United States Army Air Forces - USAAF (1941-1947)

The airplane departed Port Moresby-Seven Mile Airport in the early morning with a crew of eight and a load of 1,000 pounds of bombs to attack Japanese ships based in the Tonolei Harbor. Approaching the target area, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and decided to return to base. But the airplane failed to arrive and was lost without trace. On 24 February 1999, a hunter found the wreckage on the top of a ridge located about 8 hours walk from the villages of Nigila and Gopai, Milne Bay Province.
Crew (19th BG):
1st Lt John S. Hancock, pilot,
Sgt Robert H. Burns, copilot,
1st Lt James W. Carver, navigator,
Cpl Hiram D. Wilkinson, flight engineer,
Sgt Edward R. Cipriani, radio operator,
Sgt Mac S. Groesbeck, air gunner,
Sgt Raymond A. Maxwell, air gunner,
Cpl Curtis F. Longenberger, air gunner.

Crashed on landing and damaged beyond repair. There were no casualties.

Crashed in unknown circumstances at Langley AFB. There were no casualties.

Crashed for unknown reasons while taking off from Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport. There were no casualties.

Crashed upon landing at Gardner AFB and was damaged beyond repair. There were no casualties.

The airplane was returning to base following an anti-submarine patrol mission over the Bay of Biscay. While cruising at a relative low altitude in poor visibility due to heavy rain falls, the airplane crashed on a hill located in Bassington. An air gunner was injured while 11 other crew members were killed.
Crew:
Cpt William J. Williams II,
1st Lt Lynn C. Riess Jr.,
1st Lt Joseph G. Simpson,
2nd Lt Thomas W. Lewis,
2nd Lt Charles G. Sorrell,
T/Sgt Walter D. Uffleman,
S/Sgt Earl R. Purdy,
S/Sgt Stephens V. DeMaroney,
S/Sgt James Dimuzio,
Pfc John J. Odell Jr.,
Pvt Stephen C. Prekel.

The airplane departed Mareeba Airfield at 2000LT on October 28 on an operation to Tonolei harbor in Papua New Guinea. On October 29, at 0100LT, as the crew failed to find the target, it was decided to return to Marreba. Because the navigator's watch was broken, he was unable to perform celestial navigation. Flying westward but lost, the radio operator had little success communicating with Port Moresby or Mareeba but finally established communication with Townsville. On October 29 at 0700LT, low on fuel, the pilot ditched the airplane on the Great Barrier Reef about 30 km off Cape York Peninsula near Cooktown. The airplane sank within minutes but all five crew members took refuge in two dinghies and were rescued two days later.
Crew (19th BG):
Maj Allen Lindbergh, pilot,
1st Lt Joshua A. Barnes, copilot,
2nd Lt Joseph D. Howard, bombardier,
1st Lt Jack A. Ryan, navigator,
Sgt Hilario L. Hernandez, air gunner.

The crew encountered an unexpected situation and abandoned the airplane that crashed 5 km north of Seabrook. All four crew members parachuted to safety.

The seaplane crashed in unknown circumstances into Portage Lake. Crew fate unknown.

In flight, the crew encountered technical problems and decided to bail out. All 10 crew members abandoned the airplane that dove into the ground and crashed near Calcutta. All crew members parachuted to safety.