Westover Army Air Field, Chicopee, Massachusetts
U.S. Army A-29 Attack Bomber – U.S. Air Force Photo
At about 8:30 a.m. on the morning of February 21, 1942, a Lockheed A-29 aircraft with a crew of five aboard crashed on takeoff from runway 33 at the Westover Army Air Feld in Chicopee, Mass.
As the aircraft was leaving the ground the pilot raised the landing gear. A strong crosswind was blowing at the time, and when the aircraft was at an altitude of about 20 feet it suddenly dropped back to the ground in a flat attitude. During the impact, the co-pilot, 2nd Lieutenant Gordon C. McAthur, 24, of Paris, Texas, was hurled against the control panel and fatally injured.
None of the other crew members were injured.
Lt. McArthur is buried in Evergreen cemetery in Paris, Texas. To see a photo of him, click on the link below. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55039852/gordon-cross-mcarthur
Sources:
Springfield Republican, “Dies After Crash Of Warplane At Westover”, February 22, 1942, page 1
www.findagrave.com
