as it circled the open field, first at approximately 300 feet above tree top level through their last approach at approximately 100 to 200 feet above the ground.
Commander Davis knew that his B-17 was doomed and according to local newspaper reports, his last radio transmission to Adams Field stated “I’m loosing my plane…it’s coming apart!” (a 15 to 20 foot section of the right wing was found by Edgard Edwards approximately 1-mile from the crash site).
Newspapers from: Little Rock, Pine Bluff and Sheridan reported that witnesses stated: The aircraft was trailing smoke and was on fire. They said they heard it explode while still in the air and then heard a large explosion following the crash.
As Commander Davis was making his final approach to land his B-17 in the field, the loss of a portion or all of the right wing threw the Flying Fortress into a spinning downward dive. The centrifugal force would have prevented them from bailing out from any height but at this height, it would mean certain death to bail out.
It is unknown if it was the vibrations, engine failure or a lightning strike caused the explosion that separated the wing from the plane but due to eyewitness testimony, it is more that likely that the engine was on fire and burnt through the aluminum wing covering into the fuel bladder.
The aluminum removed from the Bauxite pits returned to the Earth along with it’s thousands of other components (total weight 56,900 pounds) plus it’s crew of nine. It returned to the Earth 5.8-miles North of Sheridan, Arkansas and approximately 12 miles South of where it began it’s journey as reddish brown ore.
The Flying Fortress fell to the earth there with no forward (horizontal) motion. With the exception on a single tree that was knocked down, the surrounding 50 foot to 75 foot tall trees did not have any damage to their tops. One tree had a vertical scrape along it’s side from top to bottom which was a clear indication that the plane fell almost vertically from the sky when it lost it’s air lift. The aircraft hit with such force that all nine airmen were instantly killed upon impact.
When the Flying Fortress spiraled out of control, it fell vertically from the sky, basically “belly flopping” to the ground. The fuselage took most of the impact and was on fire following the crash. The impact of almost 30 tons of metal striking the Earth was felt for 4-miles. Within moments of striking the ground, there was a tremendous explosion that shook nearby houses."
The website is very well done, and interesting reading; the bauxite used in making a number of war implements was mined near there, and they put it in the context of those materials essentially returning to where they came from. They're intending to open the memorial park on 11-11, and I may try to make it.
Either way, I thought I'd post this to get the guys some more visiblity to a good cause. Here's the site:
http://b17memorialpark.com/-Brandon
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