February 11, 1942: Bradley Field's Deadliest Day

“In August we were working there and the Windsor Locks Airbase had P-40 fighters stationed there, and we heard a noise and Lt. Bradley was dogfighting and crashed. This was just the beginning of a number of planes that hit the ground.”

--George Clee 1941

Young tobacco worker George Clee from Windsor Locks accurately described the harsh reality of frequent domestic military crashes during World War II. As mentioned in , there were more than 15,500 American aviators killed in accidents in the United States during World War II. That figure works out to about 3,622 deaths per year or about 10 per day. To put that number into perspective, the Geneva, Switzerland based Aircraft Crashes Record Office (ACRO) reports that during the last four years (2007-2010) – the length of U.S. involvement in World War II – a total of 555 people died in aviation accidentsworldwide, in many tens of thousands of more flights than occurred in the U.S. during the second world war. That’s about three percent of the total killed in the United States alone in aviation accidents during World War II! The numbers are simply staggering.

Let’s examine one day of military accidents in the United States during World War II – February 11, 1942. I chose that day because it coincides with the worst fatal crash at Bradley Field during the war. On that day, a Lockheed A-29 attached to the 1st Mapping Squadron at Bradley crashed on the East Granby side of the airport. The crash killed 6 young American aviators who had been on a routine flight between Bradley and Tarriffville. The dead crew included Sgt. Thomas F. Quinn of Upper Darby, PA, Sgt. John T. Howey of New York City, Sgt. Gordon G. Johnson of Renovo, PA, Staff Sgt. Michael Kaufmann of Windsor Locks, Lt. Walter C. Boyle of LaCrosse, WA, and the pilot, Lt. Melvin W. Schoephoester, also from Wisconsin. Lt. Schoephoester was the oldest of the group at 30 years. His remains were not found immediately. His body was ultimately interred at Arlington National Cemetery (see photo). Additionally, a road that is adjacent to Bradley in East Granby bears his name today.

Lt. Walter C. Boyle was in his 26th year. Initially trained as a teacher, Boyle became a journalist and was working in the editorial department of the La Crosse Tribune before joining the service. He was engaged to be married and, besides his fiancée, Eleanor Sagen, he left behind his mother and five brothers. Like Lt. Eugene Bradley, he had received flight training at both Randolph and Kelly fields in Texas. Boyle’s body was shipped back to LaCrosse for burial.

According to the Aviation Archaeological Investigation and Research site, there were 24 other military accidents in the United States in nine different states on February 11, 1942, besides the fatal crash at Bradley; at least six of those accidents also resulted in more than a dozen fatalities. Additionally, a takeoff accident at March Field in Riverside, CA, that day also involved an A-29.

Accident report records indicate that there were at least 220 total aircraft accidents involving aircraft and airmen assigned to Bradley Field. A total of 147 of these accidents occurred in parts of Windsor Locks, Suffield, East Granby, or at Bradley Field itself. Some of these were relatively mild, while others proved fatal. Including Lt. Bradley’s fatal crash on August 21, 1941, there were at least 12 fatal crashes that took the lives of 22 young airmen in the immediate vicinity of Bradley Field.

Since most of the units stationed at Bradley used the P-47 fighter, it is no surprise that accidents of all types involved the Thunderbolt; in fact, of the current total of 220 known accidents, 124 of them involved the P-47, including several fatalities. The next highest accident total involved the P-40 Warhawk, the type of plane flown by Lt. Bradley. The P-40 was involved in 42 accidents.

Besides Bradley’s fatal accident, the P-40s of the 57th Pursuit Group had a disastrous cross-country journey to California that originated from Bradley Field. A total of 25 P-40 Warhawks left Bradley on October 18, 1941, on a cross-country training mission. By the time they had reached March Field in Riverside, CA, a few days later, the 57th had 21 planes. On 24 October, 19 P-40s left for Sacramento. Only five made it safely to the state’s capital. Nine planes had to make forced landings due to bad weather; five others crashed, causing the deaths of two pilots. Their tragic journey was not over, however. On November 13, 1941, the 13 remaining Warhawks left Medford, OR, for Fresno, CA. Six of the P-40s got lost, resulting in one bailout, three forced landings, and two more fatal crashes. The remnants of the 57th returned back to Bradley Field after this disastrous training mission. The mission had been costly: four pilots killed and eight aircraft destroyed. Renamed the 57th Fighter Group, the unit went on to serve with distinction in North Africa and in Italy.

An examination of the deadliest military aviation accident at Bradley Field on February 11, 1942, can lead us to understand that flying military aircraft within the borders of the United States during World War II – even with no one shooting at you – was indeed a risky business. Nearly 10 American air personnel died each day within these borders as a result of a variety of aviation accidents. The full accounting of these accidents and their death toll is an ongoing, fluid process. By no means is the final tally yet known.

Notes, Sources, and Links:

1.       The La Crosse Tribune February 12, 1942.

2.       accident report.com

3.       aviationarchaeology.com

4.       findagrave.com

5.       “The Night It Rained P-40s in Marin County” at pacaeropress.com