Staff Sergeant McArthur served with the 429th Bomb Squadron, 2nd Bomb Group, from Kearney Army Airfield, Nebraska.
He was one of nine airmen killed in the crash of B-17F Flying Fortress #42-29568, 5½ miles northeast of Hutchinson, Kansas, during a training flight.
The B-17 departed the air base at Orlando, Florida on a celestial navigational training flight back to Nebraska. At about 04:30 hours, the pilot began circling Hutchinson, and called for landing instructions, believing he was over the army airfield at Smoky Hills (Salina, KS). But in fact they were circling the naval air station at Hutchinson, about 50 miles to the south.
As the flight continued to receive instructions, the plane flew into terrain in near-zero visibility fog conditions. It skidded along for 400 yards before becoming airborne again, then slammed into the ground and exploded, killing all aboard:
1LT Ned D Knaphus , O-727225, UT, Pilot
2LT Bruce S Upson, O-729930, CA, Co-Pilot
2LT Carl T Miller, O-731087, CA, Navigator
2LT Raymond L Zeiter Jr, O-730319, MI, Bombardier
TSGT Earl C Woollenweber, 15075882, WV, Flight Engineer
TSGT Bernard Budimirovich, 32200170, NY, Radio Operator
SSGT Walter E Bybee, 6792661, IL, Gunner
SSGT Max W McArthur, 19100466, CA, Gunner
PVT James A Farrell, 36303696, IL, Gunner
~
He was one of nine airmen killed in the crash of B-17F Flying Fortress #42-29568, 5½ miles northeast of Hutchinson, Kansas, during a training flight.
The B-17 departed the air base at Orlando, Florida on a celestial navigational training flight back to Nebraska. At about 04:30 hours, the pilot began circling Hutchinson, and called for landing instructions, believing he was over the army airfield at Smoky Hills (Salina, KS). But in fact they were circling the naval air station at Hutchinson, about 50 miles to the south.
As the flight continued to receive instructions, the plane flew into terrain in near-zero visibility fog conditions. It skidded along for 400 yards before becoming airborne again, then slammed into the ground and exploded, killing all aboard:
1LT Ned D Knaphus , O-727225, UT, Pilot
2LT Bruce S Upson, O-729930, CA, Co-Pilot
2LT Carl T Miller, O-731087, CA, Navigator
2LT Raymond L Zeiter Jr, O-730319, MI, Bombardier
TSGT Earl C Woollenweber, 15075882, WV, Flight Engineer
TSGT Bernard Budimirovich, 32200170, NY, Radio Operator
SSGT Walter E Bybee, 6792661, IL, Gunner
SSGT Max W McArthur, 19100466, CA, Gunner
PVT James A Farrell, 36303696, IL, Gunner
~
Staff Sergeant McArthur served with the 429th Bomb Squadron, 2nd Bomb Group, from Kearney Army Airfield, Nebraska.
He was one of nine airmen killed in the crash of B-17F Flying Fortress #42-29568, 5½ miles northeast of Hutchinson, Kansas, during a training flight.
The B-17 departed the air base at Orlando, Florida on a celestial navigational training flight back to Nebraska. At about 04:30 hours, the pilot began circling Hutchinson, and called for landing instructions, believing he was over the army airfield at Smoky Hills (Salina, KS). But in fact they were circling the naval air station at Hutchinson, about 50 miles to the south.
As the flight continued to receive instructions, the plane flew into terrain in near-zero visibility fog conditions. It skidded along for 400 yards before becoming airborne again, then slammed into the ground and exploded, killing all aboard:
1LT Ned D Knaphus , O-727225, UT, Pilot
2LT Bruce S Upson, O-729930, CA, Co-Pilot
2LT Carl T Miller, O-731087, CA, Navigator
2LT Raymond L Zeiter Jr, O-730319, MI, Bombardier
TSGT Earl C Woollenweber, 15075882, WV, Flight Engineer
TSGT Bernard Budimirovich, 32200170, NY, Radio Operator
SSGT Walter E Bybee, 6792661, IL, Gunner
SSGT Max W McArthur, 19100466, CA, Gunner
PVT James A Farrell, 36303696, IL, Gunner
~
He was one of nine airmen killed in the crash of B-17F Flying Fortress #42-29568, 5½ miles northeast of Hutchinson, Kansas, during a training flight.
The B-17 departed the air base at Orlando, Florida on a celestial navigational training flight back to Nebraska. At about 04:30 hours, the pilot began circling Hutchinson, and called for landing instructions, believing he was over the army airfield at Smoky Hills (Salina, KS). But in fact they were circling the naval air station at Hutchinson, about 50 miles to the south.
As the flight continued to receive instructions, the plane flew into terrain in near-zero visibility fog conditions. It skidded along for 400 yards before becoming airborne again, then slammed into the ground and exploded, killing all aboard:
1LT Ned D Knaphus , O-727225, UT, Pilot
2LT Bruce S Upson, O-729930, CA, Co-Pilot
2LT Carl T Miller, O-731087, CA, Navigator
2LT Raymond L Zeiter Jr, O-730319, MI, Bombardier
TSGT Earl C Woollenweber, 15075882, WV, Flight Engineer
TSGT Bernard Budimirovich, 32200170, NY, Radio Operator
SSGT Walter E Bybee, 6792661, IL, Gunner
SSGT Max W McArthur, 19100466, CA, Gunner
PVT James A Farrell, 36303696, IL, Gunner
~
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
