USAAF
5th AF
43rd BG
63rd BS
Justin Taylan 2006
Pilot Captain Herschall R. Henson
Destroyed September 14, 1942
Aircraft History
Constructor Number 3076. Nicknamed "Hoobalibali", Hawaiian for "Kid-Em-Along".
Mission History
Crashed and exploded during takeoff at Mareeba Airfield loaded with bombs, all the crew of ten were killed. The noise of the explosion was heard as far away as Yungaburra and the shockwave affected homes in the town of Mareeba three and a half miles away.
Chris Lind adds:
“I visited and studied the site and history in 1986 and talked to locals who knew the story behind the crash. It appears that the aircraft was still being serviced right up to the time it was due to depart on a bombing mission in a nine ship flight to raid Port Moresby at day break. The crash happened at 5 minutes past midnight. The tail gunner fell ill with dysentry and swapped with another at the last moment and did not report sick and went straight to bed. Aircraft taxied to line up and was last to depart.Half way through takeoff role outboard starboard engine began to mis-fire and quit. Aircraft also had two extra 'observers' on board from Air Force intelligence who were to check out ship and transport movements over the target, thus aircraft was overloaded.
Take off roll was too late so Henson apparently applied full wa power to engines and appeared to hauled back on yoke thus pitching aircrafts into nose high attitude. This was witnessed by a local who was standing on acess road at end of the strip, who was returning home from a function. The aircraft lifted off but overloaded and under powered flew for 1/4 of an mile off the end of the bomber strip then crashed into a dry creek bed and exploded.
Parts of which still lie there today. Mareeba Shire council has a small section on a plaque with inscription mounted on its council building wall to mark the event. I recovered a flare tube, wing attachment section and shattered nose cone from a 500lb GP bomb from the site in 1986 and presented then to the Cairns Hitorical Society museum. As a footnote... the tail gunner woke the next day and shocked everyone with his appearance as all thought he was dead. Also, I spoke to the son of a turnip farmer adjacent to the bomber runway who told me that on occasion, his father, who was devoutly religious and a non drinker along with other people, had seen what appears to be a group of men standing at the end of the runway or sometimes on the runway in the early morning light. When approched they seem to ‘fade to nothing’.”
References
Pride of Seattle page 7-8
B-17
