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Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 26 November 1944 |
Summary | Controlled flight into terrain in bad weather |
Site |
Leith Hill, Surrey, England 51°10′33″N 0°22′11″W / 51.17583°N 0.36972°W |
Aircraft type | Douglas C-47A-30-DK |
Operator | United States Army Air Force |
Registration |
|
Flight origin | Advanced Landing Ground "A-4, France |
Destination | Chalgrove Airfield, England |
Fatalities | 13 |
Survivors | 0 |
On 26 November 1944, four C-47 transport aircraft of the 442nd Operations Group departed from Advanced Landing Ground "A-4 in Pays de la Loire, northern France, en route to Chalgrove Airfield, Oxfordshire, England. The C-47s were flying in a Diamond formation. After crossing the English Channel low cloud forced the aircraft to descend from 1,500 feet to 1,200 feet. Three of the four C-47 descended another 200 feet, and shortly thereafter, the three C-47s crashed into the side of Leith Hill, the highest summit of the Greensand Ridge. The crash killed all thirteen crewmen on the three C-47, five on 43–47975, five on 42-93754 & three on 42–92837. The fourth C-47 landed safely at Chalgrove Airfield. [1] [2] [3]