ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 84411
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Thursday 12 April 1951 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Boeing B-29A Superfortress |
| Owner/operator: | 307th BWg /371st BSqn USAF |
| Registration: | 44-62252 |
| MSN: | 11729 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 13 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Hillside near Suwon, Gyeonngi Province, 10 miles South of Seoul -
 South Korea
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan |
| USAF Base K-13, Suwon, South Korea | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Boeing B-29A-70-BN Superfortress 44+62252: Assigned to 371st Bomb Squadron, 307th Bomb Group, MacDill AFB, Florida. Deploted to Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan for Korean War Operations.
Written off (destroyed) 12 April 1951 on combat operations: B-29 44-62252 was part of a three wing formation aimed at destroying railway bridges across the Yalu river at Sinuiju and Antung. This was a dangerous daylight mission that was so disastrous for the Air Force that on the following days the planes were painted black on the bottom and scheduled for safer night time raids.
The aircraft was acting as the electronics countermeasure aircraft for that particular bombing mission. Its job was to confuse enemy ground radar through the use of electronic jamming equipment combined with the dropping of "Chaff" (aluminium foil strips). It was in the slot (last) position of the 2nd group (of 3 groups) which put it in the middle of the 3 groups.
There was some space between each group. This B-29 had some engine trouble (from age) causing it to slow down, so rather than force its own group to slow down it dropped from the last spot of the 2nd group back to become the lead plane of the next group (the 22nd Bomb Squadron). It was during this brief unfortunate window that the Russian piloted MiG-15's attacked, finding a lone B-29 all by itself between two groups. The aircraft was damaged by the MiG-15s.
A fire erupted forcing seven crew members to bail out; they became PoWs. The remaining crew managed to extinguish the fire and nursed the aircraft back to Suwon AFB, South Korea. Badly damaged, the crew did not attempt to land but stayed with the aircraft until it got far enough south, then bailed out, and were all brought to safe lines by South Korean or Turkish troops, leaving the aircraft to crash into a hill near Suwon, Gyeonngi Province, 10 miles South of Seoul.
Crew of 44-62252:
Adams, S/Sgt James Q. - Radio Operator (rescued)
Armstrong, 2nd Lt. Harold A. - Co-pilot (rescued)
Brand, 1st Lt. John H. - Bombardier (rescued)
Chenault, Capt James M. "Champs" - Plane Commander/Pilot (rescued)
Low, 2nd Lt. James E. -Navigator (rescued)
Hannemann, S/Sgt. William R. - Left Gunner - Bill Hannemann was a substitute left scanner for Tech Sgt. Ralph A. Hixson who was on sick call that day. (POW - repatriated)
Hearn, Capt. Joseph S. - Not a regular part of the crew. Joe ran the radar shack on the base was getting in his monthly flying time. (POW - repatriated: Died February 12, 2008)
King, A/1C Marvin E. - Right Gunner (POW - repatriated)
Knego, 1st Lt. George J. - Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) - George was not a regular member of the crew. He flew as the ECM officer on a plane that was ordered to perform enemy radar-jamming. George would fly with any crew assigned to that plane. (POW - repatriated)
Metz, S/Sgt. Henry X. - Central Fire Control gunner (CFC) (POW - repatriated)
Moree, S/Sgt. Leonard- Radar shack ground personnel who was along for the ride for the experience. (POW - repatriated)
Oldewage, T/Sgt. Daniel H. - Tail gunner (POW - repatriated)
Whitfield, S/Sgt. Andrew J. - Flight Engineer (rescued)
Sources:
1. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1944_4.h]tml
2. http://www.koreanwar-educator.org/topics/b29s/p_b29s_losses_personnel.htm
3. http://www.baaa-acro.com/1951/archives/crash-of-a-boeing-b-29a-70-bn-superfortress-in-suwon/]
4. http://www.historicalconsulting.com/dad_b29.html
5. http://www.dpaa.mil/portals/85/Documents/KoreaAccounting/korwald_all.pdf
6. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/120817811
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 14 December 1952 | WF570 | 35 (Madras Presidency) Sqn RAF | 4 | South Acre, nr Swaffham, 5 miles ENE of RAF Marham, Norfolk, England |  |
w/o |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Jun-2017 23:50 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Nov-2020 13:00 | Anon. | Updated [Operator, Source, Operator] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation