1943 — Oct 22, USAAF C-47 crash, night parachute ex., Lawson Field, Ft. Benning, GA–20
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-24-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 20 Aviation Safety Network. Accident Description, USAAF C-47, October 22, 1943
— 20 Baugher, Joseph F. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-001 to 42-30031). 10-28-2011 rev.
— 20 Gero. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. 1999, 27.
— 20 Mireles 2006. Fatal Army AF Aviation Accidents…US…, V2, July 1943-July 1944, p. 558.
Narrative Information
Aviation Safety Network: “The C-47 flew a night-time airborne infantry mission at Fort Benning. After a few dry runs the airplane came over the jump area and the paratroopers were given the order to jump. Presumably the pilot allowed the airspeed to decay. At an airspeed close to stalling, twelve paratroopers moved to the rear of the plane, shifting the centre of gravity. The airplane stalled and the pilot could not regain control. It struck the ground and burst into flames.” (ASN, USAAF C-47, 10-22-1943.)
Baugher: “Douglas C-47-DL….5677 (c/n 7371) to USAAF Jan 28, 1943 – USA – Stalled and crashed near Columbus, GA Oct 22, 1943. 20 killed.” (Baugher, Joseph F. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-001 to 42-30031). 10-28-2011 revision.)
Gero:
“Date: 22 October 1943 (C.20:20)
“Location: Near Columbus, Georgia, US
“Operator: US Army Air Forces
“Aircraft type: Douglas C-47 (42-5677)
“All 20 American servicemen aboard lost their lives, including a crew of five, when the twin-engine transport crashed and burned at Fort Benning, during a night parachute exercise. Shortly after 11 soldiers had successfully parachuted from it, the aircraft apparently stalled, then went into a descending turn to the left at the prescribed drop altitude of 800ft…and plummeted to earth.” (Gero 1999, p. 27.)
Mireles: “At 2024 EWT, a Douglas C-47 on a night airborne infantry exercise crashed while deploying paratroopers at Lawson Field, Fort Benning, Georgia, killing five crew-members and 15 paratrooper trainees. Eleven paratroopers were able to jump from the airplane before it crashed. Investigators stated,
“[The pilot] made several dry runs and then came over the jump area, and gave the order to jump. Eleven men jumped safely. As the last two or three men jumped, they felt the airplane vibrating, and they had difficulty reaching the door. Immediately after the last man got out, the airplane descended to the left and struck the ground. It is the opinion of the board that the pilot, while holding the airplane in the jump attitude, allowed his airspeed to approach the stalling speed. At the same time, 12 jumpers stood up and moved toward the rear of the airplane. This shifted the [center of gravity] to the rear, causing the air-plane to be temporarily tail heavy. This increased the tendency of the airplane to stall. Before the pilot could regain flying speed by nosing down or applying more power, the airplane stalled. The airplane’s nose dropped, and the airplane did nearly 180 degrees of turn to the left as it descended. By the sound of the engines, the pilot applied nearly full power trying to regain control of the airplane but struck the ground be before leveling out.”
“The airplane burst into flames soon after smashing to earth.” (Mireles 2006, Vol. 2, p. 558.)
Sources
Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation, Database, 1943, USAAF C-47 crash, 10-22-1943 near Columbus, GA. Accessed 4-24-2024 at: https://aviation-safety.net/asndb/340644
Baugher, Joseph F. 1942 USAAF Serial Numbers (42-001 to 42-30031). Oct 28 2011 revision. Accessed 12-9-2011 at: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1.html
Gero, David. Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908. UK and Newbury Park, CA: Patrick Stephens Limited, an imprint of Hayes Publishing, 1999.
Mireles, Anthony J. Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-1945 (Volume 2: July 1943 – July 1944). Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2006.