Crash of a B 25 Bomber

Posted on by Jim
Notes from the Historic Hudson Community Association presentation Sept. 12, 2019 1942 Crash of a B 25 Bomber in the vicinity of Hudson Ave and Wyoming St. Tuesday September 8, 1942 a B 25 mid range twin engine bomber was flying from Dayton OH to Long Island NY. It was the day after the Labor Day Weekend and the work week was in full swing. The plane carried the seasoned pilot, a relatively inexperienced co-pilot, a navigator, one other crew member and 2 soldiers that had passes to travel. The day was overcast and rainy. While flying in the thick cloud cover the plane is thought to have lost use of its navigational equipment and was flying blind over Licking County. The reason for losing use of the equipment is unknown. In an effort to determine his altitude and location the pilot attempted to lower the plane beneath the clouds for a visual reference. In doing so he recognized just how low the clouds were when he narrowly averted a collision with the Licking County Jail (currently known as the Old Jail on 3rd street). The tail of the plane struck a tree disabling the plane making it unable to be steered. The tail section dropped off the plane in the downtown area as the plane headed up 3rd St. The pilot managed to fly the plane up 3rd a short distance before it crashed in the vicinity of Hudson Ave and Wyoming Street into an apartment building. All 6 men aboard the plane perished. A woman walking from a downtown shopping trip at John J. Carrols Department Store and another living in the apartment building on Hudson were also killed. Several other people on the ground were injured. Several residences on Hudson Ave and Wyoming were involved in the fires caused by the fuel aboard the plane. As this crash happened during the noon hour and many people were on the downtown streets, there were many eye witnesses to the horrific sight. It drew a huge crowd throughout the day and hampered the fire fighters, ambulance workers and police efforts to control the blazes and assist the injured. The presentation was delivered by Doug Stout Historian with the Licking County Library. The members of the Historic Hudson Community Association voted unanimously to have representatives from our group assist Doug Stout and a committee of interested people in coming up with a memorial to memorialize the event and honor those who lost their lives (most of those who died were named in the presentation. That committee is being formed and we have 6 volunteers from the HHCA who have offered to serve, namely: Connie Rutter, Rachael Ooten, Beth and Doug Pheneger, Sherry Cass and Bob Meldahl. a B-25 Bomber 166 Hudson Ave – this home still stands

Destruction and chaos following the plane crash

Those who perished in the plane crash Crew Col. DOUGLAS M. KILPATRICK, 33, of Houma, La., pilot. Second Lieut. LAWRENCE STERMAN LAWVER, 29 co-pilot Lieut. RUSSELL E. NEWLIN, 30, of Indianapolis, Ind. O. A. PECON, of Dayton, Ohio, a civilian ground crew chief Pvt. CHARLES WATSON, of Dayton, Ohio (on leave hopped the flight) Corp. R. A. ARENS, 21, of Dayton, Ohio, (on leave hopped the flight)

Hudson Ave Residence MRS. DOLLY CAMPBELL – resident returning from downtown shopping trip MRS. JUNE WESTON – perished in her apartment building Another person may have died in the event but the articles are too sketchy to determine if that was true and no name was given. If anyone has information on the newspaper (Advocate) article(s) – we need them. The micro film of the newspaper is not known to exist so we are probably looking for a copy of the original newspaper. Several pictures have just surfaced (literally pictures on a 2”x2” format) since our presentation on 9/12/19.