Lincoln, NE Bomber Crash, May 1944

7 ESCAPE IN CRASH OF PLANE.

BOMBER BURNS; SEVERAL INJURED.

A B-26 medium bomber crashed and burned on the Lancaster County farm six miles northwest of Lincoln at 1:49 p.m. Col. Frank W. Wright, commanding officer of the Lincoln Army Air Field announced Friday.
The crash occurred as the plane took off from the Field on a combat training flight back to its home base at Dodge City, Kas.
No fatalities were reported among the four officers and the three enlisted men aboard the plane. Several of the men were injured.
Complete details will be announced by the public relations office of the Dodge City base.
Officials at the Lincoln Field immediately established a board of qualified air force officers to determine cause of the crash.
The investigation board will make a report after questioning members of the craft's crew.
The bomber crashed and burned in a corn field a quarter mile southeast of the main building on the county farm.
Inmates of the county farm, located two miles north of the Lincoln Army AIr Field, said some members of the crew escaped from the plane almost as soon as it crashed.
The plane, they said, did not start burning until after it hit the ground. Observers said no one parachuted from the plane.
The pilot may have tried a belly landing on the freshly listed field. The craft skidded for about 100 yards from the crest of a small knoll and was almost completely demolished.
A column of black smoke could be seen from Lincoln for two hours after the crash.

Nebraska State Journal Lincoln 1944-05-27

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ONE DIES FROM B-26 CRASH INJURIES.

Lincoln, Nebr. (AP) -- Second Lt. WILLARD H. HILLS, pilot, Denver, died Saturday of injuries suffered in the crash northeast of Lincoln Friday of a B-26 bomber from the Dodge City, Kas., army air field.
Four men were critically burned in the crash and brought to the Lincoln army air field hospital for treatment were identified as:
Second Lt. DONALD G. ELLIOTT, student pilot, Dodge City, Kas.
Second Lt. EARL G. ENDRES, student pilot, Rapid City, S.D.
Pvt. ROY CINQUEMANI, radioman, Chicago, Ill.
Pfc. MELVIN L. OYLER, student engineer, Wellington, Kas.
Cpl. ROBERT S. SISSEL, engineer, St. Louis, was hospitalized for minor burns.
Second Lt. HARRY W. ELLIS, student pilot, Colonia, N.J., was the only crew member to escape injury.

Hutchinson News Herald Kansas 1944-05-28

Transcriber's Note:
Pvt. ROY CINQUEMANI, radioman, of Chicago, Illinois, died of his injuries.
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!