Shot down of 2 Black Widows by freindly Fire

[Stein Meum]

Originally Posted by Horst Weber

Good evening Stein !

Is this P-61 book still avaiable ?. If so, please give me a note, how to gain it. There was a similar event in end of December 1944 in Luxembourg.

Thank you !

Horst Weber

Hi Horst!
The book should still be available, published by SpecialtyPress (www.specialtypress.com) in 2008. I bought my copy at the NASM museum shop in Washington D.C. earlier this year

Originally Posted by Rolfeb

Hei Stein,
thanks for the info. Could you please do me a favour and have a short look regarding P-61 Serial # 42-39670.
There is nothing written in the MACR I mentioned but it would be very interesting for me whether the serial # really fitting to a P-61 and the fate accordingly. Thanks in advance
Rolf

From the list:
488. c/n 1189 P-61B-15-NO 42-39670
Available 1/13/45. Accepted 1/12/45. To Newark, NJ 1/18/45. It left the U.S. by transport 2/7/45 for Europe. To the 415th NFS 2/15/45. To storage 6/2/45. Stricken 2/8/46.

[Alex Smart]

Hello,

Details from the J.Baugher webpages.

26-4-1945
414NFS
42-39686 - W/off in Take off accident Pontedera, Italy.
417NFS
42-39559 - Lost over the Med , MACR 14078.
422NFS
42-5565 - landing accident Liege, Belgium.

Alex

[mayfair35]

Greetings, I do not know if this would help, but I have a 417th NFS pilot who attends our annual Air Show in Camarillo, CA. He initially flew the P-51 but was later assigned to the 417th which was moved to France in early 1945. He completed 12 missions before the war ended.
Cordially, Art Fiedler

On April 26, 1945, P-61B-10-NO, AAF SN 42-39559, was shot down by friendly fire at approximately 2130. It was from the 417th NFS, flying out of Giebelstadt, Germany, flying a night intruder mission in defense of the Ulm-Dillingen Bridgehead. The location of the crash site was recorded as "Vicinity Altishein, Germany T 30821"

The pilot was 2LT Thomas E. Cartmell USAAF (my uncle), flying his first combat mission. IDPF records suggest a catastrophic crash and burn. The radar operator was 2LT Hal Anderson, who bailed out before the crash but because of the low altitude, his parachute did not fully deploy and he was killed on impact. Tom is buried at the AMC in St. Avold, France, and Hal was buried in the U.S.

More details of the loss, plus transcribed letters of Lieutenant Cartmell during his training and wartime service can be found at https://brooksidepress.org/cartmell/

Mike Hughey

I am a nephew of LT Thomas E Cartmell USAAF, the pilot of the P-61B that was shot down by American friendly fire on April 26, 1945, while on a night intruder mission over the Dillingen Bridgehead. After reviewing the burial records contained in his IDPF file, the site of the crash was identified as in the vicinity of Altishein, T 308201 (military map coordinates). I had a knowledgable friend help me translate this location into contemporary coordinates of 48.73777 10.87816. Tom was initially buried in the German military cemetery in Reutti. His remains were later moved to the US military cemetery in St. Avold, France.

I have produced a website that provides more detail about the incident, and moreover a collection of all of his wartime letters written to his family. I've also posted all of the related documents (flight logs, etc.) that belonged to him or were related to him. You can view this site at https://brooksidepress.org/cartmell/