Lt. Robert N. Bulloch

Mid-Air Collision, February 12, 1944, Mill Creek, Oklahoma

Lt. Robert N. Bulloch, 25, of Cedar City, Utah, was co-pilot of B-17G, (42-30481), the Ardmore Army Air Field aircraft that was cut-in-two in a mid-air collision near Mill Creek, Oklahoma, February 12, 1944.

Ten crewmembers died at 5:30PM when the aircraft plummeted to earth just north of Mill Creek. One member, Cpl. Joseph (Jack) W. McClanahan, the tail gunner, survived without injury after parachuting from the severed tail section. Other crewmembers included Captain William R. Heck, pilot; Lt. Collins O. Gerstner, 24, Minneapolis, Minnesota;  Lt. Jack L. Rider, 27, Glendale, California; Captain Oswald L. Bernich, 28, Biloxi, Mississippi;  Sgt. Albert  F. Franczyk, 20, E. Vandergrift, Pennsylvania;  Cpl. Anthony T. Casino, 21, Follansbee, W. Virginia; Sgt. Ray N. Wise, 20, Texarkana, Arkansas;  Sgt. Leslie C. Hill, 21. Medford, Oregon and Sgt. John W. Ashba, Jr., 26, Steubenville, Ohio

The 12 planes, in tight formation, were turning and descending from 14,500 feet when the collision occurred under turbulent air conditions. They had been in the air for four-plus hours and were returning to Ardmore Army Air Field, located approximately 15 miles southwest of Mill Creek.

The other B-17F, (42-30752), though severely damaged, landed safely at Ardmore. None of its crew was injured. Several weeks after the accident, the crew was shipped to England, serving with the 8th Air Force. A few days after arriving, the pilot of the surviving aircraft, Lt. Verne H. Lewis, flying as co-pilot with another crew for experience, was shot down, June 14, 1944, and became a prisoner of war.