WWII C-87 Liberator Express Airman Identified

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WWII C-87 Liberator Express Airman Identified By Bill Goldston

		April 25, 2011 - The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors. U.S. Army Air Forces PFC. Mervyn E. Sims, 23, of Petaluma, Calif., will be buried Friday in his hometown. On April 24, 1943, Sims and four crew members aboard a C-87 Liberator Express departed from Yangkai, China, in support of ?the Hump? resupply mission between India and China. Prior to takeoff, a ground crew determined the aircraft had sufficient fuel for the six-hour flight to the air base on other side of the Himalayas in Chabua, India.

Once cleared for takeoff, there was no further communication between the aircrew and airfield operators. Army officials launched a search effort when the plane did not arrive at the destination. No evidence of the aircraft was found and the five men were presumed killed in action. The Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express was a transport derivative of the B-24 Liberator heavy bomber built during World War II for the United States Army Air Forces. A total of 287 C-87s were factory-built alongside the B-24 at the Consolidated Aircraft plant in Fort Worth, Texas. Converted former C-87s were the basis for a USAAF flight engineer trainer designated as the AT-22, a United States Navy VIP transport designated as the RY, and a Royal Air Force VIP transport designated as the Liberator C.IX. The C-87 was hastily designed in early 1942 to fulfill the need for a heavy cargo and personnel transport with longer range and better high-altitude performance than the C-47 Skytrain, the most widely available United States Army Air Forces transport aircraft at the time. The first C-87 prototype was based on a damaged B-24D, serial #42-40355, that crashed at Tucson Municipal Airport #2 on 17 February 1943. Six Consolidated Aircraft employees riding as passengers were killed and several others were injured. The prototype was converted into a transport configuration by various modifications, including deletion of the gun turrets and other armament along with the installation of a strengthened cargo floor, including a floor running through the bomb bay. The glassed-in bombardier compartment of the B-24 was replaced by a hinged metal cap to allow front cargo loading. A cargo door was added to the port side of the fuselage, just forward of the tail, and a row of windows was fitted along the sides of the fuselage.

In 2003, an American citizen in Burma reported to U.S. officials at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) that he had found aircraft wreckage he believed to be an American C-87 in the mountains 112 miles east of Chabua. He was detained by Burmese officials when he attempted to leave the country with human remains and artifacts from the site. The remains and materials were handed over to officials at the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon. Attempts to excavate the site are being negotiated with the Indian government.

Meanwhile, JPAC scientists continued the forensic process, analyzing the remains and physical evidence already in hand. Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA, which matched that of Sims? sister, in the identification of his remains.

		Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died. At the end of the war, the U.S. government was unable to recover and identify approximately 79,000 Americans. Today, more than 72,000 are unaccounted for from the conflict. Other News Stories (For the latest news please checkout our home page) NASA Honors Pioneer Astronaut Alan Shepard With Moon Rock Flight Attendants Indict American Airlines Top Execs With ?Moral Contempt? St. Louis International Airport Reopens After Level EF-4 Tornado Bush Era Alert System To Be Phased Out This Month A New C-130 The MC-130J Shadow II Completes First Flight FAA, ATC Supervisors To Handle Presidential And EXEC1F Flights SuperSonic Car On Track To Break The World Land Speed Record No Clear Winner, TSA Vote Leads To Runoff Election US Airways Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Sabre DOT Issues Vulnerability Report On The FAA?s ATC System Final Flight Of Space Shuttle Endeavour, Canada's Contribution European Commission Blacklist Airlines From Operating In The EU Southwest Airlines To Close Deal With AirTran DOT Expands Airline Passenger Protections Bell Helicopter Honors "Heroes of Aviation" Kentucky, Sale Of Two State Aircraft ?Smart Government Initiative? NLRB Issued Complaint Against Boeing For Unlawful Labor Practices Aircraft Repair Stations Choose AAIRRG As Insurance Carrier BAE Systems Enhances UK Royal Air Force Training Capabilities Eglin Air Force Base Receives First F-35 Full Mission Flight Simulator Rockwell Collins, Safety Benefits Of Head Up Flying Guidance System Civil Aviation Authority Sets Out Policy On Performance Based Navigation Discovery Air Announces Debt Repayment Moller International Schedules Test Flight Of The M400 Skycar EADS To Conduct Flight Demonstrations Of Its Armed AAS-72X Helicopter U.S. Air Force And Northrop Honor 50 Year History Of The T-38 Talon Jet Boeing Delivering 787 Pilot Training On Global Scale FAA Spoke On Biometric Pilots Licenses Before U.S. House Committee NTSB Report Details How Close United Airlines Flight 889 Came To A Midair FAA Administrator Changing ATC Scheduling Practices ICAO Standards Weak On Shipping Lithium Batteries By Aircraft Report Shows UK Airline Pilots Suffer Significant Fatigue New Touch Screen Attendant Control Panel For Airplane Cabin Upgrades 2011 Bahamas & Caribbean Pilot's Guide Now On The iPad