Date & Time: Jan 11, 1944 at 1330 LT
Operator:
Registration:
42-31451
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
6565
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
9
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
The crew was returning to his base in England in a formation with few other Boeing B-117 when he was attacked by a wave of three Messerschmitt Me.109. Hit by several shots, the aircraft went out of control, dove in the ground and crashed in a field located in Epe, some 10 km north of Apeldoorn. A crew member was able to bail out before the crash, was evacuated and was taken POW while all nine other occupants were killed.
Crew:
Ross A. McCollum, pilot,
Marcum E. Thomas, copilot,
Daniel P. Jones, navigator,
Lloyd George Crabtree (POW)
Wayne Austin Warner, engineer,
Henry A. Stelmach, radio operator,
Howard Leon Chatelain, gunner,
Leander J. Aurie, gunner,
Warren B. Goss, gunner,
Andrew Paul Barrus, gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down.