Hoyt Edward Dixon was born at Talking Rock in Georgia, son of Taylor Dixon and Susie Partin.y
Sergeant Hoyt E. Dixon, US Army Air Forces, was assigned to the 561st Bombardment Squadron, 388th Bomber Group.
He died non-battle 17 May 1945 and is interred at the Cambridge American Cemetery, England, plot D, row 7, grave 37.
On 17 May 1945, Lt Harry J. Cole and crew (on Aircraft B-17G with serial number 44-8683) were cleared from AAF Station 136 for a thousand-mile navigtational flight to Newcastle, Lands’ End, to Base. This flight was in connection with redeployment training and was one of six flights over this same route. The aircraft crashed into the side of a hill two miles NE of Kettlewell, Yorkshire. Residents of the village heard the airplane pass over but none saw or heard the crash. The tops of the surrounding hills, including the one on which the A/C crashed, were covered by mist. The wreckage of the A/C was discovered late in the day by a shepherd who notified the police and led them to the accident. The nature of the terrain and the failing light precluded little more than a superficial examination and the party descended the slope, returning the following morning with the necessary equipment for recovering the bodies of the five airmen. Personnel from RCAF Station Dishforth, including medical, engineering and photographic personnel, accompanied the police in this second trip. Investigation at the scene of the accident disclosed that the aircraft had flown into the crest of the hill in normal flight attitude with power on, the left wing striking the ground first as the line of flight was not quite parallel to the slope of the hill. The aircraft was almost completely burned and any salvage action would be virtually impossible because of the rugged terrain.
It is believed that the pilot, on the second leg of the flight, i.e., from Newcastle to Lands’ End, observed poor weather along the route and made a left turn to return to base, rather than complete the flight. No evidence could be found as to the failure of navigational equipment and it is presumed that it was operating satisfactorily, since the aircraft was on course.
Crew members
Pilot, 1st Lt Harry J. Cole
Co-Pilot, 2nd Lt Vince L. Ferguson
Navigator, 2nd Lt James M. Young
Engineer, Sgt Hoyt E. Dixon
Radio Operator, S/Sgt Dario Battista
The Chattanooga Daily Times, 31 May 1945
Killed in an airplane crash in England May 17 was Sgt. Hoyt E. Dixon, son of Mrs. Susie Dixon, 866 Wheeler Avenue. A graduate of Central High School, Sgt. Dixon, 22, was serving with the Eighth Air Force when he was killed approximately two weeks ago in a plane crash. He began army duty three years ago. He had been overseas two years. He was a former employe of the United Hosiery Mills. Sgt. Dixon had five brothers, four of whom are in military service, and two sisters.
- Rank: Sergeant
- Date of birth: 17 July 1922
- Date of death: 17 May 1945
- County: Hamilton
- Hometown: Chattanooga
- Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
- Division/Assignment: 561st Bomber Squadron, 388th Bomber Group, Heavy
- Theater: Europe
- Conflict: World War II
- Burial/Memorial Location: Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, England
- Location In Memorial: Pillar X, Top Panel
- Contact us to sponsor Hoyt E. Dixon
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