Warbird Information Exchange

Mark-

OMG!!!!! The shot in your C-47 array showing 43-15330 (My first shot with a 4 by 6 camera) is the plane flown by my dear friend Dave Hamilton---Normandy Pathfinder Chalk 14.

This event is part of Pathfinder lore in which Dave and crew were returning from the Southern France Operation (DRAGOON) in August 44 by way of a refueling stop at St. Mawgan in Cornwall.

For the return flight to North Witham, Dave gave the left seat to his longtime cp Stan Bierwith. Shortly after takeoff they hit some intense weather and Dave says they went completely vertical....and the way he tells it...they accomplished a 359.5 degree loop.....and bellied in at the bottom. He said the rivets were egg-shaped from the stress!!!.... that's a great bar story right? Well you just showed the evidence!!! The second pic over the right wing is his plane too!!!!

There was a board of inquiry conducted after the event and it was determined that "despite the pilot's assertion that the aircraft went into a loop, no evidence to that effect is proven."

I had the chance to interview the PF Ground Chief who was a passenger on the plane and when he read the report he said, "Well, that's a load of crap....me and my footlocker were on the ceiling....we sure as hell DID a loop!"

I presented Dave with a copy of the accident report in 2000 at our reunion in Connecticut.

330 was patched up and returned to service.

This picture just made my YEAR!!!

I guarantee you I will be on the phone to Dave later today!!!!! (He will be 91 this July)

Thank you for posting this!!!!

Dave Berry
'pathfinder'
Historian-WW2 Pathfinder Group
Note: When you look this loss up in reference you will note that the loss is credited to 436 TCG...losses in PF were not marked up against the PF Group....they followed the pilot's parent unit assignment. Dave was on DS to PF from 436 TCG. The plane never served in 436....it came direct to PF right off the line through 8 AAF...to 9 AAF to 9TCC.

My pleasure Dave, this is why I like to post them. I believe there's more as well that I'd be happy to post for you.

Mark

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“PMURT KCUF”

Again Dave outstanding work on your part. Very cool indeed. Absolutely fastinating information in your research. These additional photos were a part of the set. I believe it's the same aircraft.

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“PMURT KCUF”

UN-FREEKING-BELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!

Wonder why they would put in the right Aileron control lock on ???
Great Photos I would like to find some of our plane 43-16369 which I think was in the 436th TCG
Spookyboss

Dave third photo from the bottom (underside of wing) could that support the report of excess stress on the airframe possibly causing rivets to pop? Looks to be rivets missing?

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“PMURT KCUF”

Mark--

Just off the phone with Dave Hamilton and he is THRILLED to be getting these photos!

I asked him what he estimated his top speed was during this event and he said the needle was pegged and he estimates he was going 300...

He also said that they were fortunate that their load was limited to the crew, one passenger and one wing jack. He estimated they set down at 50 to 75....and landed on top of a mountain (which is obvious to us viewing the pictures).

He didn't have any thoughts on the aileron setting.

I described the photo of the guy smiling and pointing up at the underside of the fuselage below the navigators compartment. He started laughing and said the guy probably found the remnants of the three cases of Italian wine they were transporting back to the PF base at North Witham.

He described in exact detail the damage to the right wing root without having yet seen the photos...it was only 69 years ago!

All in all a fantastic day.

Thank you, SIR!

You are very welcome SIR, and please extend a greatly appreciated 'thank you for your service' to Mr. Hamilton. I'm thrilled for him ... And you. A job well done by all.

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“PMURT KCUF”

THIS is what WIX is for!

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"I knew the jig was up when I saw the P-51D-20-NA Mustang blue-nosed bastards from Bodney, and by the way the blue was more of a royal blue than an indigo and the inner landing gear interiors were NOT green, over Berlin."

I suppose if its going to be scrapped for parts, putting the control locks in might stop them flapping around and making then U/S.
Great photos!

That's an interesting observation. External moving parts would get beaten to h*ll in the wind down there. Don't forget, this whole thing was the result of hitting a front that Dave said came right out of the ground from the winds coming from the sea and whipping around in the valleys.

Dave said 330 was dismantled and the wings removed so it could be transported and eventually rebuilt. Records in my file show she was returned to 3 PF Sqn by JAN 45 and took a radar familiarization class down to Italy. Dave had received a new plane before that, but did check flights with the new pilot assigned to 330. In FEB45 she was one of several PF a/c to receive installation of self-sealing fuel tanks.

Exactly what I was thinking!

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Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster

Sorry Dave for the disruption, I hope the photos are viewable again and I hope Mr. Hamilton has had a chance to see them as well. Must be thrilling on his end. Neat stuff.
There's additional interior images I believe of his C-47 I'll post as well once I get all the kinks out of this new system.

M

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“PMURT KCUF”

Mark--

Got a call from Dave. He received the pics and is just beside himself!

He says that after the landing they contacted the local RAF base and they supplied a few guards to watch over the plane. The next day (or maybe the day after that) a team from USAAF showed up and removed all the sensitive gear. Notice the antennas for Rebecca have disappeared from the fuselage below the p/cp windows. They would have also removed the equipment from the nav compartment for Rebecca as well as SCR-717C. The 717C dish was in the pod aft of the trailing edge of the wing and likely was destroyed in the landing. But all the CRT gear was up in the nav space. My guess is that the photos of the bare table and cut wires on the radio racks are intended to show that the stuff was removed.

Would love to see any others you think might be from 330.

Outstanding!!! I'm very happy for him. And yes I believe there may be a couple more photos. I'll check and post asap.

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“PMURT KCUF”