AFHRA

In March 2023, I contacted the Air Force Historical Research Agency (https://www.afhra.af.mil/) to see if they had an accident report related to the crash that took Barry's life.  Initially, they were unable to locate an accident report.  When I asked for unit history information on the 20th Combat Mapping Squadron, they were able to send over 1,600 pages of declassified information, including the original "Report of Airplane Loss and Accidents".

I haven't gone through every single page they sent, but below are pages I found that mention Barry, as well as a few other pages that seemed noteworthy or interesting.  They are presented in chronological order.

1943-07-06 - Barry's Crew Assignment

Earliest mention of Barry that's I've found, assigning 1LT Roy Hunt (pilot), 2LT Barry Conway (copilot), and 2LT Ralph Simms (navigator) to the same crew: Flight A, Crew 2.  The three were flying together on 9 June 1944. (REEL A0875 page 599)

1943-10-04 - Movement to Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma City

Barry's name listed among those who will travel by private conveyance as the 20th Combat Mapping Squadron relocates from Peterson AAF, Colorado Springs to Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma City.  (REEL A0875 page 651)

1943-11-01 - Barry's Crew Assignment

Squadron Order 64, assigning Barry, Roy, and Ralph to  Flight D Crew 9 (Roy was the Flight Commander; one "Flight" consisted of four "Crews"/aircraft).  (REEL A0875 page 658) 

1943-12-04 - Squadron's first casualties, during training

A report detailing the squadron's first casualties, on a training flight.  (REEL A0875 page 669)

1943-12-06 - Example of a daily training schedule

An example training schedule - the squadron in two groups, one on alert for flying duty, the other in training classes (REEL A0875 page 691)

1943-12-19 - Training schedule during the week of Christmas

Shows physical training and formation for review on Christmas Eve, and physical training and "department training remainder of the day" on Christmas Day.  (REEL A0875 page 697)

1943-12-24 - Squadron strength roster

A page from the roster showing Barry's name in the list of 2LTs; a few pages earlier it says "The total strength of the Air Echelon as of 31 Dec 43 was forty-six Officers and one hundred and thirteen  Enlisted Men with a shortage of one Enlisted Man."  (REEL A0875 page 678)

1944-02-14 - Special Orders departing Hunter Field, Georgia

Orders to move from Hunter Field, Savannah, GA to Sacramento Air Depot, McClellan Field, CA, then Suisan AAB, Fairfield, CA pending further dispatch to overseas location.  (REEL A0875 page 554)

1944-03-16 - First air crews arrived in Papua New Guinea

First crews of the Air Echelon arrive at Nadzab, New Guinea on March 16, 1944, joining the Ground Echelon already there. Barry's crew was not there yet.  This is from a report written on March 31, 1944.  (REEL A0875 page 703)

1944-04-05 - First combat mission for the unit

Barry's crew was not there yet, but April 5th, 1944 was the first combat mission for the unit, described in the second paragraph (REEL A0875 page 717)

1944-04-30 - Barry's flight path from California to Papua New Guinea (including a Google Map showing the route)

This reported dated April 30, 1944 shows that Barry and crew departed Fairfield, CA on April 7th (it seems there's a typo on the report showing April 21), and arrived in Nadzab, New Guinea on April 22.  There were five stops along the way, in Hawaii, Kiribati,, Fiji, New Caledonia, and Australia.  Below, you'll see a Google Map I created showing the route.  (REEL A0875 page 778)

This map shows the path they flew; clicking on each stop shows their arrival and departure times

1944-05-01 - Squadron History Report for April - housing

In the squadron history report for the month of April, this paragraph describes what living conditions were like.  (REEL A0875 page 715)

1944-05-01 - Squadron History Report for April - morale

In the squadron history report for the month of April, this page describes the morale (and how popular the ping pong table was).  They had a softball league, too.  (REEL A0875 page 719)

1944-06-09 - The Mission Orders

These two pages show the orders for the fateful mission, to depart Nadzab and stage at Saidor for the mission on 10 June to perform reconnaissance of the Geelvink Bay area.  (REEL A0875 pages 982 and 983)

1944-06-12 - The Accident Report

The "Report of Airplane Loss and Accidents" showing details about the crash.  (REEL A0875 page 967)

1944-07-12 - Squadron History Report for June

These are several pages in the Squadron's June 1944 history report which share information about the crash.  (REEL A0875 pages 923, 928, and 929)

On this page, the 3rd paragraph details the loss.

On this page, the 3rd paragraph mentions the crash.

This table of combat missions shows that the mission was cancelled after the crash, and then was successfully completed the following day with a different crew.

1945-04-11 - Historical Sketch of the 20th Combat Mapping Squadron

A description of the crash in this report from April 1945, which covers the squadron's history between 23 July 1942 - 31 Dec 1944.  The 3rd paragraph mentions the loss of 1LT Hunt's aircraft.  (REEL A0875 page 540)