Mission History
Took off from Makin Airfield on a flight to Engebi Airfield, radio call sign 6V326.

Radio stations at Midway and Tarawa reported they had been in contact with this B-25. A radio messages at 4:30pm was received by Engebi tower asking for a bearing at 208 degrees and estimated 90 miles from the tower, and was asked to turn on emergency IFF for two minutes. Enewetok radar picked up IFF at 40 degrees and tracked a target until lost. Several F4U Corsairs were sent to intercept and lead the B-25 to the airfield, then estimated as 75 miles from the airfield, but failed to find it. Aware they were lost, it was assumed the crew of the B-25 had time to ditch or bail out.

Search
No searches were flown that night. The next morning, eight B-25s of the 396th BS took off at 7:00 and searched for 200 miles bearing 180 - 260 degrees. A faint radio message was heard by one plane, the others found nothing.

On May 1, another search in the vicinity of the radio message was flown by six more B-25s of the 396th BS. The source of the radio message was deemed to be from a "gibson girl" from a PB2Y at Enewetok and was ruled out. Also, from Makin, five B-25s also searched, but found nothing, nor a PBY Catalina, both were negative.

On May 2, another search by nine B-25s of the 396th BS after completed their bombing mission and shipping search near Ponape continued to search for this missing B-25 without results.

On May 3, another search was flown by eight B-25s, based on a radio fix from Midway. Later that same day 20 SBDs searched another sector, without results.

Memorials
The entire crew was declared dead on February 8, 1946 and are memorialized on the tablets of the missing at Honolulu Cemetery (Punchbowl).

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Last Updated
October 29, 2009

MIA