Volume 12 , Issue 19

Ardmore Army Air Field Memorial Site & Blog

Gary S. googled and found an old Cape Girardeau newspaper article with this picture of Lt. Crites, "It is not a good one it but sure beats nothing. He was on the same aircraft as Lt. Boyer and Sgt. Petersen so I am including a similar narrative for it." "The 11-member crew of B-17G (42-102786) from Ardmore Army Air Field died, April 24, 1944, at approximately 3:40PM. Lt. Loren Crites, 25, who previously served with the Royal Canadian Air Force, was the assigned co-pilot for the aircraft. He was from Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

"It is assumed that he was not occupying that position on this flight. An instructor pilot, Lt. Milton Hansberry, 23, who flew with different crews each day, was at the controls. Lt. Charles H. Boyer, Jr, 27, the assigned pilot of the training crew, was probably flying as co-pilot. It is not known if Lt. Crites was standing behind one of the seats, flying as assigned co-pilot or was elsewhere in the plane.

"The aircraft had left the base ten minutes earlier with full fuel tanks on a crew indoctrination training flight. This flight was probably the first flight of this aircraft with a training crew. It was delivered new a few weeks earlier and only had 85 hours on the aircraft and engines. The plane was circling the Dornick Hills Golf Course, north of Ardmore, at an estimated altitude of 800 to 1,000 feet, apparently sightseeing. After a few circles, the heavy aircraft exceeded 90-degrees of bank, spun into the ground and burst into flames. Hoping to prevent similar accidents, the base commander, Colonel Donald W. Eisenhart, used this crash as an example of what not to do in a heavy aircraft close to the ground."

History of ARdmore Air Force Base

Wikipedia states, "Ardmore Air Force Base (IATA: ADM, ICAO: KADM, FAA LID: ADM), was a United States Air Force base located 10 miles (16 km) northeast of the central business district of Ardmore, (near Gene Autry, OK) cities in Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. It was later redeveloped into Ardmore Municipal Airport.

During WWII, Ardmore AAF was used by the Fourth Air Force an aircrew training base initially for glider pilots, then bomber aircrews. It was also a POW camp for German prisoners of war late in the conflict. The field operated from 1942-1946.

The 394th Bombardment Group (Medium), martin B-26 Marauder trained there during 12 July 1943 thru 19 August 1943. It served in combat with the Ninth Air Force in England, France and Germany.

From 25 October 1943 to 1 April 1944, the 395th Bombardment Group (Heavy), Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress served as an operational truing unit (OTU) at Ardmore, later becoming a replacement training unit (RTU) and did not serve in combat.

SEE ALSO: Our Little Memorial blog for more special stories of those who died in service and were connected with the Ardmore Air Field, north of Ardmore, Oklahoma.
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