Aircraft Wrecks in the Mountains and Deserts of the American West

P-40's #39-287 & #39-200
10/24/41
 

On 10/24/41 a flight of nineteen P-40 “Tomahawk” fighters departed March Field in Riverside County, CA bound for Sacramento, CA. The flight encountered severe weather over the Sierra Nevada with fatal result for two of the USAAF flyers. 2nd Lt. Richard N. Long crashed to his death in a remote area Kings Canyon National Park. The remains of 2nd Lt. Long and that of his plane P-40 #39-287 were not discovered until July 1959. On 8/5/89 I flew by helicopter to 2nd Lt. Long’s crash site on behalf of Project Tomahawk. While at the site I helped construct a rock cairn into which a memorial statement in a metal tube was placed.

 

The memorial cairn for 2nd Lt. Richard N. Long who died 10/24/41 while in the service of his nation.
 

G. Pat Macha at the impact site of Curtiss P-40 #39-287. (photos by Pat J. Macha)

 

The weather on 10/24/41 was also a factor in the death of Lt. William H. Birrell when his Curtiss P-40 #39-200 plunged into the forest near Bass Lake, CA. The impact crater containing a few engine parts are all that remain of #39-200 today. A memorial marker was placed at the site in the 1950’s by persons unknown to me. Lt. Birrell was not the last man to die on this flight. On 11/2/41 as the remaining aircraft were returning to March Field two more P-40’s crashed into a cloud enshrouded mountain killing Lieutenants T. L. Truax and R. E. Speckman. All together eight P-40’s were destroyed and several were damaged on 10/24 and 11/2/41. Four pilots had died in crashes and four had to bail out because of a squadron commander’s orders that sent his men flying into severe weather.

Memorial marker near Bass Lake for Lt. William H. Birrell.

Impact crater with Allison V-1710-33 parts. (Photos b Jon K. Lawson)
 

In 1996 members of the Birrell Family added another plaque next to the 1942 original. It reads:

THIS MONUMENT WAS PLACED HERE BY
GEORGE H. AND MARY ANN BIRRELL
AUGUST 1942

THIS PLAQUE WAS PLACED HERE BY
GEORGE A. AND BRUCE BIRRELL
SEPTEMBER 1996

  

 

 

button2.gif (2200 bytes)