Randolph Vermont Plane Crash | New England Aviation History

Randolph, VT. – June 27, 1943

August 28, 2024

Randolph, Vermont – June 27, 1943

B-17 “Flying Fortress”
U.S. Air Force Photo

On June 27, 1943, a B-17 Flying Fortress, (Ser. No. 42-30417), with ten crewmen aboard, was flying from Nebraska to Maine. From Maine it would fly overseas. While the aircraft was passing over Vermont, it developed severe engine trouble and could not stay airborne. The pilot ordered the crew to bail out, but two of the crew members, the co-pilot and tail gunner, elected to remain aboard and try to assist the pilot in making an emergency landing. The pilot brought the plane in towards Fish Hill where it struck a large tree and began strewing pieces, before crashing on the farm of Owen Seymour, killing all three men aboard. Those who bailed out landed safely.

The dead were identified as:

Pilot: Lieutenant Leonard L. Bolon, 21, of Iowa. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/137831291/leonard-l-bolon

Co-Pilot: Lieutenant Harry A. Turner

Tail Gunner: Staff Sergeant Donald E. Burgan

In 1991 a memorial plaque was erected near the crash site by local citizens to honor the crew, and every year a service is held at the site on Memorial Day.

Artifacts from the crash site have been recovered and turned over to the Randolph Historical Society.

Sources:

The Sun, “Vermont Man Solves Mystery of 1943 B-17 Crash”, June 23, 2011. https://suncommunitynews.com/news/26892/vermont-man-solves-mystery-of-1943-b-17-crash/

Vermonter.com, The Herald, “From The Archives: B-17 Plane Crashes In Randolph”, July 12, 2018.

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Randolph, VT. – August 20, 1921

May 26, 2023

Randolph, Vermont – August 20, 1921

On the afternoon of August 20, 1921, two young men wrecked their aircraft in the town of Randolph. When the plane came down it struck a telephone pole, breaking it in half. It then continued on into a fence and crashed nose first into a wooded embankment. At the point of final rest, a large stick had penetrated the cockpit narrowly missing the pilot’s head.

The plane reportedly came down “near the E. H. Mason, or D. H. Morse, farm on the so-called “Sandhill” road, toward Perth…”

Despite the aircraft being a total loss, the pilot and his passenger were uninjured. The cause of the crash was thought by some to be an underpowered engine for the size and weight of the aircraft.

The type of aircraft was not reported.

Source:

The Barre Daily Times, (Vt.), “Airplane Came Down A Wreck”, August 22, 1921, pg. 1