Chester Leigh Peek

Military

As Engineering Officer in the 95th Bomb Group / 412th Bomb Squadron, Chester Peek was a witness to the take-off accident of B-17# 42-31123 on 19 November 1943.

From the pages devoted to the plane, the crew and their fate at http://redlingfield.onesuffolk.net/home/local-history/the-second-world-… :

“That morning I was sitting in my jeep on one of our hard-stands, just to the west of the water tower watching the planes take off on a mission to Gelsenkirchen Germany. The planes, as usual, were taking off to the west. When the Kenneth B. Rongstad plane took off it was immediately apparent that he was in some sort of trouble. The plane gained only 50-100 feet of altitude, was flying too slow and not able to climb. The pilot evidently tried to turn back to the field, (a fatal mistake) and had completed about 180 degrees of the turn when the plane stalled, the left wing went down and it crashed with a huge ball of fire.

“My assistant, Lt Beall, and I immediately drove to the scene, but had to take a round-about way and were not the first to arrive. At the house were several US Army jeeps and at least one British fire engine. We parked near the pond in front of the house and went to see what help we could be if any. I believe all the bombs had gone off before we arrived, I don't recall any explosions. The house was damaged and the thatched roof was smouldering. I asked a British fireman if they would be able to put it out. He said: ‘No, you can't put out a fire in a thatched roof’. We then joined those carrying out furniture and retrieved some from the second storey.”

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 95th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 95th Bomb Group 334th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Enlisted

Fort Des Moines, Des Moines, Iowa, United States 2 June 1942

Born

Paulina, O'Brien County, Iowa, United States
Paulina, O'Brien County, Iowa, United States

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

NARA WWII Enlistment records
Mentioned at http://redlingfield.onesuffolk.net/home/local-history/the-second-world-… as witness to the crash of B-17 # 42-31123 on 19 November 1943