PILOT'S HUNCH LOCATES TWO LOST BOMBERS.

PLANES MISSING SINCE WEDNESDAY FOUND IN WRECKAGE ON SHORES OF GREAT SALT LAKE BY CAP FLYER.

Salt Lake City, Jan 1 (AP) -- A civilian air patrol pilot, flying "on a hunch," located the burned wreckage of two four-engined army planes near the western shores of Great Salt lake Saturday.
Vanish Yesterday.
Capt. CARL H. HELLBERG, wing operations officer of the Utah CAP, located the two planes, missing from the Wendover, Utah, army air base, since Wednesday, after flying several miles south of the area in which the search was being concentrated.
Position of the wreckage, he said, "gave indications of a collision." He said the two planes apparently "spun down" to earth after crashing together.
One plane was virtually destroyed by fire and the other partially burned. There was no sign of any survivors, HELLBERG said.
Carried 24 Men.
Wendover base officials, announcing that the two planes were missing, said they carried 24 men.
Search for the craft had been centered on the Utah-Idaho line approximately 150 miles north of the area in which HILLBERG found them. The civil air patrol had been called in by army officials to aid in the hunt.
"I was assigned to the area to the north of the place I found the planes," HELLBERG said. "I worked it on a hunch, however, and decided to cover all the territory to the south."
West Of Ogden.
The wreckage was found about 30 miles south of Kelton, Utah, and approximately 15 miles north of the Southern Pacific railroad tracks which cross the lake west of Ogden.

Brigham City, Jan. 1 -- Sheriff WARREN W. HYDE, who knows the desolate country well in which the bombers crashed said, he believed the scene of the crash was about 10 miles from any type of road. "I believe, however, that a jeep could drive to the wreckage," Sheriff HYDE. said.

The Ogden Standard Examiner Utah 1944-01-02

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ARMY REPORTS NAMES OF PLANE VICTIMS.

25 DIED IN CRASH OF BOMBERS IN BOX ELDER COUNTY.

Names of 25 victims of the two-bomber crash west of Great Salt Lake Friday night were released Monday by Lieutenant Colonel Willis George Carter, commanding officer at Wendover field, following identification of the bodies and notification of next of kin.
They are:
First Lieutenant MILTON O. BELL, son of George H. Bell, Stayton, Ore.
First Lieutenant AUSTIN W. CLARK, son of Mrs. Austin W. Clark, Dallas, Texas.
Second Lieutenant RICHARD R. ABMYER, husband of of Mrs. June E. Abmyer, Alliance, Ohio.
Second Lieutenant JAMES H. HUTCHESON, son of James H. Hutcheson, Atlanta, Ga.
Second Lieutenant RAY W. GAMBOL, husband of Mrs. Helen R. Gambol, Tell, Texas.
Second Lieutenant PAUL KOHLER, son of Julius Kohler, New Haven, Conn.
Second Lieutenant WILLIAM D. LIEBER, son of Elmo C. Lieber, Chicago.
Second Lieutenant LAWRENCE G. McGINNIS, son of Mrs. F. A. Tutt, Arlington, Va.
Second Lieutenant CARROLL E. MEYER, son of Mrs. Ruth Meyer, Baltimore, Md.
Second Lieutenant JOHN D. ROGERS, husband of Mrs. John D. Rogers, Herrin, Ill.
Second Lieutenant RICHARD SETTINERI, husband of Mrs. Richard Settineri, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Second Lieutenant JAMES B. SHARP, son of Hugh Sharp, Milwaukee, Wis.
Staff Sergeant JOSEPH L. GUTH, brother of Mrs. L. S. Trimble, Sacramento, Cal.
Staff Sergeant HANS R. PRIESTER, son of John H. Priester, Englewood, N.J.
Sergeant EDWARD W. ARNOLD, son of Mrs. Vina Jennings, Temple, Texas.
Sergeant SAUL DECKER, son of Saul Decker, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Sergeant ANTON P. BRAJKOIVICH, son of Mrs. Annie Brajkoivich, San Francisco.
Sergeant RALPH E. DAHLKAMP, son of Henry Dahlkamp, Hammond, Ind.
Sergeant CLYDE HEWITT, son of Mrs. Katie Hewitt, Thomaston, Ga.
Sergeant STANLEY F. ROBERSON, husband of Mrs. Anna M. Roberson, Waynesville, N.C.
Second Lieutenant JOHN H. MOFFETT, son of Mrs. Herbert T. Edwards, Kensington, Md.
Corporal LAWRENCE L. GRIFFIN, son of Mrs. Gertrude E. Griffin, Wickett, Texas.
Corporal FRANCIS HANSON, son of Robert L. Hanson, Caddo, La.
Corporal HUGH W. ROBINSON, JR., husband of Mrs. Kathleen S. Robinson, Western Salem, N.C.
Private LLOYD E. FOWLER, son of Mrs. Jack Fowler, Anton, Texas.
Meanwhile a board of officers was investigating cause of the crash, which occurred near Hogup, Box Elder county. The proximity of the two planes, within 100 feet of each other, indicated the accident might have been caused by a midair collision due to fog, while the aircraft were practicing formation flying.
Army air forces ground crews from Wendover field are salvaging as much of the planes as possible. One was burned almost completely, while the other was damaged only partially, but parts from both were scattered over a wide area. The aircraft were discovered late Saturday afternoon by Captain Carl H. Hellberg, CAP wing operations officer, while he was searching for the missing bombers.

The Salt Lake Tribune Utah 1944-01-04

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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!