ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 109494
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| Date: | Tuesday 6 June 1944 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Martin B-26B Marauder |
| Owner/operator: | 394th BGp /587th BSqn USAAF |
| Registration: | 42-96050 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 |
| Other fatalities: | 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Gillingham, Kent, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Boreham/AAF Sta.161 |
Mid-air collision. On D-Day, June 6, 1944 at 5:05 am while on route to a mission in France 42-96263 was involved in a mid air collision with the 42-96050 over Gillingham, Kent, England. Poor weather was said to have been the cause of the accident. Weather at the time of the accident was reported as: Vis. 7 miles, wind 8 mph, 7/10 cloud, light rain. The pilot of 42-96263 was not flying on instruments at the time of the crash(?) Hearsay testimony of civilians in the vicinity on Gillingham, Kent indicates that one aircraft was flying around beneath the overcast. The other aircraft came down out of a large black cloud and the two collided (?) No actual eyewitnesses were found (?) 42-96050 jettisoned some of its bombs then crashed into homes on Corporation Road in Gillingham, killing the entire crew and four civilians. Six homes were demolished. The 42-96263 crashed into the orchard at the East Court Farm in Gillingham, Kent also killing all the crew.
The 42-96263 Crew
Lt Claude Wallace Kline Jr
Lt Emil F Ostrowski
Sgt George S Rogers
Sgt Raymond F Sablatura
Sgt Joseph Amato
Sgt James F Bechtler
The 42-96050 Crew
Lt Wit(h)cher Terrell Berger
Lt Warren D Rodgers
Sgt Edward H Monaghan
Sgt George S Knight
Sgt Alfred M Zussa
Cpl Forrest W Pafenberg
Civilians who perished in Gillingham as a result of the accident
Fanny F. Whittingham
Joan Beatrice Ada Taylor - niece of Fanny
Percy Montague Williams
George Thomas William Gandon
Sources:
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/db.asp
http://www.gillinghambattleb26crash.com
- JF Baugher
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Sep-2011 00:27 | Lori.o | Updated [Location, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Sep-2011 01:15 | Lori.o | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Country] |
| 10-Nov-2011 13:54 | angels one five | Updated [Operator, Country, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 16-Feb-2012 04:35 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Source] |
| 09-Oct-2012 13:51 | Uli Elch | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Apr-2013 16:10 | Nepa | Updated [Operator] |
| 26-Jan-2021 18:07 | Anon. | Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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