| Caption | Smoke rising from the forward flight deck of the USS Randolph, San Pedro Bay, Leyte Gulf, Philippines, 7 Jun 1945 after a USAAF P-38 Lightning accidentally crashed into a group of parked airplanes. ww2dbase | ||||
| Photographer | Unknown | ||||
| Source | ww2dbaseUnited States Navy via MaritimeQuest | ||||
| More on... |
| ||||
| Photo Size | 744 x 579 pixels | ||||
| Photos on Same Day | 7 Jun 1945 | ||||
| Photos at Same Place | San Pedro, Leyte, Philippines | ||||
| Added By | David Stubblebine | ||||
| Licensing | Public Domain. According to the United States copyright law (United States Code, Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105), in part, "[c]opyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government". Please contact us regarding any inaccuracies with the above information. Thank you. |
Did you enjoy this photograph or find this photograph helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this photograph with your friends: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Visitor Submitted Comments
2. jbc says:
28 Jan 2018 10:00:25 AM
my uncle. mw smith was a hellcat pilot on the randolph and told me about this incident. he said the p38 was in the middle of a roll and hit the deck upside down. as an aside he is quoted in james bradley's book flyboys
28 Jan 2018 10:00:25 AM
my uncle. mw smith was a hellcat pilot on the randolph and told me about this incident. he said the p38 was in the middle of a roll and hit the deck upside down. as an aside he is quoted in james bradley's book flyboys
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
Change View
Desktop ViewSearch WW2DB
Modern Day Location
| WW2-Era Place Name | San Pedro, Leyte, Philippines |
| Lat/Long | 11.1624, 125.0902 |
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,150 biographies
- » 337 events
- » 43,917 timeline entries
- » 1,241 ships
- » 350 aircraft models
- » 207 vehicle models
- » 375 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 260 facilities
- » 470 book reviews
- » 28,545 photos
- » 432 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us... they can't get away this time."Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, at Guadalcanal
4 Nov 2016 01:33:49 PM
Note the Independence-class Light Carrier in the foreground. The aircraft that struck the Randolph was actually an F-5E (s/n 44-24559), the photo reconnaissance variant of the P-38 Lighting, with the 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, 9th Photo Wing, 6th Photo Group, 5th Air Force on a ferry flight. The pilot and 14 sailors were killed with 11 injured. 10 Navy planes were destroyed (6 F6F and 4 TBM). The accident was officially described as taking place during a mock strafing run on the Randolph but some accounts suggest the pilot was buzzing the ship for the benefit of his brother who was part of the crew. The plane slid out of a turn and lost lift, causing the crash. The P-38 smashed into the flight deck and skipped off into the water. The pilot was never recovered and was officially listed as “Missing” for a long time. Some rumors also describe this as the pilot’s last scheduled flight before rotating home (unverified).