ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 98428
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| Date: | Sunday 30 July 1944 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Boeing B-29 Superfortress |
| Owner/operator: | 40th BGp /395th BSqn USAAF |
| Registration: | 42-6240 |
| MSN: | 3374 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 11 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | 25 miles South-east of Li-kiang, Yunnan Province -
 China
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Chakulia Airfield,Purbi Singhbhum district, State of Jharkhand, India |
| USAAF Base A-1. Hsin-ching Airfeld, China |
B-29-10-BW 42-6240: Delivered to the USAAF 6 November 1943. Assigned to 395th Bomb Squadron, 40th Bomb Group 7 May 1944. Named ‘Hap’s Hope’.
Missing, presumed written off (damaged beyond repair) when crashed from unknown causes 25 mils South East of Likiang, China July 30, 1944. (MACR 7177). Reportedly "Missing in storm over Hump en-route to USAAF Base B-4": 7 crew killed, 4 survived. According to the following published source (see link #6)
"On the morning of July 30, 1944, Captain Edwin Glass and his veteran flight crew departed the 40th Bomb Group's home base at Chakulia Airfield, India, on a mission over the "Hump" (the southeastern Himalaya Mountains) to their forward base at Hsin-ching, China. Eddie Glass was considered to be the best Pilot in the Group, and he had flown with his crew for several years. They were flying a B-29 stripped of its combat equipment, then modified to carry fuel and cargo. On this mission, the plane was loaded with gasoline and bombs.
The Hump route for this flight was Chakulia(India)-Imphal (India)-Myitkyina (Burma)-Lake Tali (China)-Ipin (China) then to the destination at USAAF Base A-1 at Hsin-ching, China. From Imphal to Ipin, the rugged Himalaya Mountains ranged from 12,000 feet to more than 19,000 feet high near Lake Tali. Flying weather over the Hump was uniformly bad this time of the year.
When the crew filed its flight plan, the forecast weather for the Hump route was not especially alarming. Near takeoff time, an unexpected, huge cold front surged out of southern Tibet and enveloped the Hump route near the China-Burma border. Capt. Glass was not made aware that he would be flying into towering thunderstorms, hail, clear ice, and severe turbulence.
The crew of the heavily-laden B-29 reported over Myitkyina, Burma, at 15,000 feet climbing to the minimum en route altitude of 21,000 feet. They gave an ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) for Lake Tali. Shortly afterwards, the B-29 entered the back side of the severe front...the ill-fated plane was never heard from again. Subsequent search efforts failed to find the missing plane and its precious crew."
Sources:
1. http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbaloc.asp?Loc=mi&offset=8650
2. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1.html
3. https://www.fold3.com/image/28827876?ann=62c04d80-505f-11e0-2f50-5a7152012b30
4. https://user.xmission.com/~tmathews/b29/56years/56years-4407.html
5. http://usafunithistory.com/PDF/0300/395%20TACTICAL%20MISSILE%20SQ.pdf
6. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45330879
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Jun-2017 20:22 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Mar-2020 11:12 | DG333 | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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