CRASH OF AN UNKNOWN AIRCRAFT
AT AN UNKNOWN LOCATION
IN QUEENSLAND ON 16 AUGUST 1942
| visits since 31 December 2001 |
I now have access to a record of the burials of US Servicemen at the Townsville US Cemetery. The following US personnel were all buried on the 23 August 1942. They are all listed as being killed in a plane crash at an unknown location. I have assumed at this stage that they were all killed in the same plane crash.
| Merker, Bernard | 28yrs | Jewish |
| Tarod, Ralph | 29yrs | Protestant |
| Bailing, William M. | 23yrs | Protestant |
| Hammersmith, G.W. | - | Protestant |
| Randall, Herman T. | 23yrs | Protestant |
| Adams, Coy | 26yrs | Protestant |
The World War II Honor Roll of the American Battle Monuments Commission gives the following information:-
Ralph Tarod |
Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces35032421450th Ordnance Company, Aviation |
| Entered the Service from:
Ohio Died: August 16, 1942 Honolulu Memorial Honolulu, Hawaii |
George W. Hammersmith |
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces0-364669450th Ordnance Company, Aviation |
| Entered the Service from:
New York Died: August 16, 1942 Honolulu Memorial Honolulu, Hawaii |
Hermon T. Randall |
Technical Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces0692470230th Bomber Squadron, 19th Bomber Group, Heavy |
| Entered the Service from:
Georgia Died: August 16, 1942 Honolulu Memorial Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Awards: Purple Heart |
Coy Adams |
Sergeant, U.S. Army Air Forces0688264230th Bomber Squadron, 19th Bomber Group, Heavy |
| Entered the
Service from: West Virginia Died: August 16, 1942 Honolulu Memorial Honolulu, Hawaii |
NOTE
USAAF B-17 #41-2434 of the 30th Squadron of the 19th Bombardment Group at Mareeba crashed into the sea near Cairns while testing a new flare dropping mechanism on 16 August 1942. The pilot, Major Dean C. "Pinky" Hoevet and all his crew, which included some of his armament officers were killed. Were the armament officers from the 450th Ordnance Company, Aviation? I have a suspicion that this may be the same crash. Can anyone please confirm?
The following entry is from the following document:-
With the 19th and 43rd Bombardment Groups 1942-3
by William R. EatonR.B. Irwin; J.W. Duerst; J.M. Menczkowski; 4.42; 27 August 1942
Takeoff from Charleville, 1000, landed at Mareeba, 1425. Really glad to get out of Charleville. We are assigned to the 93rd Bomb Sqdn and maybe this time we will get some action. I learned that T/Sgt H.T. Randal and Sgt Coy Adams of the old 2nd Provisional Sqdn had been killed on a hop over Cairns, Q. Both good men. B-17E # 2464
Note the B-17E # 2464 shown above is the aircraft that William R. Eaton flew in on 27 August 1942, not to be confused with the aircraft that crashed with Randall and Adams on board.
Can anyone help me with more information on this crash?
Location of crash
What aircraft?
What Squadron?
Date of crash?
Click here to E-Mail me
©
Peter Dunn 2001
All rights reserved. No part of this home page may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission
of Peter Dunn in writing.
Why
not join my Discussion List To subscribe send an e-mail to |
Australia @ War |
|
Do
you need a holiday! |
Genealogy Software
plus 190 Mbytes of Genealogy Indexes & programs
DISCLAIMER
Although every care has been taken in presenting this information
some of it may be incorrect or incomplete, hence the creator of this website and/or any
researcher or writer mentioned in it disclaim any liability in relation to the
information, errors or omissions contained herein. Any person intending to use or rely on
this information should first confirm it for themselves from other sources. Nevertheless
any corrections or additional information will be most welcome.
This page first produced 31 December 2001
This page last updated 28 October 2006
