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Henry
6/13/2006 9:58:35 AM | I am researching and have visited the crash site at Big Sandy Montana of Lt.Mclwains B-17. The accident report ids the aircraft as a b17f. the 401st flew g's?. Also there does not seem to be info on training accidents from the Great Falls air base.I know there were several more. Reports indicate that 15,000 airmen died in training in the US. Where can I find training crash reports?
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Scott McElvain
6/13/2006 10:38:26 PM | I was curious, myself, when I saw the name McIlwain - not my dad, but a distant relative, I'm sure. Let me know what you find out. You might inquire at the Air Force Historical Research Center at Maxwell AFB in Alabama for records from Great Falls.
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Ed Logan
6/13/2006 11:03:44 PM | At Great falls,we trained on the B17E. Later on at Great Falls we trained on the B17F.
As far as I can remember,there were no aircraft accidents at Great Falls
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Henry Franken
6/14/2006 6:12:33 PM | Hmmmm the accident report states it was a b-17F. The crash pics sure look like a silver G. 10/1/43 crash. Pilot John W Mcilwain. 612th sq. Does that jog any memories? A rancher I happend on along the way stated that another one crashed by ft Benton but it was a Canadian b-17. I haven't looked into that one. Thanks for the comment.
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Henry
6/14/2006 6:17:08 PM | Didn't go to the reunion. Too young. We did a grid search with detectors at the site. Interviewed the ranchers who saw it all as kids. They showed us pieces of the -17 they had in old sheds. Photgraphed all of it and then sent in a report to AF and Hisoritical society.
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Donald Byers
6/15/2006 11:43:23 AM | http://www.accident-report.com/States/MT.html
According to them there is not a specific book to work with but the did compile a small list. One was
Big Sandy MT. B-17F 42-6090. Del Long Beach 18/7/43 Cheyenne 20/7/43 WO ( written off) 14/10/43. That info was from the B-17 Flying Fortress Story.
I'll do some more searching,
Don Byers
Lubbock Texas
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Jim
6/16/2006 2:46:28 PM | Check out this website for a good starting point: http://www.accident-report.com/States/MT.html
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James Lynch Soderberg
7/21/2009 4:45:51 PM | My uncle Lt James W Lynch was killed in a training accident on Aug 24, 1943 in Garfield County. He was a pilot in the 615th BS stationed in Lewistown. His plane was a B-17F #42-6062. There were 3 other planes on that same training run to the Glasgow bombing range. There plane crashed on the return back to Lewiston in an electrical storm. I would like to talk to anyone who new my uncle or was on that mission.
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James Lynch Soderberg
10/30/2009 8:00:30 PM | I just received some information from Walnut Ridge Museum. I have a page for a book with my uncles picture cadet James W Lynch. He was a pilot in the 615th Bomb Squad killing in a plane crash near Jordan, MT on 24 Aug 1943. There are 34 cadet pictures on this page. One of the other cadets is John W McIlwain in Class 43-D - Flight 387-A.
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