About hiking & GPS & coordinate systems
 |
| [Duke Sumonia found the explanation for this picture in the December
1978 edition of WINGS magazine. This aircraft is B-24M-5-FO S/N 44-50468
belonging to 455th Bomb Group 740th Bomber Squadron, 15th Air Force. "Supposedly
the result of inadvertent application of brakes during takeoff run, this
wartime accident killed six crewmen almost instantly." Jim Holder added that
this occurred at San Giovanni April 12, 1945. Pilot listed as James T. Harris.
August 2009 - Andy Kemp contacted me by email reporting that his father,
Tech Sgt Andy Kemp of 739 Squadron of 455th Bomb Group was on a crew with
the man who took this photo. The photographer was not an official AAF
photographer but would run out to take pictures of landing/takeoff accidents.
This picture was taken about 5 min after the crash. Andy's father was shot
down on his 3rd mission but he and his crew returned to fly 24 more missions.
]
|
Website Purpose: This site documents military and historical aircraft crash sites in Colorado and Wyoming. It contains site descriptions, brief descriptions of the accident causes (if known) , locating maps and GPS coordinates of the sites. This site also contains trip reports, narratives, pictures, and a few stories of meetings with survivors or relatives of victims of these crashes.
This is not a ghoulish search for personal valuables or used airplane parts. This is an adventure in outdoor route-finding, in solving puzzles based on descriptions and it is a reminder of how un-safe aviation was throughout most of its development. It has brought me many, many enjoyable days in the Colorado mountains and it has introduced me to some fascinating 'sea stories.' On the other hand, it has also brought pain in the form of sympathy for the families of the victims who still feel their losses many decades after the event. If the information gained in this pasttime helps bring closure to the families then I'm very happy that there is an unexpected nobility involved in what started out as casual entertainment.
