Mountains

While on a reconnaissance mission over Timor Leste, the twin engine airplane was attacked by the pilot of a Japanese Mitsubishi Zero. The captain ordered his crew to bail out. When he bailed out and was later rescued, he realized that all four other crewmen remained on board and were killed when the aircraft crashed on hilly terrain near Cribas.
Crew:
F/O Sidney G. Wadey, pilot,
P/O Stanley W. Faull, †
Sgt Francis M. O'Reilly, †
Sgt Gould W. Herbert, †
Sgt William R. Edeson. †

The airplane departed RAF Finningley at 2130LT on a night training exercise. En route, the pilot encountered foggy conditions and in low visibility, he decided to reduce his altitude in an attempt to establish a visual contact with the ground. At a height of 2,000 feet, the airplane impacted the slope of Mt Dufton Pike located about 6 km north of Appleby-in-Westmorland. Upon impact, the tail was sheared off and the aircraft crashed, bursting into flames. All five crew members were injured.
Crew (25th OTU):
Sgt Basil Glynn, pilot,
Sgt Robert Lyster Skillen, navigator,
Sgt Huge William Campbell, bomb aimer,
Sgt Joseph Edward Collinson, wireless operator and air gunner,
Sgt Harold Nelson, air gunner.

The airplane departed Fayetteville-Pope AFB to Providence, Rhode Island, with an intermediate stop at Hemsptead Plains-Mitchell Field, Long Island, NY. On board were four crew members and 15 paratroopers. En route to Rhode Island, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with fog. Due to low visibility, the crew lost his orientation and the airplane went off the prescribed flight route and drifted to the north. At an altitude of 2,200 feet, the airplane collided with trees and crashed in a wooded area located on the Garnett Peak, some 1,6 km east of Peru. All four crew members and 12 paratroopers were killed. Three others survived but were severely wounded.
Those killed were:
Crew:
2nd Lt Joseph J. Fields Jr.,
S/Sgt Robert W. Lamon,
S/Sgt Charles M. Scott III,
Cpl Austin W. Weeces.
Passengers:
Hyman B. Flinkman,
Sam B. Hathorn,
John H. Kelley,
Frank A. Lastosky,
Joseph C. Neurohr,
Jack E. Palmer,
Gardner W. Plain,
Stanley L. Racine,
Norman Sands,
Steve L. Schollin,
James I. Thompson,
James D. Westbrooks.

The twin engine airplane departed Moncton on a ferry flight to Montreal with a crew of four on board. While cruising over Maine, weather conditions deteriorated. Two other similar airplane diverted to Millinocket, Maine, while the pilot of JS173 decided to continue to Montreal. Nevertheless, the visibility was poor and the pilot descended into instrument conditions when, at an altitude of 2,690 feet, the airplane impacted hilly terrain in the Saddleback Mountain. Three crew members were killed and the sole survivor walked away for few hours before finding help. According to the survivor, the altimeter read 4,000 feet.
Crew:
Sgt Edward H. Hollenbach, pilot, †
Lac Arthur C. Duffield, †
A2c Paul Paterson, †
A2c Earl Machan.

The airplane departed RAF Feltwell on an operation to Mainz. It was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in hilly terrain near Neuss. Four crew members were killed and the air gunner became PoW.
Crew:
F/Sgt Thomas Smith Barclay, pilot, †
F/Sgt Ronald George Renauf Hodges, navigator, †
Sgt William Gordon Lloyd Inglis, wireless operator, †
Sgt Robert John Warring, air gunner, †
Sgt John William Filder Atkin, air gunner.

The four engine airplane departed RAF Polebrook at 1030LT on a 30 minutes flight to RAF Burtonwood, carrying eight crew members and three passengers. En route, the bomber impacted the east slope of Mt Berwyn located 8 km northwest of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, Wales. The wreckage was spotted few hours later. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 11 occupants were killed.
Crew (97th BG):
2nd Lt Henry L. Gilbert, pilot,
2nd Lt Robert Earl Beers, pilot,
S/Sgt Robert A. Kemp, radio operator,
2nd Lt Lawrence G. Schmitt, navigator,
2nd Lt Leonard Holm Phillips, bombardier,
M/Sgt Stanislas Lepa, air gunner,
Sgt Kenneth H. Branum, air gunner,
Sgt Wallace V. Sidders, air gunner.
Passengers:
Cpl Marvin A. Koepke,
Cpl Stanley G. Aldridge,
Pvt Fidel A. Villarreal.

On August 10, the airplane departed Moscow on a flight to Ordzhonikidze with intermediate stops in Kuibyshev, Astrakhan and Makhachkala. The crew passed an overnight in Makhachkala and the airplane took off at 0810LT on August 11 on the last leg to Ordzhonikidze with 18 passengers and a crew of six on board. The copilot ask the captain several times to take over the controls but this was refused. Eventually, the captain accepted to transfer the controls to the copilot and fell asleep. Instead of bypassing the mountains, the copilot flew directly over the mountains. Following a misjudgment of the rate of climb, the airplane lost speed and was unable to climb properly when it descended to the right, impacted trees and crashed in hilly and wooded terrain. While passengers were trying to help wounded people, the airplane suffered several explosions and was destroyed by fire. One crew member and four passengers were killed while 19 other occupants escaped with various injuries.

Engaged in a maritime patrol flight, the airplane impacted the slope of a mountain located near Cape Kovrizhka, in the west part of the Unalaska Island. Eight crew members were killed while Harley E. Miller survived and was rescued.

The crew was engaged in a training sortie out from RAF Lossiemouth. In flight, a cowling detached and hit propeller blades, causing the engine to stop. The pilot reduced his altitude in an attempt to make an emergency landing when the airplane hit the slope of a hill and crashed 5 km southwest of Loch Lee. Three crew members were killed while the rear gunner was injured.
Crew (20th OTU):
F/Sgt Arthur George Wilson Keene, pilot, †
Sgt Alfred Kirby, observer, †
Sgt Joseph Weatherson, observer, †
Sgt Oscar Knud Lerche Jensen, wireless operator and air gunner.

The airplane departed Townsville on a flight to Port Moresby (7 Mile Aerodrome). About 30 minutes prior to the ETA, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and the visibility was limited. The captain was able to gain height and continued above the cloud layer. Unfortunately, the aircraft christened 'Yankee Clipper' overflew Port Moresby and continued to the east. Due to fuel shortage, all eight occupants decided to abandon the airplane and bailed out. The airplane dove into the ground and crashed on the slope of Mt Suckling located about 200 km east of Port Moresby and was destroyed. Six crew members were recovered (some of them eight days later) while two others were killed.
Crew (22nd BG):
Lt Duncan A. Seffern, pilot,
2nd Lt James A. Michael, copilot, †
Sgt Paul L. Ramsey, bombardier,
2nd Lt Carroll W. Casteel, navigator, †
Tom Riley, air gunner,
Sgt Kenneth R. Gundling, radio operator,
Sgt George T. Rickman, flight engineer,
Vern Haugland.