Consolidated B-24D Liberator 42-41030 flew into Beinn Nuis on the Isle of Arran on the 20th August 1943
The aircraft was not assigned to any specific unit but was part of the Knox Provisional Group
William M. Connolly | 2nd Lieutenant | Pilot | Killed |
Francis J. Chew | Flight Officer | Co-pilot | Killed |
Albert T. Spindle | 2nd Lieutenant | Navigator | Killed |
Robert J. Hartl | 2nd Lieutenant | Bombaimer | Killed |
Fred W. Brantner | Staff Sergeant | Flight Engineer | Killed |
Joseph B. Moore | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | Killed |
Chester E. Cislo | Staff Sergeant | Flight Engineer (Passenger) | Killed |
Glen Mathew Canon Peyton | Sergeant | Gunner | Killed |
Robert F. Daub | Sergeant | Gunner | Killed |
Louis Stanley Golis | Sergeant | Radio Operator (Passenger) | Killed |
The crew had left Gander in Newfoundland for Prestwick at 19:46 GMT on the 19th August, having been one of at least 23 aircraft to depart Canada bound for the UK. At 06:27 GMT the radio operator made contact with Prestwick who provided the crew with a QDM (a magnetic course to steer towards Prestwick) of 092o this placed the aircraft slight north of due magnetic west from the airfield. Contact was made again a few minutes later when the crew reported being 10 miles from Prestwick at 4500ft, the flying control at Prestwick, named Dogwatch, radioed to tell the pilots to hold their altitude until advised. No further contact radio was received from the aircraft and it was reported missing after the other aircraft in the flight that took off around it had arrived.
The wreckage was located on the 23rd August by a shepherd on the western side of Beinn Nuis not far from the summit of the mountain. A watch recovered from the wreck showed the time of the crash to be 08:10. The aircraft that had taken off from Gander at around the same time were reported to have landed around 08:00. It would appear that the pilots were descending through the low cloud that covered the area that morning when they flew into the mountains of Arran.