The Crash of the Flying Sioux

The Crash of the Flying Sioux (HM2CA0)

Location: Fedora, SD 57337 Miner County
Buy South Dakota State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 44° 0.532', W 97° 47.495'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 1064 views
Inscription

World War II Bomber Crash Sites

(side 1)
On June 13, 1943, three B-17 bombers of the 393rd Bomb Group — the "Flying Sioux" — left the Sioux City, Iowa, airbase on a routine training mission. The pilots of flights 446, 750 and 790 flew rigorously for three hours, then maneuvered to switch formation. In the exchange, at 3,000 feet, plane 750 and plane 790 collided, causing 790's propellers to cut off the tall section of 750. The pilot of flight 750 instantly lost control of his tailless plane. The men in plane 446, piloted by Lt. Fred Glazier, watched in horror as the massive bomber did a half loop and slammed into the ground on its back. Ten airmen abroad were killed instantly. The tail gunner fell from 750's severed tail section and was also killed.
With two engines out and a third on fire, bomber 790 was so severely damaged that the pilot could barely keep it in the air. The damaged plane struggled for another eight miles before belly landing on a creek bank. Due to Lt. Billy Fuller's masterful job in bringing the plane down, all the crew on plane 790 survived.
After witnessing the accident, plane 446 radioed in and returned to base in Sioux City.
(Continued on other side)

(side 2)
(Continued from other side)

Lt. O.B. Groves,



the pilot of plane 750, was the "old man" of the crew at age 23. The others who were killed:
2nd Lt. Michael R. Hric, Co-Pilot; 2nd Lt. Roy B. Lever, Navigator; 2nd Lt. James J. O'Connell, Navigator; S/Sgt. Rodney T. Cassidy, Bombardier; Sgt. Sidney S. Packer, Radio Operator; S/Sgt. Dean M. Garland, Engineer; S/Sgt. Murry V. Whitehead, Radio Operator; Marvin J. Curtis, Gunner; S/Sgt. Charles R, Bowers, Gunner; S/Sqt. Bruno E. Twardy, Gunner.
These young men gave their lives for this country just as surely as if they were in the skies over Germany or the South Pacific.
The crash site where these men were killed is approximately two and one-half miles SE of this marker, in the south half of section 13, Clinton Township, 106-58 in Miner County, South Dakota. The site where plane 790 crash-landed and the crew survived is located eight miles further SSE in the NE 1/4 of section 29, Rock Creek Township, 105-57 in Miner County, South Dakota.
This ranks as the single biggest air disaster in the history of Miner County or South Dakota.
Details
HM NumberHM2CA0
Tags
Historical Period20th Century
Historical PlaceMemorial, Town
Marker TypeMemorial
Marker ClassHistorical Marker
Marker StyleFree Standing
Year Placed2008
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Sunday, October 14th, 2018 at 8:02pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. The member who adopted this marker listing is responsible for adding pictures.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)14T E 596869 N 4873567
Decimal Degrees44.00886667, -97.79158333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 44° 0.532', W 97° 47.495'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds44° 0' 31.9200" N, 97° 47' 29.7000" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)605
Can be seen from road?Yes
Is marker in the median?No
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling East
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 23296 421st Ave, Fedora SD 57337, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. Who or what organization placed the marker?
  3. This marker needs at least one picture.