41-39241

media-48265.jpeg UPL 48265 A-26B-20-DL #41-39241 Code: 2A-F
416th BG - 669th BS - 9th AF
Crashed at Laon/Athies Airfield after being damaged by flak over the target

http://www.416th.com/CachatPhotos/Cachat_PLANE_CRASHES.html

Object Number - UPL 48265 - A-26B-20-DL #41-39241 Code: 2A-F 416th BG - 669th BS - 9th AF Crashed at Laon/Athies Airfield after being damaged by flak over the target

Connections

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Units served with

416th Bomb Group

Unit Hierarchy: Group
Air Force: Ninth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

669th Bomb Squadron

Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
Air Force: Ninth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

People

Vincent Frank Fair

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 416th Bomb Group 671st Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 33431476
Highest Rank: Technician Fourth Grade
Role/Job: Aerial Gunner

William Fairfield Tripp

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 416th Bomb Group 669th Bomb Squadron
Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
Role/Job: Pilot

Carl Emil Weinert

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 416th Bomb Group 669th Bomb Squadron
Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
Role/Job: Pilot

Places

B-26 Marauders of the 323rd Bomb Group line up for take off at Laon, France. B-26 (serial number 41-34955) nicknamed "Mission Belle" leads the line up. Image via George Spradling. Written on slide casing: 'B-26s Laon, France, Dec 1944.'

Melun

Site type: Airfield
Known as: Melun, Alsace

Events

Event	Location	Date	Description
Other First 416th BG Combat Mission	Haguenau, France	17 November 1944
Other Final 416th BG Combat Mission	Lage, Germany	21 February 1945	Flew 35 combat missions
Crashed	Laon-Athies Airfield, France	21 February 1945	A third plane, piloted by Lt Robert K. Johnson, returned on a single engine when flak had knocked it out over the target. He came in to land but found that he was not going to make the field. He began to pull up and go around. Turning into his dead engine, the plane refused to climb. It crashed into the woods in the 670th Squadron area and piled through part of a living site. The men in the area, hearing the plane's approach, ran for safety. Three did not get clear of the plane. Lt John Alan Cook was killed instantly in his tent. Lts Theron S. Merritt and Stanley H. Sheley were struck by the parts of the plane. Lt Merritt suffered a fracture of the leg. Lt Sheley was more fortunate, breaking a small bone in his foot, from which he recovered in a short time. The fuselage bent double at about the middle of the bomb-bay. Lt Johnson's body was flung out of the cockpit into one of the wheel housings. It required 45 minutes for medical officers to free him from the wreckage. He suffered a broken collar bone and minor facial injuries. He has been evacuated to a hospital in another zone of operations. His gunner, Sgt Henry E. Brandt, crawled from the wreckage uninjured except for shock. He was treated immediately with no further ill effects from the accident.

Event

Location

Date

Description

Other

First 416th BG Combat Mission

Haguenau, France

17 November 1944

Other

Final 416th BG Combat Mission

Lage, Germany

21 February 1945

Flew 35 combat missions

Crashed

Laon-Athies Airfield, France

21 February 1945

A third plane, piloted by Lt Robert K. Johnson, returned on a single engine when flak had knocked it out over the target. He came in to land but found that he was not going to make the field. He began to pull up and go around. Turning into his dead engine, the plane refused to climb. It crashed into the woods in the 670th Squadron area and piled through part of a living site. The men in the area, hearing the plane's approach, ran for safety. Three did not get clear of the plane. Lt John Alan Cook was killed instantly in his tent. Lts Theron S. Merritt and Stanley H. Sheley were struck by the parts of the plane. Lt Merritt suffered a fracture of the leg. Lt Sheley was more fortunate, breaking a small bone in his foot, from which he recovered in a short time. The fuselage bent double at about the middle of the bomb-bay. Lt Johnson's body was flung out of the cockpit into one of the wheel housings. It required 45 minutes for medical officers to free him from the wreckage. He suffered a broken collar bone and minor facial injuries. He has been evacuated to a hospital in another zone of operations. His gunner, Sgt Henry E. Brandt, crawled from the wreckage uninjured except for shock. He was treated immediately with no further ill effects from the accident.