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Aircraft Wrecks in the Mountains and Deserts of the American West
B-24D At 9:40pm on the night of June 11, 1943, B-24D #42-40770 was returning from the practice bombing range 40 miles north of Pocatello Army Air Base when it encountered bad weather. What began as a partly cloudy moonlit evening quickly developed into a thunderstorm with 60 mph winds. Witnesses on the ground reported seeing the bomber cruising at about 2000 ft. and banking into a turn when it was hit by a very strong wind gust that rolled it over onto its back. Spinning out of control, it plummeted into a potato field about 10 miles north of Aberdeen, Idaho, narrowly missing a farmer who was checking his irrigation water. The aircraft exploded and all nine crew members were killed instantly. Today a few small shards of aluminum and plexiglass can still be found on the surface of the field. Site visited 3/17/15. Special thanks to David Wahlen and Harold Clausch for help in locating this crash site.
Last photo: Sgt. George A.
Basnight, Jr., gunner on #42-40770.
FL / O Lenval H. Cash,
pilot, Joplin, Missouri
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