Aircraft History
Engines R-1830-65 serial numbers a) 42-87653 b) 42-88110 c) 42-88288 d) 42-87653. Weapon serial numbers unknown.

Mission History
Took off from Tarawa Airfield (Hawkins Field) on a bombing mission against Taroa Airfield at Arno Atoll. Over the target, the formation was intercepted by Japanese fighters. This B-24 was damaged by anti-aircraft fire and attacking fighters and ditched on the south center beach of the lagoon at Arno Atoll. Two of the crew members died during or as a result of the crash and were buried on Arno.

Another B-24 piloted by Lt. McCleskey followed this bomber down and dropped emergency rations and took photos of the ditched airplane, and observed six or seven crew members hauling equipment out of the bomber.

Search Mission
On January 6, a PBY Catalina was sent to the crash site, escorted by eight F6F Hellcats. They circled the crash site for two hours, but saw no sign of life, other than many footsteps across the beach.

On January 4, an aircraft was sent to destroy the ditched bomber, but was unsuccessful. On January 5 another aircraft attempted to destroy the bomber, but again failed. Later another B-25 was again scheduled to attempt to destroy the wreckage, but is unclear if it performed its mission or was successful.

Fates of the Crew
Eight of the crew members survived and were housed and fed by the Marshallese on Arno Atoll from January 3-16. Then a Japanese patrol boat arrived from Taroa and captured them. The airmen were taken to Maloelap Atoll where they remained until January 20, 1944.

Wreckage
The wreck rests in the tidal zone off a beach rock spur off Jab'u Island in 1 to 1.5m of water at low tide, some 30-40m from the present high-tide mark.

Present are the port wing, a large part of the starboard wing, the central fuselage section between the wings, and all four engines. Only one propeller was seen, although the others may well rest buried in the sand, somewhere to the rear of the plane, ripped off during the crash landing. The tip section of the port wing from the port No.2 engine onwards is snapped off and twisted backwards. The bottom of the lagoon shows a few isolated pieces of aluminum, among them the ring of the central Martin turret. No pieces of the pilots cockpit or the entire rear fuselage including rear ailerons could be located.

The aluminum is on the whole in good condition. The plane, resting on the reef has been utilized by the Arno people in the 1940s and 1950s as a resource for aluminum to manufacture coconut-grater blades, husking-stick points and other artifacts for daily use.

Memorials
Declared dead on February 3, 1944. The crew is memorialized on the tablets of the missing at Honolulu Cemetery (Punchbowl).

References
Dirk H.R. Spennemann has an excellent website on this wreck with information and photos.

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Last Updated
December 15, 2008

B-24

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