1945 — Feb 2, Florence to Rome USAAF C-47 mt. crash in fog 3 mls W of Montieri, Italy–23
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard for: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/ Last edit 12-13-2023.
–23 ASN. Accident description. USAAF Douglas C-47-DL, 1945, Feb 2, W of Montieri, Italy.
–23 Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Crash of a Douglas C-47-DL in Montieri: 23 killed.
–23 Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, 29.
–23 Kebabjian. Planecrashinfo.com. 1945. 02 Feb 1945 Near Montieri, Italy, Military, USAAF
–23 Morning Herald, Hagerstown, MD. “23 Persons Killed in Airplane Crash.” 2-5-1945, 10.
–23 Times Recorder, Zanesville, OH. “Plane Crash in Italy Kills 23 Persons.” 2-5-1945, 1.
Blanchard note: Rome fell to the Allies on June 4, 1944.
Narrative Information
Aviation Safety Network:
“….C/n / msn: 4728
“First flight: 1942
“Crew: Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 4
“Passengers: Fatalities: 20 / Occupants: 22
“Total: Fatalities: 23 / Occupants: 26….
“Location: 5 km (3.1 mls) W of Montieri (Italy)….
“Departure airport: Florence-Peretola Airport…
“Destination airport: Roma…Italy….”[1]
“Narrative: “En route to Rome, Italy, the C-47 entered a river valley. Hills on both sides of the river were obscured by stratocumulus clouds and mist. When entering a fog bank the crew advanced the throttle levers in an attempt to climbing over the rising terrain. The aircraft contacted trees and crashed.” (Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description. United States Army Air Force, Douglas C-47-DL, 1945, Feb 2, W of Montieri, Italy.)
Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives:
“Date & Time: Feb 2, 1945 at 1015 LT [local time]
“Type of aircraft: Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
“Operator: USAAF
“Registration: 41-18603
“Flight Phase: Flight
“Survivors: Yes
“Site: Mountains
“Schedule: Florence – Rome [which was in Allied hands]
“MSN: 4728
….
“Location: Montieri, Tuscany, Italy
“Crew on board: 4
“Pax on board: 22
“Total fatalities: 23
“Circumstances:
“While flying in a valley in poor weather conditions, the captain increased power to gain height when the aircraft hit tree tops and crashed on the slope of a wooded mountain located 5 km west of Montieri. Two passengers and the captain survived while 23 others occupants were killed, among them 12 civilians of which three nurses. Low clouds consisting of strato-cumulus and mist shrouded the mountain at the time of the accident.
“Crew:
1st Lt John A. Boronko, †
1st Lt James D. Fitzgerald, †
Cpt Donald B. Kresch, †
T/Sgt William J. Maddox, †
2nd Lt Marjorie L. McBride, †
M/Sgt B. B. McNutt, †
Cpl Edmund J. Miskell, †
2nd Lt Marion C. Phillips, †
Cpt David M. Ruff, †
1st Lt Roger F. Woodbury. †
Gero:
“Date: 2 February 1945 (c.10:15)
“Location: Near Montieri, Grosseto, Italy
“Operator: US Army Air Forces
“Aircraft type: Douglas C-47 41-18603
“Three Army nurses were among the 23 American service personnel aboard who were killed when the twin-engine transport, which was on an Italian internal flight from Florence to Rome, crashed and burned 60 miles (100km) north of its destination. Two passengers and the pilot, one of four crewmen assigned to 41-18603, survived with injuries.
“Proceeding on a south-westerly heading through a river valley, with hills on either side that were obscured by stratocumulus clouds and mist, the C47 encountered a fog bank, necessitating a transition by its crew from visual to instrument flight procedures. The pilot immediately initiated a climb to avoid rising terrain, but not at a sufficient rate to prevent the aircraft from hitting trees, whereupon it slammed to earth. At the time, the ceiling in the area was 2,000 to 3,000ft (600-1,000m), and the visibility reduced by the fog to less than 1 mile (1.5km).” (Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, 29.)
Newspapers
Feb 4: “Rome, Feb. 4 (AP) – Twenty-three persons, including three nurses, were killed Friday when a transport plane carrying 26 American Army personnel crashed into a mountainside 60 miles north of Rome during a dense fog. The only uninjured survivor was Lt. G. M. Baco, New York City, who pushed the pilot to safety as flames enveloped the gasoline-soaked wreckage. An enlisted man also survived. The plane, a twin-engined C-47 of the U/S. 12th Air Force, was en route from Florence to Rome.” (Morning Herald, Hagerstown, MD. “23 Persons Killed in Airplane Crash.” 2-5-1945, 10.)
Feb 4: “Rome, Feb. 4….The plane, a twin-engined C-47 of the U.S. Army air force, was enroute from Florence to Rome. It ran into a dense fog in a river valley a few minutes after taking off. Baco said the plane was following a river because the weather was so bad when it suddenly went into a cloud. The plane brushed treetops and then crashed and skidded 300 yards over the crest of a mountain Baco added.
“The pilot, whose leg was broken in the crash, blocked Baco’s way out and Baco shoved him out through the windshield. ‘I got the pilot by the collar and somehow dragged him 50 yards from the plane before I fell down.’ Baco said the flames quickly consumed the plane. After fixing a tourniquet on the pilot’s leg, Baco walked two miles down the mountain for aid.” (Times Recorder, Zanesville, OH. “Plane Crash in Italy Kills 23 Persons.” 2-5-1945, 1.)
Sources
Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1945. USAAF Douglas C-47-DL, 1945, Feb 2, W of Montieri, Italy. Accessed 12-13-2023 at:
https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19450202-3
Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. “Crash of a Douglas C-47-DL in Montieri: 23 killed.” Accessed 12-13-2023 at: https://www.baaa-acro.com/aircraft/douglas-c-47-skytrain-dc-3?page=184
Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.
Kebabjian, Richard. 1945. Planecrashinfo.com. “02 Feb 1945 Near Montieri, Italy, Military, USAAF.” Accessed 3-18-2012 at: http://planecrashinfo.com/1945/1945.htm
Morning Herald, Hagerstown, MD. “23 Persons Killed in Airplane Crash.” 2-5-1945, 10. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=78399580
Times Recorder, Zanesville, OH. “Plane Crash in Italy Kills 23 Persons.” 2-5-1945, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=7492665
[1] Cites AAIR, Baugher and Gero.