USAAF
5th AF
345th BG
499th BS
Pilot 1st Lt. Claude W. Burger
Co-Pilot Captain Edison K. Walters (499th BS C.O.) (WIA)
Navigator 2nd Lt. Louis E. Higgins (WIA)
Crashed July 8, 1943
Aircraft History
Assigned to the 345th BG in March 1943. Assigned to pilot Claude W. Burger and crew chief Bright.
Wartime History
Crashed on July 8, 1943 after takeoff at Durand
Airstrip (17 Mile). The pilot lowered lowered the nose gear after
take off, believing the co-pilot had already raised the gear. It hit
the
runway
and ended up in the swamp, and the bomber's fuselage had broken. Three crew members were hospitalized in
the crash. The aircraft was abandoned.
Wreckage
Probably, this aircraft was scrapped sometime in the early 1980s. It
has not been located recently, and the area described in the crash
appears to be empty.
References
Warpath Across The Pacific page 32-33, 386
B-25
