458th Bombardment Group (H)

The following account was derived from Accident Report 44-5-27-518, MACR 5632, and phone conversations with Les Martin.

On this day, May 27, 1944, a scratch crew of veteran enlisted men were put together to man Briney Marlin.  The group was assembling over Cromer and had just completed a left turn and were making a right turn when the pilot of 42-95159, 2Lt Howard Lobo, either did not or could not complete the turn rapidly enough and collided with another B-24 42-95183 of the 755th squadron, Briney Marlin piloted by 2Lt Lester C. Martin.  The impact tore the entire tail assembly from #159 and that aircraft was last seen spinning down into the under cast about five miles offshore into the North Sea.  All ten men aboard were listed as MIA and later declared dead.  Two bodies were recovered after washing ashore - those of the navigator and bombardier.

Aboard aircraft #183 that day, as a fill in top turret gunner/flight engineer, was S/Sgt Chester R. Carlstrum, the tail gunner on Crew 74.  When the collision occurred, Martin rang the bail out bell.  Carlstrum dropped down and opened the bomb bay and salvoed the bomb load.  He then bailed out through the bomb bay.  The tail gunner S/Sgt Wilbert Abshire, tail gunner on Crew 75 also bailed out from the tail section.  In the few seconds between collision and the two men bailing out, the ship had lost several thousand feet of altitude.  Martin was able to regain control and he rescinded his bail out order.  The impact had bent about 6-8 feet of the right wing of Briney Marlin down at a 90° angle.  They radioed the control tower at Horsham and asked for instructions.  Colonel Isbell took off in Ginny, the group's P-47.  He looked over the B-24 from the air and ordered Martin to point the aircraft out to sea and bail the crew out.

ROBERT T. CRAIG, 2D LT. 0-712772, AC 755th Bombardment Squadron, 458th Bombardment Group,  AAF Station 123, APO558. Navigator A/C 183.

At 0941 on a heading of about 60 degrees, I saw a silver B-24H skidding dangerously close to our aircraft.  He had skidded below us off the right and seemed headed right into us so as to hit us abreast.  I immediately hit the nose wheel door release and stood by to bail out as I heard the smack of the collision and felt a slight jar.  I already had my chute on and didn’t immediately jump since the plane still seemed under control and I knew we were over water.

I retained the opinion that the mid-section of the adjacent aircraft sheared off the last 5-6 feet of our right wing and he then went under us to nudge our nose turret with his nose and fall off forward and down.  The collision occurred at 0942 while the plane was engaged in a formation right turn.  The collision occurred 5 miles north of Cromer above Splasher 5.  After the crash I stood by to bail out if any unusual maneuver at all was detected.  I then called the pilot and being unable to make contact tuned Buncher 15 on the radio compass and told him to do a 180 since we were headed out into the North Sea.

After making our way back over the field and talking to the pilot I was convinced that a safe landing could be made and hence proceeded to a station in the waist.

(signed)
Robert T. Craig
2d Lt. AC.