Crash of a Douglas C-54A-1-DO Skymaster in New York

Date & Time: Jul 13, 1945
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
42-107437
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
7456
YOM:
1943
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a test flight when one of the engine caught fire in flight. After landing at LaGuardia Airport, the airplane ground looped and came to rest, bursting into flames. All six crew members escaped unhurt.
Probable cause:
Engine fire in flight.

Crash of a Curtiss C-46A-55-CK Commando in Lüliang: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jul 6, 1945
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
43-47126
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
MSN:
197
YOM:
1945
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff, while in initial climb, one or both engine lost power. The aircraft hit the slope of a hill located few km from the airport. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
2nd Lt Edward B. Wimmer 3.
Probable cause:
Loss of engine power.

Crash of a Douglas DC-3 Dakota IV near Nwegyi: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jun 26, 1945
Operator:
Registration:
KN218
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
MSN:
15639/27084
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
Crashed 10 km northwest of Nwegyi after the left engine failed in flight. All four crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/O W. S. Bradley 3.
Probable cause:
Failure of the left engine in flight.

Crash of a Douglas DC-3 Dakota IV near Sumsen: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jun 23, 1945
Operator:
Registration:
KN455
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
MSN:
16179/32927
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The crew had made one operational supply drop that day and was due to undertake a second operation, dropping supplies to Allied Troops at Myingan, Burma. The pilot had reported an engine problem following the first flight but it seems that operational pressure led to the continued use of the aircraft, despite the fault. It was seen at 1200LT at a height of 12,000 feet and the pilot who saw it reported seeing some smoke coming from one engine, but claimed that it stopped as the aircraft climbed into cloud. It was not seen again and is believed to have struck the ground after coming out of cloud. The aircraft was eventually found in an inaccessible hilly area of Burma, all the crew having perished.
Crew (62nd Squadron):
F/O Kenneth Herbert Roe, pilot,
P/O Simon Gascoigne Eden,
Sgt John Roland Hyne,
F/O Douglas Henry Loder.
Source:
http://scarletboy44.tumblr.com/post/53666675660/remember-pilot-officer-simon-gascoigne-eden

Crash of a Curtiss C-46A-40-CU Commando in Gold Run: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jun 22, 1945 at 2337 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
42-107339
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Reno – Long Beach
MSN:
27026
YOM:
1944
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The crew departed Reno on a high level training flight bound for Long Beach, California. Enroute, weather conditions worsened and the captain decided to return to Reno. Few minutes later, the aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in the American River Canyon located in Gold Run. The aircraft was destroyed and all three crew members were killed. There are conflicting versions about the reason of occurrence as one revealed that the loss of control was caused by an explosion in the right wing and the separation of both wings shortly later, and the second version mentioned a fire in the cockpit.

Crash of a Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress in Belfast

Date & Time: Jun 22, 1945
Operator:
Registration:
FK201
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
2375
YOM:
1941
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
An undercarriage collapsed on landing. The aircraft slid on runway before coming to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off.
Probable cause:
Undercarriage collapsed on landing.

Crash of a Martin PBM-5 Mariner into the Yellow Sea: 5 killed

Date & Time: Jun 18, 1945
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
59068
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
59068
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
While on a maritime patrol flight over the Yellow Sea, the crew encountered engine problems and the captain elected to make an emergency landing. The seaplane hit the water surface and sank about 100 miles off Mokpo. Five crew members were rescued while five others were killed.
Probable cause:
Engine failure.

Crash of a Consolidated LB-30A Liberator II in Swanage: 27 killed

Date & Time: Jun 15, 1945 at 0815 LT
Operator:
Registration:
JT985
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Holmsley South – Castel Benito – New Delhi
Location:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
22
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
27
Circumstances:
On the morning of Friday, June 15, 1945, with the war still raging in the Far East, Liberator JT985 of No 232 Squadron took off from RAF Holmsley South in the New Forest, on the first leg of its long flight to New Delhi-Palam Airport, India. The first refueling stop was scheduled to be at RAF Castel Benito, near Tripoli in North Africa. This Liberator was a passenger-carrying RY-3' (US designation) variant, with passenger accommodation in the former bomb bay area as well as within the main fuselage, and was distinguished easily from the twin tail fin bomber variants so well known with Coastal Command and the USAAF by its single large tail fin. It was unarmed. The weather at Holmsley South was poor, but both the captain and the duty executive officer considered it suitable for take-off, but poor enough for a diversion to be likely if an early return was necessitated. JT985 departed at 07:20 hours. At 07:45 hours, shortly after crossing the coast outbound, the aircraft reported a loss of fuel pressure and that the crew were turning back to carry out a precautionary landing at Holmsley South. This information was repeated again 10 minutes later. At around 08:15 hours the owner of Encombe House, Sir Ernest Scott, and a worker at Encombe dairy saw the aircraft, which was obviously below the height of the hills, and both knew instinctively that it was going to crash. It impacted on the edge of what is now the Dorset Coastal Path, the wings were ripped off and the engines detached and were thrown forward towards Orchard Hill Farm, one wing coming to rest on the footpath (not a public footpath) in Polar Wood leading from the top of the ridge to the farm. There were no survivors. The first to reach the scene were an RAF sergeant by the name of Reginald Reynolds, who was staying at Encombe House, and members of an Army searchlight battery located between the farm and the village of Kingston; they were soon joined by RAF personnel from, presumably, nearby RAF Worth Matravers. The National Fire Service from Swanage was soon on the scene, as were local police officers. When the low cloud lifted at about eleven o'clock a scene of total devastation was revealed. The tragic remains of 27 bodies was joined by much in the way of personal belongings such as a baby's photograph, playing cards, personal notebooks, wallets and the like, together with a distinguished flying cross, thrown from its box but which was also retrieved. Who did the DFC belong to? Not any of the crew or passengers, so maybe it was being taken to India for presentation to its owner? There was also a large amount of tropical uniform items and, to the delight of the local children, tins of boiled sweets. The bodies of the crash victims were eventually taken away to Poole Mortuary. This was, and still is, Dorset's worst ever air crash.
Crew (232nd Squadron):
F/Lt Saxon Cole, pilot,
F/O Donald Twaddle, copilot,
F/O Joseph Todd, navigator,
F/O George McPherson, radio officer,
Sgt George Wyke, flight engineer.
Source: http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=25114

Crash of a Douglas DC-3 Dakota III near Myingyan: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jun 14, 1945
Operator:
Registration:
KG694
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
13561
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
An engine failed in flight, forcing the crew to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft crash landed in a field and caught fire. Two crew members were killed while three others were injured.
Crew:
W/O J. M. Cox 4.
Probable cause:
Engine failure.

Crash of a Douglas DC-3 Dakota IV in Patna: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jun 13, 1945
Operator:
Registration:
KN468
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
16194/32942
YOM:
1945
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
Enroute, a fire broke out in the aircraft while the left engine failed. The captain attempted to make an emergency landing when the aircraft went out of control and crashed near the Dinawa Station in Patna. A crew member was seriously injured while six other occupants were killed.
Crew:
F/O B. D. Bancroft 4.