Westover Field, MA – May 8, 1942

Westover Field, Massachusetts – May 8 1942

    

B-24 Liberator  U.S. Air Force Photo

B-24 Liberator
U.S. Air Force Photo

     Just after 4:00 p.m. on May 8, 1942, an LB-30 bomber aircraft (#AL-590) came in for a landing at Westover Field in Chicopee, Massachusetts.  After the aircraft had rolled approximately half-way down the runway the pilot, Capt. Kermit A. Harcos, applied the brakes and the nose wheel began to shimmy violently before it broke off causing the nose of the plane to strike the runway.  The LB-30 skidded to a stop at the intersection of runways 15 and 19.  Although the aircraft suffered damage, none of the four-man crew were hurt.

     Besides Capt. Harcos, the other crewmen were identified as:

     (Co-pilot) Capt. James A. Johnson

     (Engineer) S/Sgt. Gilbert E. Bardo

     (Radio Operator) Cpl. H. M. Cunningham

     The LB-30 aircraft was an early version of the B-24 Liberator. 

     The aircraft involved in this accident was repaired and flown to England on July 20, 1942.  On December 8, 1943, it ran out of fuel in bad weather and crash landed near Cazes, Morocco.   

     Sources:

     U.S. Air Corps Technical Report Of Aircraft Accident, #42-5-8-11

     www.joebaugher.com website

      

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