ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 98404
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| Date: | Monday 5 June 1944 |
| Time: | 09:50UTC |
| Type: |  Boeing B-29 Superfortress |
| Owner/operator: | 395th BSqn /40th BGp USAAF |
| Registration: | 42-6282 |
| MSN: | 3416 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 11 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Kutubdia Channel, off Kutubdia island, Chittagong, Bay of Bengal -
 India
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Chakulia, India |
| Chakulia, India |
Beoing B-29-5-BW 42-6282: Assigned to Combat Crew Training Squadron, 246th Army Air Force Base Unit, Pratt AAF, Kansas. Departed CONUS (CONtinental US) to CBI (China-Burma-India Theater of Operations) 2 April 1944; arrived Chakulia, India 14 April 1944. Assigned to 395th Bomb Squadron, 40th Bomb Group, USAAF 14 April 1944.
Written off (destroyed) when ditched into the Kutubdia Channel, off Kutubdia island, approximately 25 miles off Chittagong, (then in) India June 5, 1944. Ditched into the Bay of Bengal due to fuel transfer problem on return from mission to bomb Bangkok, Thailand. One of seventy-seven B-29's dispatched from the 58th BW in the Karachi area mount the first B-29 attack of the war against railroad shops at Bangkok between 10:52 and 12:32 hours UTC. Four of the eleven crew were killed. According to the following extract from the official USAAF Ditching report (sourced from interviews with the surviving crew):
"B-29 aircraft #282 of the 395th Bomb Sq took-off at 0003Z 4 June 44 from APO #631 in accordance with FO #2, 58th Bomb Wing, dated 2 June 44. On returning alone from mission the ship was forced to ditch at approximately 09:50UTC at position 21 46’ N – 91 53’ E.
Mechanical failure of fuel transfer system necessitated ditching when gas supply in wing tanks were exhausted. At the time of ditching, combat crew of the aircraft consisted of 11 men, 7 of whom were rescued and 4 lost.
Position Name and Rank Status
Pilot Capt J.N. SANDERS Rescued-Uninjured Co-Pilot
2nd Lt. W.C. BURROWS Rescued-Uninjured Bomb Nav
2nd Lt. W.E. ECKELMAN Rescued-Uninjured Nav Bomb
2nd Lt. S. FISHMAN Dead (KIA)
Flt Eng 2nd Lt. C.H. MOORE Rescued-Uninjured
Radio Mech S Sgt C.A. MACK Rescued-Uninjured
Radar Mech 2nd Lt. W.S. PLATTENBURG Dead (KIA)
Senior Gunner Sgt J.J. DRENK Rescued-Uninjured
Right Gunner Sgt D.H. CAPSHAW Rescued-Uninjured
Left Gunner Sgt C.A. BAKER Dead (KIA)
Tail Gunner Sgt N.A. BROTHERS Dead (KIA)
At time of ditching combat crew of the aircraft consisted of 11 men, 7 of whom were rescued and 4 lost. Five (5) of the surviving combat crew members returned to APO #651 by airplane on 8 June 1944 and were interrogated on landing. Sgt. CAPSHAW remained in the RAF hospital at Chittagong with a hip injury and 2nd Lt. C.B. MOORE had remained at Chittagong to identify bodies that had been found."
In 2010 some pieces of wreckage were recovered by fishermen off the coast of what is now Bangladesh, when the wreckage became entangled in their fishing nets. The wreckage recovered included wheels, tyres, undercarriage legs, a piece of wing, and one of the lower gun turrets.
Sources:
1. http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbaloc.asp?Loc=g&offset=11750
2. http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1.html .
3. https://www.40thbombgroup.org/6282.htm
4. https://www.40thbombgroup.org/Ditching.pdf
5. http://www.warbirdsofindia.com/news/365-b-29-wreckage-recovered-off-sea-in-bangladesh.html
6. https://www.fold3.com/document/28634149/
7. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149379612
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Jun-2017 00:07 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Source, Narrative] |
| 02-Jun-2017 00:08 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 04-Jun-2017 20:56 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Cn, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Mar-2020 15:36 | DG333 | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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