Date:	Wednesday 6 June 1945
Time:	03:06 LT
Type:	Boeing B-29A Superfortress
Owner/operator:	869th BSqn /497th BGp USAAF
Registration:	42-24592
MSN:	4253
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 13
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	off Kwajalein Atoll -   Marshall Islands
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands
Destination airport:	Hickham AAF, Hawaii

Narrative:
Boeing B-29 42-24592: Delivered to the USAAF 17 July 1944. Assigned to 869th Bomb Squadron, 497th Bomb Group, Led the first B-29 raid on Tokyo on 24 November 1944, the first bombing attack of the Japanese capital since the Doolittle Raid on 18 April 1942. The aircraft also participated in another significant Tokyo raid on 9/10 March 1945, when it flew the first night, low level altitude, fire-bombing (Operation Meetinghouse) raid. Re-assigned to 497th BG, and named *Dauntless Dotty*. Returned to CONUS (CONtinental US) after 53 missions in June 1945

Written off when crashed while being flown home by the first 497th Bomb Group crew to complete 30 missions. Dauntless Dotty, departed Kwajalein at 03:06 hours on June 7, 1945 for the second leg of a ferry flight back to the United States, commanded by Captain William A. Kelley, of Tifton, Georgia. Forty seconds after takeoff, the aircraft struck the Pacific Ocean and sank, killing 10 of 13 on board instantly. (MACR #14530)

Co-pilot 1st Lt. John Neville, of Bradley, Illinois, tailgunner S/Sgt. Glenn F. Gregory, of Waldron, Indiana, and left gunner S/Sgt. Charles McMurray of Memphis, Tennessee, were thrown from the wreckage and were recovered by a rescue boat after some 45 minutes in the water.

The wreckage of the Dotty and the remains of the ten men who were trapped inside her when she sank have never been located. The wreckage is believed to be at a depth of approximately 6,000 feet. A search for the lost airframe by the National Underwater and Marine Agency Australia has been proposed

Crew of B-29 #42-24592:
1st Lt William Kelley of Tifton, Georgia (Airplane Commander) - killed
1st Lt Roy Shanklin of Radford, Virginia (Bombardier) - killed
2nd Lt William Kovack of Detroit, Michigan (navigator) - killed
Carl Stammerjohn of Chicago, Illinois (Flight Engineer) - killed
S/Sgt Albert DeSimone of Schenectady, NY (Radio Operator) - killed
T/Sgt Glenn Jones of Salt Lake City, Utah (Central Fire Control) - killed
S/Sgt Thurman Walling of Wichita, Kansas (Right Gunner) - killed
S/Sgt C.B. Pence of Conway, Arkansas (Radar Operator) - killed.
1st Lt John Neville of Joliet, Illinois (Co Pilot) - survived
S/Sgt Charles McMurry of Memphis, Tennessee (Left Gunner) - survived
S/Sgt Glenn Gregory of Waldron, Indiana (Tail gunner) - survived
Pfc Lowell Spivey of Windsor, North Carolina (passenger) - killed,

1. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1.html
2. http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/Jun1945O.htm
3. http://www.memphis-belle.com/dotty_story.htm
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dauntless_Dotty#Demise
5. http://www.avialantic.com/kwaj/dotty.html
6. http://b-29.org/73BW/497BG/dauntless-dotty/dotty.html
7. https://user.xmission.com/~tmathews/b29/56years/56years-4506a.html
8. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/view/Military.aspx?pid=1612477254
9. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi/page/gr/%3Cbr%3E
X.https://www.findagrave.com/page=gr&GRid=56132438

869th Bomb Squadron B-29, 42-24592, Dauntless Dotty. Shown is Major Robert Morgan, pilot of the aircraft.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Jul-2017 23:42	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Registration, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
19-Jul-2017 21:57	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative]
19-Jul-2017 21:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
22-Mar-2020 09:30	DG333	Updated [Operator, Source, Operator]
06-Jun-2022 07:53	Ron Averes	Updated [Location]