Aircraft History

Built by Lockheed in Burbank as Model 237-27-01 (Constructor’s Number 237-5524), this aircraft was delivered to the U.S. Navy as a PV-1 Ventura, Bureau Number 34641.

Wartime Assignment

Assigned to Bombing Squadron 139 (VB-139). The aircraft carried no known nickname or nose art. Squadron number “31” was initially painted in black on the nose and in white on the tail, and later changed to “33.” PV-1 BuNo 34641 was officially assigned squadron code “33” on October 6, 1943. 

The appearance of “31” on the tail was likely the result of an error. Photographic evidence from other VB-139 Venturas shows this area of the tail frequently overpainted with a different shade, suggesting earlier markings were corrected. This overpainted layer appears to have weathered away on the wreck of BuNo 34641, revealing the underlying “31.”

Crew

All crew members were listed as Missing in Action (MIA) and later declared Killed in Action (KIA):

• Pilot: Lt. Walter S. Whitman, Jr., O-106381 USNR — Philadelphia, PA
• Co-Pilot: Lt (jg) John W. “Moose” Hanlon, Jr., O-145441 USN — Worcester, MA
• Navigator: AM2c Donald G. Lewallen, 5636083 USNR — Omaha, NB
• Engineer: AMM2c Clarence C. Fridley, 3775592 USNR — Manhattan, MT
• Radioman: AR3c Samuel L. Crown, Jr., 6125394 USNR — Columbus, OH
• Gunner: AO3c James S. Palko, 3292467 USN — Superior, WI
• Gunner: AM2c Jack J. Parlier, 6693889 USNR — Decatur, IL   

Loss Date: March 25, 1944

Mission History

On March 25, 1944, the aircraft took off from Casco Cove Airfield in Attu under the command of Lt. Whitman as one of five PV-1 planes assigned to an “Empire Express” bombing and reconnaissance mission against Shumshu Island in the northern Kuriles.

Minutes before takeoff, Whitman’s crew witnessed the crash of another squadron aircraft—PV-1 Ventura BuNo 33343 (28V), piloted by Lt. J. H. Moore, which went down seconds after becoming airborne.

The formation encountered severe weather and hazardous flying conditions. Two aircraft were forced to abort and returned to base after jettisoning their bombs into the sea.

Approximately six hours into the mission, Attu radio operators determined Whitman’s position over Kamchatka. This transmission was the last known contact. Only one Ventura completed the mission and returned safely.

When Whitman’s aircraft failed to return, it was declared Missing in Action.

Search Efforts

U.S. Navy ships and aircraft conducted an extensive search covering a 200-mile radius from Attu, but no trace of the bomber was located.

Loss and Wreckage

The aircraft ultimately crashed on the slopes of Mutnovsky Volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The wreckage, visible only during the summer months, was accidentally discovered in 1962 by geologist Mikhail Khotin.

Due to Cold War sensitivities, the site was investigated by the Soviet security service, Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (KGB), along with the Soviet military. Unexploded ordnance was detonated, dispersing the wreckage—likely to obscure it from U.S. reconnaissance.

Rediscovery and Recovery

In 1992, historian Alla Paperno of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky reported Khotin’s findings to the United States Embassy in Moscow.

From August 7–9, 2000, a joint U.S.–Russia team, led by Maj. Gen. Roland Lajoie and Col. Konstantin Golumbovskiy, visited the crash site.

Examination suggested possible anti-aircraft damage to the engines, and at least one live bomb remained at the site.

The exact cause of the loss cannot be determined with absolute certainty. However, evidence gathered during the August 2000 site investigation by USAF Col. Ralph Wetterhahn (Ret.) revealed heavy-caliber anti-aircraft damage to both engine exhaust stacks, as well as to the propeller spinner of the left engine.

This damage likely led to progressive engine failure. It is therefore most probable that Lt. Whitman attempted to divert toward Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky but, after losing effective power and control, elected to execute a forced landing on the slopes of Mutnovsky Volcano. Both engines appear to have been failed prior to touchdown.

Wetterhahn later described the final moments of the aircraft in his book The Last Flight of Bomber 31:

“Touchdown was perfectly leveled, since both engines were simultaneously ripped downward from their mounts, rotated under the wings, and stopped side by side as the plane plowed its way uphill. There was no fire.”

In 2002, recovery efforts by CILHI (Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii)  yielded bone fragments and personal artifacts, including a 1943 nickel.

Subsequent mDNA testing against relatives performed at CILHI, confirmed the identities of the crew.

Memorials

The crew was officially declared dead on January 16, 1946, and all were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

They are memorialized at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), Honolulu, on the Courts of the Missing.

On November 20, 2003, they were interred in a group burial at Arlington National Cemetery (Section 60, Site 8249).

Additional memorials include Anchorage, Alaska, and individual grave markers for Lewallen (Wyoming) and Parlier (Illinois).