Date & Time:
Sep 19, 1944
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
KG401
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Supply
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
MSN:
12436
YOM:
1944
Country:
Netherlands
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The aircraft had just dropped its supplies from 700 feet when it was met with intense anti-aircraft fire. The tail unit, rudder, port aileron and engine, the starboard auxiliary fuel tank and all the gyro instruments were either damaged or put out of action, and one of the Army dispatchers was mortally wounded. The captain, F/O L. R. Pattee and his copilot, F/O A. C. Kent, flew the crippled aircraft back to the British lines, through three more areas of enemy flak, where they sustained further serious damage, including a five foot hole in the starboard wing which caught fire, and complete electrical and communications failure. Once over the British lines, Pattee gave the crew and dispatchers the opportunity to bale out, but they refused and the pilots then made a successful belly-landing in the field. No sooner had they all quit the Dakota, than it was engulfed by flames. The unfortunate dispatcher died soon after the landing, while the others were taken to Brussels and the crew returned to RAF Down Ampney.
Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/
Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/
Probable cause:
Shot down by enemy fire.
