B-24 crash site found - India

[Antipodean Andy]

Check the link for the pic.

The Telegraph - Calcutta : Northeast

Young trekkers lift veil off ‘alien wreckage’
- Five Arunachalee youths discover remnants of vintage US plane in Mishmi Hills
ATONU CHOUDHURI

Itanagar, Nov. 26: As Anoko Mega and his mates clasped the leafy branch that stood in their way and tried to set it aside, little did the intrepid adventurers know that beyond the foliage lay the treasure they were looking for.

When they removed the branch, right in front of them was the wreckage of an American plane of World War II vintage with the unmistakable blue-and-white insignia of the Allied Forces gleaming in the fading light of day. Village elders had long spoken of “alien wreckage” scattered across the Mishmi Hills, but Anoko and his team were the first to find remnants of any of the aircraft that are said to have been shot down in that area during the war.

“I could not believe my eyes and neither could my friends. We finally achieved what we had set out to do,” Anoko, 27, told The Telegraph a week after his gruelling two-day trek through dense jungles and mountain trails of the Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh.

The wreckage was discovered at Dopowa Desali in the Mishmi Hills, 2,600 metres above sea level and 700-odd km from the state capital, Itanagar.

Anoko and his team — Laya Mena, Suresh Pulu, Lokhi Mega and Komini Meto — are members of a group that calls itself Dibang Adventure Trail. They decided to trek to the Mishmi Hills after hearing elderly villagers talk about “some alien wreckage”.

Arunachal Pradesh was a base for the allied forces in the war against Japanese troops and the codes inscribed on the body of the plane Anoko’s team discovered read “US Army (B24L)-C-109-11, Project No. 94243-R and Air Force Serial No 4449628”.

“We have contacted the US embassy in Delhi and it will be despatching a team of experts to the site very soon,” Anoko said from Roing, the headquarters of Dibang Valley district.

An official of the state government’s research department said the plane may have crashed during a sortie “through the famous Hump route” to maintain supplies to the Chinese army.

The expedition team found burnt aluminium plates, steel and iron rods and a flare gun in the wreckage. The trekkers also dug out a human mandible from the wreckage.

“All the small retrievable items are in our custody. We will hand them to the experts as soon as they arrive,” Komini said.

[morse1001]

It seems that there are still human remains in the aircraft, I hope they treat it with respect to the remains. I hope also that they identify the remains and so, remove some more names from the Missing in Action list.

[Antipodean Andy]

Indeed, Morse. They do seem to be failry respectful, fortunately. Hopefully the remains won't be disturbed by souvenir hunters. Just think, another crew possibly no longer listed as missing.

[Kyt]

If it was 44-49628 then it was lost on 17th July 1945, flown by Allen R Turner. Once again the ABMC have the date wrong (nothing new there ).

Allen R. Turner
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces
Service # 0-806939
1330th Army Air Force Base Unit
Entered the Service from: Massachusetts
Died: 18-Jul-46
Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery
Manila, Philippines
Awards: Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal

And other possible crew. As Turner is definately the reported pilot the rest of the crews' DoD can be taken to be wrong too. They are they only ones listed for that unit close to the same day and month:

Frederick W. Langhorst
First Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces
Service # 0-810387
1330th Army Air Force Base Unit
Entered the Service from: New York
Died: 18-Jul-46
Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery
Manila, Philippines
Awards:

Robert L. McAdoo, Jr.
Corporal, U.S. Army Air Forces
Service # 18082676
1330th Army Air Force Base Unit
Entered the Service from: Texas
Died: 18-Jul-46
Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery
Manila, Philippines
Awards:

Joseph I. Natvik
Private First Class, U.S. Army Air Forces
Service # 36816393
1330th Army Air Force Base Unit
Entered the Service from: Wisconsin
Died: 18-Jul-46
Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery
Manila, Philippines
Awards:

[Antipodean Andy]

If, for argument's sake, there were only four crew lost, could she have been up on an air test?

[Kyt]

It's difficult to say because there appears to be no MACR associated with this crash. So no way of finding out mission, flight path etc.

The guys in the report are going to have a tough job finding out exact details, unless the USAF are willing to dig deep in their files. However, if there are indications that the crew are still there, or a posssibility of such, then they will probably will do the work. The US are really good at repatriating those MIA.

Let's hope the details are released at a later date.

[DocWilson]

Originally Posted by Kyt

If it was 44-49628 then it was lost on 17th July 1945, flown by Allen R Turner. Once again the ABMC have the date wrong (nothing new there ).

It is my understanding from working with ABMC records that the date on the Tablets of the Missing in ABMC cemeteries and memorials is the date the person was officially declared dead, one year and one day after the date the person was reported missing. This is why there are quite a few 1946 dates on the Honolulu and Manila Memorials.

[Kyt]

Aha, now I see the logic. Thank you DocWilson, that helps in understanding the vageries of the ABMC. It also explains why all the names are down as the 18th when the aircraft was lost on the 17th. Do you happen to know anymore about this particular aircraft and/or crew?

And welcome to the forum. I hope you enjoy your stay.

[Antipodean Andy]

Yes, welcome Doc.

[DocWilson]

Originally Posted by Kyt

Aha, now I see the logic. Thank you DocWilson, that helps in understanding the vageries of the ABMC. It also explains why all the names are down as the 18th when the aircraft was lost on the 17th. Do you happen to know anymore about this particular aircraft and/or crew?

And welcome to the forum. I hope you enjoy your stay.

Thanks for the welcome(s).

No, I'm afraid I don't know any more about the aircraft and crew than what I've read here; my area of interest is American Battle Monuments Commission and Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries. This forum came up in a Google search for the 1330th Army Air Force Base Unit when I received an inquiry about Corp. Robert L. McAdoo connected with my work on the Find A Grave website; see (Corp Robert L. McAdoo, Jr ( - 1946) - Find A Grave Memorial).