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Milligan in Fillmore County, Nebraska — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
 

B-17G "Flying Fortress" and P-47D "Thunderbolt" Crash, 1944

 
 
B-17G "Flying Fortress" and P-47D "Thunderbolt" Crash, 1944 Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 2022
1. B-17G "Flying Fortress" and P-47D "Thunderbolt" Crash, 1944 Marker
Inscription.
On September 8, 1944, P-47 “Thunderbolt” fighters from the Bruning Army Air Field conducted training attack maneuvers with two formations of B-17 “Flying Fortress” bombers from the Sioux City Army Air Field. When one P-47 attempted to terminate its mock attack, it collided with the left wing of a B-17, rupturing the bomber’s fuel tank. Both planes exploded.

Most of the B-17 wreckage landed on the Milo Buzek, Dea Baldwin, and Henry Nezda farms, 9 miles south and ½ mile east of Milligan. The tail section fell on the Lester Krupicka farm. Military officials conducted an extensive search to recover the B-17’s top secret Norden bombsight. The P-47 crashed on the Reinhart Schielke farm, 9 miles south and 1 mile west of Milligan, and its pilot, 2nd Lt. John T. McCarthy, was killed. Of the B-17 crewmen, Cpl. LeNoir A. Greer, Cpl. Walter A. Divan, Pfc. Reuben L. Larson, and Pvt. Albert L. Mikels survived, while 2nd Lt. William F. Washburn, 2nd Lt. Bernard I. Hall, 2nd Lt. Lyle C. Baxmann, F/O George A. Budovsky, Cpl. John E. Tuchols, and Pvt. Henry C. Sedberry lost their lives.
 
Erected 2010 by Milligan Memorial Committee/Milligan Public Library; Nebraska State Historical Society; and Families of the Crewman and Friends of the Community. (Marker Number 474.)
 
Topics and series. This historical
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marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & SpaceDisastersWar, World II. In addition, it is included in the Nebraska State Historical Society series list. A significant historical date for this entry is September 8, 1944.
 
Location. 40° 30.606′ N, 97° 23.106′ W. Marker is in Milligan, Nebraska, in Fillmore County. Marker is on State Highway 41 just east of N Street (Road 24), on the left when traveling east. Marker is rightmost of three Nebraska World War II air training disaster markers at this location. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Milligan NE 68406, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. BT-13B "Valiant" and P-47D "Thunderbolt" Crash, 1944 (here, next to this marker); Two B-24 "Liberators" Crash Near Milligan, 1943 (here, next to this marker); The Blizzard of 1888 (a few steps from this marker); Milligan Auditorium (approx. 0.7 miles away); Pioneer Chapel (approx. 1.1 miles away); The Pioneer Chapel and Cesky Bratri Cemetery (approx. 1.1 miles away); Sergeant Leodegar Schnyder (approx. 6.6 miles away); The Ohiowa Auditorium (approx. 7½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Milligan.
 
Related markers.
Milligan, Nebraska • WWII Fatal Air Crash Markers image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 2022
2. Milligan, Nebraska • WWII Fatal Air Crash Markers
(looking north from Nebraska Highway 41 • rightmost of three Nebraska World War II air training disaster markers at this location)
Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. WWII Fatal Air Crashes near Milligan, Nebraska
 
Also see . . .
1. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). The B-17 was primarily employed by the USAAF in the daylight strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial, military and civilian targets. From its prewar inception, the USAAC (by June 1941, the USAAF) promoted the aircraft as a strategic weapon; it was a relatively fast, high-flying, long-range bomber with heavy defensive armament at the expense of bombload. It developed a reputation for toughness based upon stories and photos of badly damaged B-17s safely returning to base. The B-17 dropped more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II.
(Submitted on September 26, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 

2. Norden Bombsight.
The Norden is a bombsight that was used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and the United States Navy during World War II, and the United States Air Force in the Korean and the Vietnam Wars. It was an early tachometric design that directly measured the aircraft's ground speed and direction, which older bombsights could only estimate with lengthy
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manual procedures. The Norden further improved on older designs by using an analog computer that continuously recalculated the bomb's impact point based on changing flight conditions, and an autopilot that reacted quickly and accurately to changes in the wind or other effects. Together, these features promised unprecedented accuracy for daytime bombing from high altitudes. To protect these advantages, the Norden was granted the utmost secrecy well into the war, and was part of a production effort on a similar scale to the Manhattan Project.
(Submitted on September 26, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 

3. Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American aerospace company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. Its primary armament was eight .50-caliber machine guns, and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry 5-inch rockets or a bomb load of 2,500 lb. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to 8 tons, making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war. The P-47 was one of the main United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters of World War II, and also served with other Allied air forces, including those of France, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union.
(Submitted on September 26, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 

4. Milligan Memorial Committee for the WWII Fatal Air Crashes.
The members of the Milligan Memorial Committee made every effort to write each airman's story as accurately as possible with the information available to them. It was the committee's goal to put a face and a story with each name that appears on the Nebraska State Historical Markers, while providing historical and factual information to the reader. It was done with respect and admiration of the airmen and their families.
(Submitted on September 26, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on September 26, 2022. It was originally submitted on September 26, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 129 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on September 26, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.

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Mar. 29, 2024