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| USN MAW-1 MAG 11 VMSB-131 |
Pilot Major William C. Hayter, O-007037 (MIA / KIA) Childress, TX Crashed April 7, 1943 Aircraft History Built by Grumman as model G-40. Constructors Number 4877. Delivered to the U.S. Navy (USN) as TBF-1 Avenger bureau number 47545. Wartime History Assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) to Marine Air Wing 1 (MAW-1), Marine Air Group 11 (MAG-11), Marine Scout Bomber Squadron 131 (VMSB-131). No known nickname, nose art or markings. Mission History On April 7, 1943 at 2:00am took off from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal piloted by Major William C. Hayter on a bombing mission against Kahili. One plane turned back after getting separated from the formation. After hitting a storm, one crashed into the water, and two may have accidentally collided. The three survivors from these two planes landed in the sea and managed to swim to the Russell Island and were rescued over the next several days. The fate of the other three planes is unknown. A total of five of six planes from VMSB-131 went down on this mission. Note: three Navy bomber squadrons from Henderson Field also participated in this same mission. Some completed the mission, some turned back, and a few were lost in bad weather. Memorials Hayter was officially declared dead on April 9, 1945. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and Purple Heart, posthumously. Hayter is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablet of the missing. He also has a memorial marker at Archer City Cemetery in Archer City, TX. Relatives William Turner adds: "Hayter was not married and had no children. His two brothers are both still living, in Long Beach, California. Both brothers were also in the Marines (one was an SBD pilot). I met them several months ago. Besides me, Hayter has another namesake, a nephew. I asked one of the VMSB-131 veterans, George Bobb, whether a flight like this would have flown directly over the Russell Islands. He said they did not typically fly over islands; the mission to Bougainville would probably have flown up the Slot just west of the Russells. In the summary of the April 8, 1943 mission it is stated that the flight leader (Hayter) finally signaled a return to base - a right turn. When I read about the right turn, it started me thinking about the possibility of some of the planes actually flying over the Russells and going down in the islands - however REMOTE that circumstance would be. One is an Intelligence Report that is not dated, but must be a day or two later, as it closes with "seaches are still being made at this writing." The second is a declassified Action Report which covers the April 8 mission. Both reports are quite detailed, including pilot and crewmen of each TBF, individual plane numbers, fate of each plane (i.e., crashed in water, missing, returned to base, etc.). I also have a detailed history of the squadron, which covers this mission in great detail. One of the official reports lists 12 men from 131 as Missing. I assume this was later changed to KIA. The plane numbers listed are not bureau numbers, but the single or double digit numbers carried on the planes' cowlings and sides." References Navy Serial Number Search Results - TBF-1 Avenger 47545 USN Overseas Aircraft Loss List April 1943 TBF-1 Avenger (no BuNo listed) pilot Hayter American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - William C. Hayter FindAGrave - Maj William Cleveland Hayter (photo, tablets of the missing) date of death listed as April 8, 1943 [sic] FindAGrave - William Cleveland Hayter (memorial marker photo) Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated April 7, 2022 |
 Avenger  MIA 1 Missing |
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