1945 – May 30, USAAF C-47B crash (18 WACs & 3 crew) near Sassandra, Ivory Coast–21

Compiled Dec 4, 2023 by Wayne Blanchard for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–21  Aviation Safety Network. USAAF C-47B crash into sea off Drewin (Cote d’Ivoire)

–21  Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, p. 31-32. 

Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1945, p. 90 (C-47B, 5-30-45):

“Date:                          Wednesday 30 May 1945

“Time:                         09:20

“Type:                         Douglas C-47B-28-DK (DC-3)

“Operator:                   United States Army Air Force – USAAF

“Registration:              44-76406

“MSN:                         32738/15990

“First flight:                 1945

….

“Crew:                         Fatalities:   3 / Occupants:   3

“Passengers:                Fatalities: 18 / Occupants: 18

“Total:                         Fatalities: 21 / Occupants: 21

….

“Location:                   off Drewin (Cote d’Ivoire) [About 7 miles southwest of Sassandra.]

“Phase:                        En route (ENR)

“Nature:                       Military

“Departure airport:      Accra-Kotoka Airport…Ghana

“Destination airport:    Monrovia-Robers International Airport…Liberia

“Narrative:                   Crashed into sea after transmitting an emergency message.”

Gero:

“Date:                          30 May 1945 (c.09:20) [Note: WWII in Europe ended May 8, 1945.]

“Location:                   Near Sassandra, Ivory Coast

“Operator:                   US Army Air Forces

“Aircraft type:             Douglas C-47B (44-76406

“Operated by the Air Transport Command (ATC), the aircraft had been on a scheduled flight from Accra, Gold Coast (Ghana), to Roberts Field, serving Monrovia, Liberia. It carried 21 American service personnel, including three crewmen; its passengers were all members of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). Las reported cruising at an altitude of 8,000ft (2,500m), the C-47 sent out a Mayday distress message before it crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off Drewin. According to a native eye-witness, it plummeted into the water at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. Only an oil slick was found at the crash site; no survivors, bodies or wreckage were recovered.”

Sources

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1945, p. 90. USAAF Douglas C-47B-28-DK crash off Drewin, Cote d’Ivoire, 30 May 1945. Accessed 12-4-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19450530-4

Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.