1945 — Oct 21, USAAF C-47 landing crash in high wind gust 2M E, Anchorage, AK –all 19

Compiled 12-29-2023 by Wayne Blanchard for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–22  AP. “C-47 Crash Kills 22 In Alaska.” Salt Lake Tribune, UT. 10-23-1945, p. 2.

–21  INS. “22 Said Killed In Plane Crash.” Coshocton Tribune, OH, 10-22-1945, p. 1.

–19  Assoc. Press. “Plane Crash Toll Is Placed At 19.” The Modesto Bee, CA. 10-25-1945, p. 5.

–19  AP. “Sees Soldier-Husband Killed in Plane Crash.” News-Palladium, Benton Harbor, MI. 10-26-1945, p. 5.

–19  Aviation Safety Network. USAAF C-47 engine failure/crash 2M E Anchorage, AK, 10-21-45.

–19  Daily Alaska Empire, Juneau. “19 Killed in Plane Crash at Anchorage.” 10-24-1945, p.1.

–19  United Press. “Texan Crash Victim.” Lubbock Morning Avalanche, TX. 10-27-1945, p. 10.

—  4  Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a C-47B-5-DK in Anchorage: 4 Killed.”

Narrative Information

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Network, Database, 1945, p. 125:

“Date:                          Sunday 21 October 1945

“Type:                         Douglas C-47B-5-DK (DC-3)

“Operator:                   United States Army Air Force – USAAF

“Registration:              43-48893

“MSN:                         26154 / 14709

….

“Total:                         Fatalities: 19 / Occupants: 19

“Aircraft damage:       Damaged beyond repair

“Location:                   3.2 km (2 mls) E of Anchorage, AK (USA)

“Phase:                        Unknown (UNK)        [Was a landing approach in adverse weather.]

“Nature:                      Military

“Departure airport:      ?          [Cold Bay, Aleutian Islands East Borough]

“Destination airport:   ?          [Elmendorf Field, Anchorage]

“Narrative:                  Crashed due to engine failure.” [Incorrect – landing attempt/adverse weather]

 

Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a C-47B-5-DK in Anchorage: 4 Killed.”

“Date:                          Oct 21, 1945

“Type of aircraft:        Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

“Operator:                   USAAF           Registration: 43-48893

“Flight Phase:              Takeoff (climb) [Incorrect – was a 2nd landing approach crash.]

….

“Crew on board:         4          Crew fatalities: 4 [Incorrect. There were five officers.]

“Pax on board             0          Pax fatalities:    4 [Incorrect. There were fourteen enlisted onboard]

“Circumstances:          Shortly after takeoff,[1] while climbing, the aircraft stalled and crashed 2

miles east of the airport. All four crew members were killed.

 

“Crew:                         Pvt Edward H. Dahl,
2nd Lt Richard E. DeMerse,
Sgt Marcus Gluck,
2nd Lt Robert Rakofsky.”

 

Newspapers

 

Oct 22, INS: “Anchorage, Alaska – INS – Twenty-two persons were reported killed instantly late last night in the explosion and crash of an army C-47 plane near Elmendorf airfield at Anchorage. Five army officers and 17 enlisted men were aboard the large transport, which was enroute from Cold Bay, on the Alaskan peninsula, to Anchorage. Buffeted by strong winds as it came in to land, the plane struck tree tops southeast of Elmendorf field and exploded, scattering wreckage for yards around….The C-47 was attached to troop carri4r squadron 54.” (INS. “22 Said Killed In Plane Crash.” Coshocton Tribune, OH, 10-22-1945, p. 1.)

 

Oct 22, AP: “Anchorage, Alaska, Oct. 22 (AP) – The army’s Alaskan department announced Monday that 17 enlisted men from Aleutians bases and five officers were killed Sunday night [21st] when a C-47 transport command plane crashed in a swamp two and a half miles southwest of Elmendorf field. The soldiers were en route for redeployment or discharge. The officers included the plane’s pilot and copilot, attached to the 54th troop carrier squadron. No general officers were aboard.

 

“The plane left Cold Bay Sunday evening on the final leg of a flight from Adak and approached Elmendorf field for a landing shortly after 10 p.m. It made a pass at the field, then circled for a new attempt to land and field observers said apparently it was caught in a williwaw wind[2] and scraped the tops of some cottonwood trees. It hurtled nose-first into the swamp, and the front end of the plane exploded, rendering the bodies unrecognizable. The tail portion, stripped off, remained intact. Several families, expecting men home from the Aleutians Sunday, frantically attempted to learn identities of the victims, but the army said no list would be available until a copy of the plane’s manifest arrives and next of kin are notified.” (Associated Press. “C-47 Crash Kills 22 In Alaska.” Salt Lake Tribune, UT. 10-23-1945, p. 2.)

 

Oct 24: “Anchorage, Alaska, Oct. 24. – The Army’s Alaskan Department reported 19 persons, instead of 22 as first announced, died in Sunday’s crash of an Army transport plane near Elmendorf Field. The list was revised downward with arrival of a duplicate manifest from Adak, which listed five officers and 14 enlisted men aboard the plane, the majority for Anchorage….Names of those lost still have not been announced.” (Daily Alaska Empire, Juneau. “19 Killed in Plane Crash at Anchorage.” 10-24-1945, p.1.)

 

Oct 25, AP: “Anchorage, Alaska, Oct. 26. – (AP) Arrival of a list of passengers aboard a C47 transport which crashed in blinding snow Sunday when a landing was attempted at Elmendorf Field caused army officials today to revise the death toll of the mishap to 19. Funeral services have been held for the servicemen. They were en route from the Aleutians to the Alaskan mainland when the plane, caught in a 40 mile an hour gale, ploughed into cottonwood trees bordering the landing strip and burned. Names of the victims will not be released for 12 days, officials said.” (Associated Press. “Plane Crash Toll Is Placed At 19.” The Modesto Bee, CA. 10-25-1945, p. 5.)

 

Oct 26, AP: “Anchorage, Alaska, Oct. 26 – (AP) – Mrs. Edward H. Dahl, who watched the plane on which her husband was a passenger as it plummeted into a marsh only seconds from a landing at the Elmendorf air base Sunday, will be able to rejoin her family through the generosity of Private Dahl’s buddies here. [Note: not through the generosity of the USAAF.]

 

“The soldier was one of 19 men killed in the crash. The plane circling for a landing, apparently was caught in a sudden gust of wind and piled into the marsh, exploding as it hit. Members of the 54th Troop Carrier squadron in which Dahl served took up a collection to pay Mrs. Dahl’s fare to San Francisco by airliner. Her home is at Farwell, Minn.” (Associated Press. “Sees Soldier-Husband Killed in Plane Crash.” News-Palladium, Benton Harbor, MI. 10-26-1945, p. 5.)

 

Oct 26, UP: “Washington, Oct. 26 (U.P.) – The War department today identified the 19 Army men killed when their plane crashed last Sunday near Anchorage, Alaska. The victims and next of kin include: Sgt. Eastle L. Wammack; Mrs. Ros. Roxie Wammack, mother, Grand Prairie, Tex.” (United Press. “Texan Crash Victim.” Lubbock Morning Avalanche, TX. 10-27-1945, p. 10.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “C-47 Crash Kills 22 In Alaska.” Salt Lake Tribune, UT. 10-23-1945, p. 2. Accessed 12-28-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/salt-lake-tribune-oct-23-1945-p-2/

 

Associated Press. “Plane Crash Toll Is Placed At 19.” The Modesto Bee, CA. 10-25-1945, p. 5. Accessed 12-29-2023: https://newspaperarchive.com/modesto-bee-and-news-herald-oct-25-1945-p-5/

 

Associated Press. “Sees Soldier-Husband Killed in Plane Crash.” News-Palladium, Benton Harbor, MI. 10-26-1945, p. 5. Accessed 12-19-2023 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/benton-harbor-news-palladium-oct-26-1945-p-5/

 

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Network, Database, 1945, p. 125. USAAF C-47B  engine failure and crash 2M E Anchorage, AK, 10-21-1945. Accessed 12-28-2023 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19451021-0

 

Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a C-47B-5-DK in Anchorage: 4 Killed.” Accessed 12-28-2023 at:

https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-douglas-c-47b-5-dk-anchorage-4-killed

 

Daily Alaska Empire, Juneau. “19 Killed in Plane Crash at Anchorage.” 10-24-1945, p.1. Accessed 12-28-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/the-daily-alaska-empire-oct-24-1945-p-1/

 

INS. “22 Said Killed In Plane Crash.” Coshocton Tribune, OH, 10-22-1945, p. 1. Accessed 12-28-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/coshocton-tribune-oct-22-1945-p-1/

 

United Press. “Texan Crash Victim.” Lubbock Morning Avalanche, TX. 10-27-1945, p. 10. Accessed 12-29-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/morning-avalanche-oct-27-1945-p-10/

 

 

[1] Incorrect – the plane was making a second approach to Elmendorf in a snowstorm when caught in a wind burst and hit tree tops.

[2] “A sudden violent squall blowing offshore from a mountainous coast”