[FrankieS]

42-72346
Date: 23 MAR 1945
Type: Douglas C-54B-1-DC
Operator: United States Army Air Force - USAAF
Registration: 42-72346
C/n / msn: 10451
First flight: 1944
Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants:
Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants:
Total: Fatalities: / Occupants:
Airplane damage: Written off
Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: ()
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature: Military
Departure airport: Terceira-Lajes Airport, Azores (TER/LPLA), Portugal
Destination airport: ?
Narrative:
The C-54 departed the Azores bound for the U.K. En route the aircraft passed overhead a convoy at 5,000 feet on top of broken cloud with visibility 20 miles. A Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter from the Australian Navy aircraft carrier HMS Striker mis-identified the transport for a German Focke Wulf FW-200 and shot it down killing all on board.
The identity has not been confirmed. As another C-54 was also repored lost on this date, 42-72368 might also have been the airplane in question.
Sources:
» RAFCommand.com
» RAN Reserve News, July 2001


42-72368
Date: 23 MAR 1945
Type: Douglas C-54B-1-DC
Operator: United States Army Air Force - USAAF
Registration: 42-72368
C/n / msn: 10473
First flight: 1944
Crew: Fatalities: / Occupants:
Passengers: Fatalities: / Occupants:
Total: Fatalities: / Occupants:
Airplane damage: Written off
Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: ()
Phase: Unknown (UNK)
Nature: Military
Departure airport: ?
Destination airport: ?
Narrative:
Destroyed.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.