Original photograph of C-47 crash

[jonesy]

I bought this photo last week of a crashed C-47. Unfortunately there's no details to go with it so it's a bit of a mystery.


WWII USAAF C-47 crash by jonesy1275, on Flickr

The tail code might be an 'I'.

Any thoughts?
Neil.

[lmritger]

Well, you've got the full star/bar, so it's no earlier than July 1943; the crewman is wearing a B-3 jacket and there are camo B-24s in the background without brightly colored tail markings (from what I can tell), so it's likely in England in the fall of 1943. Obviously that doesn't narrow it down much, but that seems to be a reasonable guess.

Lynn

[jonesy]

I agree with you Lynn.

The font that's used on the tail code doesn't look like the standard used in late 43, early 44.

[JimH]

The white stripe on the tail could be indicative of Italy as well.

Jim

[cco23i]

I agree with the date BUT the fellow is a mechanic wearing a D-1 jacket as it's shorter than a B-3 and has a seam down the center of the back.

Scott

[JohnB]

Notice the burned control surfaces on the wing, a flash fire (fabric gone but not the paint)?
Judging by the wreckage with no nose, it looks like it may have been a takeoff/landing accident like the one described by Ernest K. Gann in Fate is the Hunter. In that, the pilots stalled on takeoff. With minimal fuel onboard, perhaps you could have had a accident like that.

[jonesy]

Is that a white stripe on the rudder?

[Pathfinder]

Yeah--I'm not feelin' England here----maybe North Africa, Italy....the Med.....

Could that "I" be the center color of the Red--White--Blue tail flash?

[jonesy]

It's definitely a capital I.

[Pathfinder]

Okay....lift that guys fingerprint out of the middle of the pic and sent it in to Interpol! We have to start someplace!

[jonesy]

Dusting the print as we speak.

There's definitely a B-24 in the background but I'm not too sure what the other aircraft is that's on the far right. I really want to say a Horsa glider...

[Tom_W]

Hello Neil,

I noticed this shot while looking through the Jeff Ethell collection of photos a few weeks ago:

http://www.ww2color.com/nennius/webapps ... _key=06525



Looks like the machine in your photo was an 8th TCS machine of the 62nd TCG as they used the diagonal white stripe on the rudder and it also looks like they used thin letters on the fin as well. Unlike a number of other Troop Carrier Units they did not transfer to the 9th AF in England, instead they stayed in Italy.

I'm just going through the known 8th TCS C-47 serials and will post any likely candidates asap.

Tom

P.S. hope your wellies have dried out by now

[Tom_W]

The results so far:

41-18616 - crashed on take-off Gioia, Calabria, Italy 22nd Jan '44
41-18382 - in-flight engine fire, Italy, 30th June '44, condemned salvage 26th Aug '44
41-18375 - beyond economical repair, salvage Italy 1st Sept '44

[jonesy]

Top work Tom!!!

[Tom_W]

42-23521 - crashed, Palermo, Italy, 12th Oct '43
42-47382 - dest by bombing, Maison Blanche, Algeria, 16th Nov '42

Palermo would be a long shot in my opinion as there's high ground in the background on all but the eastern side but the photo was taken on a hazy day so it remains a possibility.

Maison Blanche was hit regularly during November '42, the 97th BG lost a number of B-17s there during the month, there's a few photos on fold3 that show the results:

http://www.fold3.com/image/47306877/

The ground is similar to that in your photo so it is also a possibility.

There are also the following to bear in mind as they were ex-8th TCS machines that were transferred to the 4th TCS:

43-49530 - dest on ground - hit by B-17, Foggia, Italy 12th Apr '45
42-24333 - dest on ground - hit by B-17, Foggia, Italy 12th Apr '45
42-92683 - dest on ground - hit by B-17, Foggia, Italy 12th Apr '45
42-93784 - dest on ground - hit by B-17, Foggia, Italy 12th Apr '45
42-93785 - dest on ground - hit by B-17, Foggia, Italy 12th Apr '45

The 4th TCS usually applied a diamond to the top of the rudder instead of the diagonal stripe on the machine in your photo Neil but maybe this machine never got its diamond....

This story is very interesting IMO:
http://www.dc3airways.com/people/nash.html