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Thomas Lafferty
Pilot
MIA January 31, 1952
Charles L. Billingslea
Gunner
MIA February 21, 1952
Dave P. Sullivan
Navigator
MIA February 21, 1952
Warren B. Wisdom
Pilot
MIA February 21, 1952
Eugene W. Gould
Navigator
MIA March 31, 1952
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The world is black. No moon. You can't see the stars so you must
have an overcast. If there are trucks below you may see headlights,
or you may have clouds below to obscure the ground.
Navigator: "We should be coming up on our route in about 3 minutes."
"Can I let down here?"
"I think so."
"How high are the hills?"
"The map says 2500 feet to 3500 feet." (The map also is blank
in some areas where is says "unknown.")
"Do you have our position?"
"Well, pretty much so."
While you are talking you are moving away at four miles per minute
from the place where the navigator had what he thought was a good
position.
"The hills are lower over to the west, and beyond that is water.
Maybe we should go over there and see if we can let down."
"OK, if you say so."
It was called "flying into a rock filled cloud."
There are many ways to die in a low-level night mission. The obvious
way was to be hit by enemy antiaircraft fire. If the shell hits
the plane in a vital place the plane may explode and you have
had a very bad day.
When things went bad they went bad very fast.
Occasionally we learned what happened. In May 1951 pilot Robert
Martin struck a wingtip on a hill during a strafing run in the
Wonson area and ditched in the bay. The aircraft was in a nose
high attitude and attempting to climb when it hit the water in
an uncontrolled ditching. The aircraft disintegrated but "dollar
ride" pilot, Norbert Kirkpatrick, survived by hanging onto the
nose wheel, which broke loose and floated. A helicopter picked
up Kirkpatrick in the morning. Capt. Martin, Sgt. Chitwood and
Lt. Kern were lost.
Then there was the other unintended ditching. Lt. Tom Lafferty,
flying a notoriously heavy aircraft, LOVE, had difficulty on his
takeoff roll. After the aircraft was committed to the takeoff,
one of the overhead hatches opened. Shortly after lift-off the
other hatch popped open. Lafferty had his hands full -- a heavy
airplane -- dark night flying into the black on instruments --
turbulence -- and evidently flying into a thunderstorm. Then the
crew became aware that the cockpit was filling up with water.
They had ditched into the bay. Lafferty and the navigator, Lt.
Norton, survived but the gunner, Clifford Sloppy, drowned. It
was his 55th mission and to be his last, and it was. |
John A. McAllaster
Navigator
MIA April 4, 1952
Ralph L. Phelps
Gunner
MIA April 4, 1952
James Van Fleet, Jr.
Pilot
MIA April 4, 1952
Robert J. Ramsey
Navigator
MIA May 31, 1952
Ray E. Wells
Pilot
MIA May 31, 1952 |
