Tetsuya Ide, from Japan, provided the following information, translated from Japanese records of the aircraft downing.

Aircraft information and those on board were:
B29-#42-63600
Crash time: May 8, 1945
Crash position: TAKAIDA 3 chome Fuse city Osaka pref.
Affiliation: 21 BSQ, 501st BG, 315th BW, 20th AF
Attack target: The Kawanishi airplane Naruo factory radar reconnaissance
Cause of crash: Anti-aircraft gun
Nickname: ROADAPPLE

X c Pilot TITENSOR, Allen E. Major
X c Copilot WILLIAMS, Donald S. Second Lieutenant
X u B CHAMBERS, Samuel J. First Lieutenant
X c C WHITE, Luther H. Captain
X c P GARRETT, Thomas R. Major
X c N BABITSKY, Charles 2 grade Staff Sergeant
X c G WILSON, Arthur N. Sergeant
X c Gunner DOMBROSKI, Louis V. Sergeant
X c Gunner KACZOWKA, Stephan J. Sergeant
X c Gunner FLORIO, Perry Sergeant
u Taking advantage HAMILTON, Richard H. Captain

Those crew members with a "c" to the right of their names were 315th Bomb Wing, 501st Bomb Group crewmembers. Those with a "u" are unknown, except for Capt Hamilton, who, it appears, was with the XXI Bomber Command.

Tranlated summary of crash details:
After the single opportunity radar reconnaissance to Kawanishi airplane Naruo factory, Radar captured over SAKURAJIMA in Osaka, and shot down at 3-chome, Takaida, Higashi-Osaka-city by search-light irradiation and the first shot hit from an obligation Kashima anti-aircraft gun.
Radar operator was bail out. The parachute descent only of Captain, 21st bomber group radar operator, Captain Hamilton, who took the advantage, was able to be carried out. Captain Hamilton sent to the central part military police was shot dead as a war felon with other 14 persons at the Shinodayama exercise place on July 20. For the 315th bombing team which did standard disposition of the B29B which strengthened radar capability, it became the only battle loss machine.

Other notes:
  • Missing Aircrew Report (MACR) # 14395 was assigned to the aircraft loss.

  • Major Garrett, Radar Operator; Capt White, Bombardier; Lt Chambers, Navigator; S/Sgt Babitsky, Flight Engineer; Cpl Wilson, Radio Operator.

  • The following individuals were normally assigned to the crew, but apparently replaced by the unknown crewmembers above:

    Lt George Gulas
    Cpl Irving E Hauss

    No one from the 315th Bomb Wing Association knows what became of them. As far as can be determined, they weren't assigned back to the 501st Bomb Wing or the 315th. Perhaps they were assimilated into one of the groups of the 314th Bomb Wing at North Field or assigned to another wing.

  • As the runways at Northwest Field weren't completed as of the date of this loss, early 315th BW aircraft arrrivals to Guam, flew out of North Field. Historical accounts show that the first few missions flown by the 315th BW aircraft, were to take Radar pictures of targets on the Japanese mainland. I speculate that the crew positions that were manned by other than 501st BG personnel, were 314th Bomb Wing crew members who had flown previous combat missions to Japan.
    Content ©2005, Larry Miller
    September 13, 2005