Second Lieutenant Murphy served with the 325th Base Unit at Avon Park Army Airfield, Florida.
He was the Pilot and one of eight aviators killed when B-17G Flying Fortress
#42-102835 crashed into Lake Arbuckle, three miles north-west of the air base.
Shortly after takeoff, the B-17 attained an altitude of about 3,000 feet, at which time the tail gunner informed the pilots that the № 4 engine was smoking. Moments later, he informed them that the motor was on fire. The pilots gave an order to bail out. Just seconds after the tail gunner secured his parachute harness, the motor exploded and fell off the wing, and the aircraft went into a spiraling dive. He was the only crewmember to exit the bomber before it impacted the water of Lake Arbuckle, Florida.
The crewmembers killed were:
2nd Lt. James C Murphy, O-780692, Pilot
Flt. Off. George P Gaudet, T-006266, Co-Pilot
Flt. Off. John C Evernden, T-133945, Navigator
2nd Lt. Mortimer A Alnwick, O2064163, Bombardier
Sgt. Harvey R Ford, 34134100, Flight Engineer
Cpl. Salvatore C Bongiovanni, 32894265, Radio Operator
Cpl. George L Heffington, 35708119, Gunner
PFC Frank W Bannerman, Jr, 32988228, Asst. Radio Operator
~
Lt. James C. Murphy, 25, son of Mr. and Mrs. Terry B. Murphy of Richmond, Cal., former Dublin Township residents, was killed in a plane crash near Avon Park, Fla. His parents attended the funeral.
Six cousins of the deceased were pallbearers...
Frank Cain, Leo Cain, William Walsh, James
Walsh, Walter Walsh, and Martin Walsh, Jr.
~
Entered the service from Minnesota; Service ID: O-780692.
He was the Pilot and one of eight aviators killed when B-17G Flying Fortress
#42-102835 crashed into Lake Arbuckle, three miles north-west of the air base.
Shortly after takeoff, the B-17 attained an altitude of about 3,000 feet, at which time the tail gunner informed the pilots that the № 4 engine was smoking. Moments later, he informed them that the motor was on fire. The pilots gave an order to bail out. Just seconds after the tail gunner secured his parachute harness, the motor exploded and fell off the wing, and the aircraft went into a spiraling dive. He was the only crewmember to exit the bomber before it impacted the water of Lake Arbuckle, Florida.
The crewmembers killed were:
2nd Lt. James C Murphy, O-780692, Pilot
Flt. Off. George P Gaudet, T-006266, Co-Pilot
Flt. Off. John C Evernden, T-133945, Navigator
2nd Lt. Mortimer A Alnwick, O2064163, Bombardier
Sgt. Harvey R Ford, 34134100, Flight Engineer
Cpl. Salvatore C Bongiovanni, 32894265, Radio Operator
Cpl. George L Heffington, 35708119, Gunner
PFC Frank W Bannerman, Jr, 32988228, Asst. Radio Operator
~
Lt. James C. Murphy, 25, son of Mr. and Mrs. Terry B. Murphy of Richmond, Cal., former Dublin Township residents, was killed in a plane crash near Avon Park, Fla. His parents attended the funeral.
Six cousins of the deceased were pallbearers...
Frank Cain, Leo Cain, William Walsh, James
Walsh, Walter Walsh, and Martin Walsh, Jr.
~
Entered the service from Minnesota; Service ID: O-780692.
Second Lieutenant Murphy served with the 325th Base Unit at Avon Park Army Airfield, Florida.
He was the Pilot and one of eight aviators killed when B-17G Flying Fortress
#42-102835 crashed into Lake Arbuckle, three miles north-west of the air base.
Shortly after takeoff, the B-17 attained an altitude of about 3,000 feet, at which time the tail gunner informed the pilots that the № 4 engine was smoking. Moments later, he informed them that the motor was on fire. The pilots gave an order to bail out. Just seconds after the tail gunner secured his parachute harness, the motor exploded and fell off the wing, and the aircraft went into a spiraling dive. He was the only crewmember to exit the bomber before it impacted the water of Lake Arbuckle, Florida.
The crewmembers killed were:
2nd Lt. James C Murphy, O-780692, Pilot
Flt. Off. George P Gaudet, T-006266, Co-Pilot
Flt. Off. John C Evernden, T-133945, Navigator
2nd Lt. Mortimer A Alnwick, O2064163, Bombardier
Sgt. Harvey R Ford, 34134100, Flight Engineer
Cpl. Salvatore C Bongiovanni, 32894265, Radio Operator
Cpl. George L Heffington, 35708119, Gunner
PFC Frank W Bannerman, Jr, 32988228, Asst. Radio Operator
~
Lt. James C. Murphy, 25, son of Mr. and Mrs. Terry B. Murphy of Richmond, Cal., former Dublin Township residents, was killed in a plane crash near Avon Park, Fla. His parents attended the funeral.
Six cousins of the deceased were pallbearers...
Frank Cain, Leo Cain, William Walsh, James
Walsh, Walter Walsh, and Martin Walsh, Jr.
~
Entered the service from Minnesota; Service ID: O-780692.
He was the Pilot and one of eight aviators killed when B-17G Flying Fortress
#42-102835 crashed into Lake Arbuckle, three miles north-west of the air base.
Shortly after takeoff, the B-17 attained an altitude of about 3,000 feet, at which time the tail gunner informed the pilots that the № 4 engine was smoking. Moments later, he informed them that the motor was on fire. The pilots gave an order to bail out. Just seconds after the tail gunner secured his parachute harness, the motor exploded and fell off the wing, and the aircraft went into a spiraling dive. He was the only crewmember to exit the bomber before it impacted the water of Lake Arbuckle, Florida.
The crewmembers killed were:
2nd Lt. James C Murphy, O-780692, Pilot
Flt. Off. George P Gaudet, T-006266, Co-Pilot
Flt. Off. John C Evernden, T-133945, Navigator
2nd Lt. Mortimer A Alnwick, O2064163, Bombardier
Sgt. Harvey R Ford, 34134100, Flight Engineer
Cpl. Salvatore C Bongiovanni, 32894265, Radio Operator
Cpl. George L Heffington, 35708119, Gunner
PFC Frank W Bannerman, Jr, 32988228, Asst. Radio Operator
~
Lt. James C. Murphy, 25, son of Mr. and Mrs. Terry B. Murphy of Richmond, Cal., former Dublin Township residents, was killed in a plane crash near Avon Park, Fla. His parents attended the funeral.
Six cousins of the deceased were pallbearers...
Frank Cain, Leo Cain, William Walsh, James
Walsh, Walter Walsh, and Martin Walsh, Jr.
~
Entered the service from Minnesota; Service ID: O-780692.
Inscription
2LT, 325 AAF BASE UNIT WORLD WAR II
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