2LT, US ARMY AIR FORCES WORLD WAR II
2nd/Lt. (Observer)
Home: New York
Unit: 576 Bomb Sq 392 Bomb Gp
Service ID: 0-370151 Died Non-Battle
Pilot 1st/Lt. Donald W. Kaspervik
Target: Training mission
Mission Date: 15-Jun-43
Serial Number: #42-7146
Aircraft Model B-24E
Aircraft Letter:
Aircraft Name:
Location: New Mexico
Cause: Mid Air Collision
On this day, nine planes took off at 0630 hours from Alamogordo on a navigation, formation, and bombing mission. From the 576th Squadron, 1st Lt Donald W. Kaspervik was leading the first element of the formation and 2nd Lt Donald R. Lembright was in the No. 3 position.
An article in the February 2006 issue of the 392nd BGMA News provides these details: At approximately 0650, "the group was headed due north and had leveled off at 12,000 feet (about 3,000 feet above the mountains). Lembright was dealing with turbulence caused by up- and down-drafts from the mountains and engineer T/Sgt Robison heard him tell the Co-pilot that the plane was trying to skid to the right. To keep his position on #146, Lembright had to look due east, directly into the rising sun. Robison got the pilot's sunglasses from storage and was ready to hand them over when the flight smoothed out.
Without any warning, #071 slid toward the lead ship so that one propeller hit the lower part of #146's tail surface. Then #071 moved slightly forward, causing even more damage to #146. The collision knocked the left bomb bay door from Lembright's plane and tore the entire tail section from Kaspervik's.
Both ships veered to the left. 1st Lt Alfred Scarlata, flying lead in the No. 3 element, saw Kaspervik head down in a glide and Lembright pull his ship up in a steep climb that resulted in a stall. From that point on, he told the Board of Inquiry, "I don't think they had a Chinaman's chance of getting out of that plane… They didn't have enough altitude…and the violent action of the ship just held them in the airplane."
1st Lt James H. Roper, flying directly behind Kaspervik, said debris from the collision broke his windshield, made a hole in the leading edge of his right wing, and punctured his cowl flaps.
#42-7146 Crew:
1LT Donald W Kaspervik, Pilot
2LT Ray E Ward, Co-Pilot
2LT John V Andrews, Navigator
2LT Bruce G Ellis, Bombardier
2LT Edward V Handy, Jr., Observer
SSGT Eldon F Ressler, Engineer
SSGT George L Scott, Gunner
SSGT Arthur P Wikle, Gunner
SSGT Allen J Alexander, Gunner
SGT Allen Chamovitz, Radio Operator
2LT, US ARMY AIR FORCES WORLD WAR II
2nd/Lt. (Observer)
Home: New York
Unit: 576 Bomb Sq 392 Bomb Gp
Service ID: 0-370151 Died Non-Battle
Pilot 1st/Lt. Donald W. Kaspervik
Target: Training mission
Mission Date: 15-Jun-43
Serial Number: #42-7146
Aircraft Model B-24E
Aircraft Letter:
Aircraft Name:
Location: New Mexico
Cause: Mid Air Collision
On this day, nine planes took off at 0630 hours from Alamogordo on a navigation, formation, and bombing mission. From the 576th Squadron, 1st Lt Donald W. Kaspervik was leading the first element of the formation and 2nd Lt Donald R. Lembright was in the No. 3 position.
An article in the February 2006 issue of the 392nd BGMA News provides these details: At approximately 0650, "the group was headed due north and had leveled off at 12,000 feet (about 3,000 feet above the mountains). Lembright was dealing with turbulence caused by up- and down-drafts from the mountains and engineer T/Sgt Robison heard him tell the Co-pilot that the plane was trying to skid to the right. To keep his position on #146, Lembright had to look due east, directly into the rising sun. Robison got the pilot's sunglasses from storage and was ready to hand them over when the flight smoothed out.
Without any warning, #071 slid toward the lead ship so that one propeller hit the lower part of #146's tail surface. Then #071 moved slightly forward, causing even more damage to #146. The collision knocked the left bomb bay door from Lembright's plane and tore the entire tail section from Kaspervik's.
Both ships veered to the left. 1st Lt Alfred Scarlata, flying lead in the No. 3 element, saw Kaspervik head down in a glide and Lembright pull his ship up in a steep climb that resulted in a stall. From that point on, he told the Board of Inquiry, "I don't think they had a Chinaman's chance of getting out of that plane… They didn't have enough altitude…and the violent action of the ship just held them in the airplane."
1st Lt James H. Roper, flying directly behind Kaspervik, said debris from the collision broke his windshield, made a hole in the leading edge of his right wing, and punctured his cowl flaps.
#42-7146 Crew:
1LT Donald W Kaspervik, Pilot
2LT Ray E Ward, Co-Pilot
2LT John V Andrews, Navigator
2LT Bruce G Ellis, Bombardier
2LT Edward V Handy, Jr., Observer
SSGT Eldon F Ressler, Engineer
SSGT George L Scott, Gunner
SSGT Arthur P Wikle, Gunner
SSGT Allen J Alexander, Gunner
SGT Allen Chamovitz, Radio Operator
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
