The B-17G 44-83325 Had been bound eventually for Sioia,
Italy,as a replacement aircraft & crew for the 15TH AAF
there. The route was to have been from Dow Field,Bangor,
Maine, with a number of refueling stops at Meeks Field,
Iceland, Valley on Anglesey.N.Wales, and then on to
Marrakech, Morocco for the final stage.
Having reached Iceland and re-fuelled the B-17 took off
again on the morning of March 3rd,for its next staging
flight to Valley. Cloud cover was dense that day and was
down to around 1,000ft asl, so the pilot 2/Lt Overfield
had elected to descend below it and level out around
8-900ft.
The trip would be a long drawn out affair, and the crew,
apart from the two pilots,Navigator and Flight Engineer
the latter of whom would have busied himself with engine
temp,fuel & oil temp guage checks would have had little
to do,so time perhaps to catch up on a book or magazine
story,or perhaps write a letter to a loved one back home.
Flying towards the Isle of Skye at 8-900ft asl, with the
cloud & mist shrouding the mountains, the crew were unaware
of the dangers within, and entering another band of cloud,
at around 1pm the stricken fortress impacted with a rocky
mountain known as Ben Edra and exploded killing all nine
crew instantly.
Crew of 44-83325:
Pilot: 2/Lt Paul M.Overfield. Jr.
Co-Pilot: 2/Lt Leroy E.Cagle.
Navigator: 2/Lt Charles K.Jeanblanc.
Radio Op: Cpl Arthur W.Kopp.Jr.
Engineer: Cpl Harold D.Blue.
Gunner: Cpl John H.Vaughan.
Gunner: Cpl Harold A.Fahselt.
Gunner: Cpl George S.Aldrich.
Gunner: Cpl Carter D.Wilkinson.
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B-17 44-83325 - Skye
