United States Army Air Forces - USAAF (1941-1947)

The crew was returning to Châteaudun after it dropped a glider during a full-scale supply mission to the city of Bastogne. En route, the aircraft was hit by enemy fire and the crew attempted an emergency landing in an open field located six km northwest of Bastogne. While the aircraft was damaged beyond repair, all four crew members were unhurt.

The crew was returning to Châteaudun after it dropped a glider during a full-scale supply mission to the city of Bastogne. En route, the aircraft was shot down by enemy fire and crashed in a field located 5,6 km southwest of Bastogne. A crew member was able to bail out while all four other occupants were killed in the crash.

The crew was returning to Châteaudun after it dropped a glider during a full-scale supply mission to the city of Bastogne. En route, the aircraft was hit by enemy fire. All five crew members were able to abandon the aircraft and to bail out. The aircraft crashed in a field located 6,5 km southwest of Bastogne and was destroyed.

The crew was returning to Châteaudun after it dropped a glider during a full-scale supply mission to the city of Bastogne. En route, the aircraft was shot down by enemy fire and crashed landed in a field located 8 km from Bastogne. A crew member was killed while all three other occupants were unhurt.

After it dropped a glider during a full-scale supply mission to the city of Bastogne, the aircraft was shot down by enemy fire and crash landed in a field located in Hemroulle, north of Bastogne. All four crew members escaped unhurt but the aircraft was written off.

The crew was returning to Châteaudun after it dropped a glider during a full-scale supply mission to the city of Bastogne. En route, the aircraft was hit by enemy fire and several bullets hit the cockpit, the fire extinguisher and the fuselage as well. A fire erupted and a crew member was able to bail out before the aircraft crashed in a field. All three other occupants were killed.

The crew was taking part to a full-scale supply mission to the city of Bastogne, towing a glider. Its is believed the aircraft nosed down to 40 degrees after the glider was released, and maybe the right engine was on fire as well. It appears the aircraft was not shot down by enemy fire but this was not proven. Four crew members were able to bail out but one of them was killed as his parachute did not open. The fifth occupant remained in the cabin and was killed in the crash.

The aircraft was taking part to a full-scale mission when flying over Belgium, it was shot down by the German Flak. It crash landed in a field located 10 km southwest of Bastogne and was written off. A crewmen was killed.

The aircraft left Wright Patterson AFB at 2221LT on December 24 bound for Minneapolis-Wold Chamberlain Airport. At 2318LT, less than hour into the flight, the captain informed ATC he was returning due to strong head winds up to 54 mp/h. Due to the deterioration of the weather conditions at Wright Patterson AFB, the crew was vectored to Harrisburg where the cloud layer was up to 2,500 feet with a good visibility. Unfortunately, the weather conditions worsened in Harrisburg as well and it was impossible for the pilot to land. After five unsuccessful attempts, the captain reported he was short of fuel. At an altitude of 900 feet, the aircraft hit the slope of the Reesers Summit located 6 miles south of the airport, near York Haven. All four crew members and eight passengers were killed.

While flying over Arizona, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with thunderstorm activity and low clouds. The twin engine aircraft hit the slope of Mt Black Mesa located some ten miles southwest of Brenda, Arizona. The wreckage was found 12 feet from the summit and all 17 occupants were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Ben Gibson, pilot,
Lt George Winzler, copilot,
Sgt Jack Maier, flight engineer,
Pvt Frank Byrne, radio operator.
Passengers:
Pfc George Jones,
Pfc Dudley Hutton,
Pfc George Francis,
Pfc Bruce Carden,
Pfc Haig Sansian,
Pvt Leroy Thomas,
Sgt Williams Yates,
Sgt Clyde Wikadel,
Yeoman James Woodley,
Donald Brakebill,
Edgell Powell,
E. O. Milliron,
F/O A. C. Middleton.
Source & photos:
http://www.aircraftarchaeology.com/c47blackmesa.html