Old Missoula

Largest Bomber In Army Service Through District

16-Ton Ship Soars Over at An Altitude of 12,600 Feet, on Way East.

Flying at an altitude of 12,600 feet, the YB-17, largest bombing plane for the United States army, soared over Western Montana Tuesday afternoon on its way to Dayton, Ohio. The ship passed over south of Missoula and on the flight through this section was in contact with the Department of Commerce radio station on the Missoula airport.

The ship left Seattle, where it was manufactured, Monday afternoon and grounded for the night in Spokane. It left Spokane at 12:15 p.m. Missoula time Tuesday afternoon and roared through the heavens south of here at 1:15 o’clock in the afternoon with Cheyenne as the next scheduled stop.

The ship was in charge of Major John D. Corklille. Major C. V. Haynes, regular army corps pilot, Langley field, Va., was also with the ship.

Major Corklille is en route to Dayton, Ohio, to deliver the first of 13 big Boeing army bombers manufactured at Seattle. The giant four-motored bomber is the largest of its type in the world. It weighs 16 tons, has a 105-foot wing spread and a length of 70 feet. It carries a ton of high explosives and can make a 1,500-mile trip and return without refueling.

The first YB-17 was cracked up at Dayton, Ohio, October 30, 1935. That ship was called a Boeing “flying fortress.” When it crashed to earth and burst into flames at Dayton during a test flight, Major P. P. Hill, chief of the flying branch of Wright field at Dayton, lost his life. Leslie Tower, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Tower of Polson, a test pilot, sustained injuries which resulted in his death.

When the big bomber went through this district Tuesday the only ones aware of the trip were the operators for the Department of Commerce and the Northwest Air Lines. It was out of the vision of Missoulians.

The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on January 13, 1937

https://www.newspapers.com/image/349260820/?terms=leslie%2Btower

Leslie Ralph Tower was born at Sisseton, South Dakota, 21 January 1903. He was the first of three children of Ralph R. Tower, a farmer who would later serve as a state senator for Montana, and Mayme Amanda Johnson Tower, a Swedish immigrant.

Les Tower attended high school at Polson, Montana, graduating in 1922. He then attended the University of Washington, where he studied engineering. He was a member of the Radio Club.

Tower enlisted in the United States Army as an aviation cadet, training at Brooks and Kelly airfields in Texas. He then served with the 2nd Bombardment Squadron at Langley Field, Virginia. In 1925 Tower started working for Boeing as a draftsman, but soon began test flying new airplanes, which included the B-9 bomber and the Model 247 commercial airliner. He also demonstrated and delivered Boeing airplanes around the world. On 20 August 1935, Tower and Louis Wait flew the Model 299 from Seattle to Dayton, approximately 2,100 miles, in 9 hours, 3 minutes, averaging 233 miles per hour (375 kilometers per hour). Les Tower was aboard the XB-17 as an observer during the 30 October flight. He saw that the control locks had not been released and tried to reach them, but was unable. In the fire that followed the crash, Tower suffered severe burns to his face, right arm and both legs. Leslie Ralph Tower died of his injuries 19 November 1935 at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. His remains were transported by train, escorted by Army airplanes, and were buried at Lakeview Cemetery, Polson, Montana.

A Boeing profile of Leslie Tower appears at the link below:

https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/leslie-ralph-tower/