Aircraft History
Assigned to the 5th Bombardment Group, 72nd Bombardment Squadron. It may have been nicknamed "Alley Cat". The aircraft was written off on July 11, 1943, it was not officially written off in US records on December 1, 1943 as "condemned".

Mission History
Pilot Lt. Raymond W. Price (of the 307th BG, 424th BS) and his crew took off from Carney Field to bomb Kahili. On the return flight to Guadalcanal, the bomber crashed on a ridge near Cape Esperance, killing the entire crew. The cause of the crash is unknown.

A radar operator at Cape Esperance reported that a large plane was tracked to the ground four miles inland from Cape Esperence. The next morning, Fred and Ed McConnell of the 424th BS searched the and found the wreckage of a B-24 in a ravine inland from Yenton Point.  The area has an altitude of about 1,000 feet and the wreckage indicated that the plane was approaching from the sea.

Recovery of Remains
The following crew members are buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl): Recknagel, Jacaway and McConnell. It is unclear if any members of this crew are still MIA, or if all their bodies were recovered from the crash site.

Wreckage
Rediscovered around 1997, this plane crashed into a ridge 1,500 feet above Cape Esperence. Since then, the wreckage has been scattered due to landslides. The US star was visible, and serial "240646" on the tail. This wreck was initially described as a B-17, but further research correctly identified it as a B-24.

The first thing we saw was a crumpled supercharger from one of the engines about 2500 feet away from the main crash site. It appeared that the rains had flushed a number of parts down the ridge and some pieces had been thrown clear on the initial impact. As we hiked up a 50 to 70 degree incline for the next hour, we saw various pieces of fuselage. We then ran across one of the landing gear.

We finally reached the site and saw a large piece of fuselage, the waist section, pointed straight down into the ground. There was numerous live .50 cal rounds scattered about. You could still make out the American star on the port side. A little further away was a number of bent propeller blades and the tail section. On this tail section in yellow letters about 5 inches high was the number "240640".

After rummaging around, we found a single .50 cal machine gun in a very rusted state without the barrel. Sections of wing and the elevators were also about. It was a great experience and the highlight of my sail across the South Pacific."

Memorials
Several of the crew are buried at buried at Hawaii Memorial Cemetery (Punchbowl). McConnel is buried at Plot B, Row 0 Grave 1195. Recknagel is buried at Plot B Row 0 Grave 652. Jacaway is buried at Plot N Row 0 Grave 65

Recovery of Machine Gun
During the 2003 RAMSI operation in Solomon Islands, Australian soldiers visited the site.  They recovered one 50 caliber machine gun, that was later donated to the Solomon Islands Museum.

References
Thanks to Jeff Johnson, who visited the site in 1997
The Long Rangers: A Diary of the 307th Bombardment Group (H) by Sam S. Britt Jr.
Thanks to Michael Claringbould and Daniel Leahy for additional information.

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Last Updated
October 1, 2009

B-24

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