1st Lt. Walter H. Peoples | New England Aviation History

Castle Hill, ME. – July 2, 1943

January 28, 2022

Castle Hill, Maine – July 2, 1943

B-26G Bomber
U.S. Air Force Photo

On July 2, 1943, a B-26C twin-engine bomber aircraft, (Ser. No. 41-35181), with five men aboard, took off from Presque Isle Field bound for overseas duty. Three miles from the airfield the starboard engine developed a problem and the pilot was forced to shut it down. With only one engine, the pilot was unable to sufficiently climb to maintain a safe altitude as the aircraft passed over increasingly rising terrain. About six miles later the aircraft crashed into a wooded area and exploded killing three crewmen and seriously injuring two others.

The dead were identified as:

(Pilot) 1st Lt. Walter M. Cothran.

(Co-Pilot) 1st Lt. Walter H. Peoples, of Wilmington, Delaware.

(Flight Engineer) Corporal Albert L. Williams of New Mexico.

Sources:

Book, “Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents In The United States, 1941-1945”, by Anthony J. Mireles, C. 2006

The Imperial Valley Press, (Calif.) “Three Army Fliers Killed In Wreck”, July 4, 1943, page 3.

Mapleton, ME. – July 3, 1943

July 31, 2019

Mapleton, Maine – July 3, 1943

B-26G Bomber
U.S. Air Force Photo

At about 5 p.m. on July 3, 1943, a U. S. Army B-26C bomber aircraft, (Ser. # 41-35181), took off from the Presque Isle, Maine, Air Base, for a routine training flight when it lost an engine shortly after take off and went down and exploded in a wooded area of Mapleton, about five miles west of the airfield.

There were five men aboard at the time, three of whom perished.

The dead were identified as:

The pilot: 1st Lt. Walter M. Cochran of Wilmington, Del.

The co-pilot: 1st Lt. Walter H. Peoples of Wilmington, Del.

Flight Engineer: Corporal Albert O. Williams of Central, New Mexico.

The injured survivors were identified as:

Corporal Richard P. Hamilton of Pasadena, Cal.

1st Lt. Norman F. Smith, of Sandena, Cal.

Both were brought to Presque Isle Air Base Hospital.

Sources:

Evening Star, (Wash. D.C.), “Three Army Fliers Die In Maine Plane Crash”, July 4, 1943m, page C-7

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