Aircraft History
Built by Douglas. Constructors Number 6050. Assigned to the USAAF, on November 29, 1942. Assigned to the 5th Air Force, 374th Troop Carrier Group, 33rd Troop Carrier Squadron (or possibly 317th TCG, 40th TCS) on January 12, 1943. Suffered a collision on the ground at Wards Drome (5 Mile) on January 12, 1943.

Mission History
One of ten C-47s that took off from from Port Moresby transporting personnel of Australian Army 16th Brigade, 2/6th lead battalion to Wau Airfield, escorted by fighters.

Third to land, this C-47 approached too low and clipped trees and crashed at 9:12 250 meters off the northern end of the runway, killing four of the crew and passenger Carroll. The other passengers survived, but later four others died of wounds.

Justin Taylan adds:
"None of these men are listed on ABMC, probably their remains were recovered following the crash and returned during the war."

Wreckage
The fate of this aircraft is unknown, possibly parts were salvaged or abandoned at the airfield after the crash. This C-47 was officially condemned on December 1, 1943.

References
Allied Air Transport Operations SWPA in WWII Vol 2, page 420 (states the crew of five and three passengers were killed)
The Battle for Wau page 116-117, 257
17th Brigade War Diary, AWM 52, 8/2/17 Jan 43, pages 6-7
40th Airlift Squadron via Wikipedia "Wau saw the 40th [TCS]'s first combat casualties when a crew crashed while attempting to land on 18 January [1943]."

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Last Updated
October 1, 2009