State side B-25 crash 1944

[Simon Beck]

I'm looking for details on behalf of a gentleman who
wrote to me from LA wanting to know about an
accident that happened in 1944 - 1945.

He said his father lived next door to a house in
Inglewood California that was hit by a B-25
supposedly lost in fog. The crew and one occupant
of the house was killed in the incident.

Does anyone have any details on this, a date would
be good as ewspaper articles could then be located.

Cheers
Simon Beck

[Swiss Mustangs]

candidates (not reported as fatal, though)

B-25C 42-32390 - crashed on take of from Los Angeles Municipal Airport, CA, on 23rd Januar 1943 - pilot Elroy Freudenberg (NAA pilot)

RB-25 40-2165 - NAA test a/c, crashed, forced-landing due to engine failure on 8th January 1945 at Mines Field, CA, pilot Edgar A. Stewart

B-25G 42-65195 - forced landing at Los Angeles Municipal Airport, CA, on 23rd August 1943, pilot George S. Armistead (NAA pilot)

maybe I will find more, but this should get you started

Martin

[TonyM]

Message Deleted

Last edited by TonyM on Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

[TonyM]

Message Deleted

Last edited by TonyM on Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

[TonyM]

According to my research, all three of the B-25 accidents listed above were non-fatal and none involved the airplanes colliding with structures on the ground in Inglewood.

The only accident in my data base that is close to what is described in the original post occurred on January 2, 1944 and involved a Douglas C-49J, not a B-25. The writer described an accident where an airplane collided with structures in Inglewood under conditions of poor visibility with fatalities on the ground. There was only one such accident in Inglewood during WWII. There were two fatal P-38 accidents near Mines Field during WWII, but neither involved fatalities on the ground and both occurred in 1942.

January 2, 1944. Inglewood, California. At 2124 PWT, a Douglas C-49J (43-1982) collided with power lines, a house and a civilian automobile while attempting to land at Mines Field, California, killing the two army service pilots and a civilian motorist on the ground. Three crewmembers were injured. The C-49 took off at 1830 PWT from McClelland Field, Sacramento, California, on a cargo flight to Los Angeles and was on an instrument clearance for 6,000 feet. The airplane picked up considerable ice en route and was cleared to climb to 8,000 feet. The icing became worse and the flight was cleared to 12,000 feet. The airplane was able to escape icing conditions and continued to Los Angeles. The pilot began to let down near Newhall and went on instruments at 10,000 feet. The airplane picked up ice as it descended into clouds below 10,000 feet. The airplane broke out into VFR conditions after flying on instruments for a short time. The airplane arrived at Mines Field and was cleared to land on Runway 7L at 2117 PWT.

There was some ground fog covering the eastern end of the field. The pilot was not satisfied with his approach and was apparently surprised by the fog so he began a go-around before the airplane touched down. The airplane, flying at 75 feet agl, entered fog and the pilot went on instruments. The airplane flew about a mile on the runway heading before colliding with three high-tension power lines about 100 feet agl at the 5000th block of 106th Street. The trailing edge of the starboard flap was found impaled on one of the power line poles.

The airplane continued in a relatively flat attitude as it descended at an angle of about 15 degrees. The airplane collided with trees, additional power lines and clipped the corner of the roof of a home at 5053 W. 106th Street, the power line severing the port horizontal stabilizer and elevator. The airplane descended into the ground out of control and collided with a 1934 Chevrolet Sedan, decapitating the occupant and carrying the automobile about 75 yards. The airplane came to rest in a vacant lot at 5016 W. 106th Street and burst into flames about a minute later. The starboard engine came to rest in the front bedroom of the residence at 5034 W. 106th Street, seriously damaging the house. Wreckage was scattered all down the block with many pieces coming to rest in the front yards of the homes lining both sides of W. 106th Street. Several homes received minor damage. Ground fog was prevalent at the crash site. Electric power and telephone service in the immediate area was disrupted for several hours.

Investigators noted that the automobile was registered to Reverend R.E. Schultz, Inglewood, California, but was apparently being operated by Louis Elmer Westphalen, 23, Los Angeles. Investigators believed that the automobile was was parked in the driveway of 5053 W. 106th Street at a home rented by Westphalen's sister. Twenty millimeter ammunition that was part of the airplane's cargo began to detonate as the fire grew. Army Service Pilots Capt. Charles H. Smoot and 2Lt. Milton Steuer were killed in the crash. Passenger 2Lt. Robert L. Hall and passenger SSgt. Willima H. Burris suffered minor injuries and civilian radio operator Francis A. Pluff sustained serious injuries.

The information in this summary is based on the official
Army Air Forces Form No. 14 Aircraft Accident Report and can be found on
Page 634 of Volume 2 of
FATAL ARMY AIR FORCES AVIATION ACCIDENTS
IN THE UNITED STATES, 1941-1945


Good luck with your research.

TonyM.

[Simon Beck]

Thanks for the write-up. My friend in LA was elated
as he'd been looking for confirmation for over 50 years
on this incident. His father saw it all happen right outside
his living room window while having breakfast but had
never been able to find anything out about it!!

Its a real credit to these forums and the people on them
that stories and information like this can be told.
S.Beck

[Matt Gunsch]

if you want to see the area now

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Ingle ... :f:EN:M:/e

[Chris Brame]

His father saw it all happen right outside
his living room window while having breakfast but had
never been able to find anything out about it!!

He was having breakfast at 9:24 PM? (2124 PWT)

[mustangdriver]

Maybe he was a party animal.

[The Inspector]

Third Shift worker??