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The B-29 44-62276 OF THE 301 st Bomb Group which formed part
of the 15th US Air Force, had left RAF Scampton,Lincolnshire
on the morning of 17th January 1949,for a return trip to the
units airfield at Smoky Hill AFB, Salina,Kansas.
On board the Superfortress were 20 crew & passengers, who were
to be accompanied that day by a 2nd B-29 also returning to the
American base.
It was a very cold morning as the airmen boarded their aircraft
for the last time. The route would take them via Scotland to
Keflavik in Iceland,where there would be a short stop for some
supplies & refuelling, conditions that day were varied across
the British Isles, with a lot of scattered cloud about, but even
worse was that freezing tempretures would cause heavy icing on
the wings and make control surfaces heavy and unstable.
Whilst over the area of Strathclyde,Western Scotland,the two B-29s
began to experience problems with icing, Captain Donald E.Riggs,
pilot of the other B-29 in the flight, decided that conditions
were too bad and made a turn to head back to Scampton, it is not
certain what happened next, but the pilot of `62276` 1/Lt Sheldon
C.Craigmyle, crashed the B-29 into a hillside at Succoth Glen,Nr
Lochgoilhead,Argyl, at 09.50 hrs, the aircraft immediately burst
into flames and all 20 on board perished.
The inquiry into the crash was unable to determain the exact cause,
but expressed that adverse weather and heavy icing was to be a
contributory factor in the loss of this aircraft.
Crew & Passengers of 44-62276.
PILOT. 1/LT SHELDON C.CRAIGMYLE.
CO-PILOT. 1/LT MYRTON P.BARRY.
NAVIGATOR. 1/LT RICHARD D.KLINGENBERG.
BOMBARDIER. 1/LT ROBERT A.FRITSCHE.
T/SGT DELBERT E.COLE.
M/SGT WAYNE W.BAKER.
T/SGT JOHN B.LAPICCA.
S/SGT MALCOLM W.BOVARD.
SGT ANTHONY V.CHRISIDES.
SGT RUFUS W.MANGUM.
PFC JACK L.HEACOCK.
M/SGT HENRY P.PRESTOCH.
T/SGT FRANK M.DOBBS.JR.
SGT CECIL G.JONES.
SGT CHARLES W.HESS.
PFC ROBERT BROWN.JR.
T/SGT RUFUS G.TAYLOR.
SGT PAUL W.KNIGHT.
PFC FREDERICK N.COOK.
PFC BRUCE J.KRUMHOLS. |
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1/Lt Myrton P.Barry aged 24, was born in New Haven,Connecticut on 9th October 1924. Having enlisted in the USAAF in Nov 1942, he went on train at a number of bases including Chanute Field,illinois, Maxwell AFB, Alabama and gained his pilots wings at Turner Field,Giorgia, in July 1944. Whilst serving overseas in England, he flew many missions in B-17s over enemy occupied Europe, and for his bravery was awarded the silver star, Air Medal and two oak leaf clusters. After WW2 he returned to civilian life, but in 1948 re-enlisted in the USAF and was assigned to a B-29 crew for a 3 month tour of duty at RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire. He had finished his tour and was returning to his home in Salina to his wife & baby daughter, when the tragedy occurred. Photo: Kathy McClanahan. |
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This photo is beleived to have been taken following the crews tour of duty,and it is not known who all those in the photo are, but so far it has been established that Bob Fritsche the Bombardier is Front row,4th left. Front row, 3rd left is Navigator Richard Clingenberg, and possibly Co-Pilot Myrton Barry is Front row 2nd left. Back Row 3rd right is Sgt Paul W.Knight. Photo: Ruth Fritsche via Kathy McClanahan. Thanks to John Knight for ID of his brother in the pic. |
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The main crash site in 1988 shows signs of an intense fire.
In the early 1980s, a tin box containing photos of T/Sgt John B.Lapicca`s wife & children was found amongst this wreckage along with tattered love letters from his wife. These effects,found by an aviation group in 1981, and when a local man from Dumfries, Mr Ronnie Waugh in 1990, after over 40 years, Mr Waugh with the help of various agencies, news media etc, completed his task, and all the photos letters & papers were returned to the airmans daughters in Texas and Virginia. |
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B-29 44-62276 - Scotland
