Medivac C-47 shoot down

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Not especially a medevac flight, but on 17 April 1944 a Red Cross nurse was killed when a Lufthansa Ju 52 was shot down by US fighters:

On 17 April 1944 the 82nd FG flew as escort for a B-17 5th Wing mission to Belgrade. Their 97th FS were the only squadron to engage enemy aircraft in the air. They encountered 2 Ju 52s and 2 He 111s some 20 miles NE of Belgrade. 1/Lt. William W. Patterson shot down one Ju 52. The remaining Ju 52 and one of the He 111s were both hit by more than one of the P-38 pilots and shot down. After gun camera review Patterson was given credit for the He 111 while Captain James A. Force,Jr. was credited with the second Ju 52. The second He 111 escaped. The American pilots thought the enemy aircraft might have been returning to base after being scrambled on warning of the incoming raid.

Patterson was later awarded the Silver Star for this action. Apparently the gunner in the He 111 that was shot down damaged three P-38s, two of which were later crash-landed in Italy and were written off. The third damaged P-38 was Patterson’s, but he managed to land safely at an airfield in Italy with one engine shot out.

Ju 52/3m g8e W.Nr. 130859 1Z+FH of 1./TG 1 came down in flames at Pancevo. All 4 crew members were injured, however, the pilot, Ofw. Willi Lichy, died at the military hospital 521 at Belgrade on the same day.

Second victim was unarmed Ju 52/3m g14e W.Nr. 640996 D-AOCA “Harry Rother”, which was enroute on Lufthansa’s scheduled service E.17 from Vienna to Belgrade, continuing to Sofia, Thessaloniki and Athens with a crew of 3. Aboard were 4 passengers and a large load of mail. The radio operator had noticed the downing of the other Ju 52 and the crew tried to escape in vain by changing direction and flying close to the ground. Hits were received from the rear and from starboard and the plane caught fire immediately. It crashed at Stara Pazova (Alt-Pasua in German reports) about 26 km north of Semlin (Zemun) airfield. Three of the four passengers, among them a Red Cross nurse, were killed in the crash while the fourth died at hospital after two days. The pilot, 47 year old Flugkapitän Kurt Vogel, died of his serious injuries on 23 April 1944, while the two other crew members survived with only minor injuries.

Source:
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=23304
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stara_Pazova
http://www.maplandia.com/serbia-and-montenegro/vojvodina/stara-pazova/

On 14 June 1944, an US nurse died during a "pleasure" flight over UK:

Mary E. Chubb was born on May 7, 1913 to Harry N.C. and Ethel A. Chubb, who lived at 79 West Court Street in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. She was one of seven children: Harold M. C, Mary, Anna V., Herbert H., Martha F., Donald V, and Sarah A. Mary suffered illnesses in her youth, and gained a deep respect for Nurses. Her goal in life was to become a Nurse to help others in their time of affliction. Mary attended the Doylestown High School, graduating in 1931. She was known as a quiet mild mannered teen. The yearbook “The Torch” says: "Mary would like to be a nurse if her health permits. We know she is going to be a success in anything she does."

Mary Chubb attended the Chestnut Hill Nursing school and graduated as a Registered Nurse. She then served as a private duty nurse in Chester County staying with her patients. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mary enlisted in the Army on December 8, 1942. She entered the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), specifically in the Army Nurse Corps. Mary was assigned to 181st Medical Dispensary, Aviation stationed in England.

On June 14, 1944, 2nd Lieutenant Marry E. Chubb died in the crash of the AT-6D Harvard 41-34655 of 8 Fighter Command HQ at Ryton-on-Dunsmore between Rugby and Coventry, England. Her father, Harry sought more information about the circumstances of Mary’s death. The Adjutant General, J. A. Ulio, (Major General) responded in a letter dated August 4, 1944. He informed Harry that Mary was the only passenger on the aircraft. The pilot, 1st Lieutenant Harry R Wayland “was accustomed to flying a B-17 type aircraft but he was flying a different type at the time of the accident.” He further stated that Mary died in the line of duty. In fact the Harvard lost its port wing in flight. The two people aboard, Wayland and Chubb, were both killed.

Mary was interned at the Brookwood Military Cemetery in England. After the war, her parents were contacted by the Army with the offer of returning the body to America for reburial. This was a difficult decision on her father, Harry. His wife, Ethel, had just suffered a stroke, and their son Donald was killed in service a month before Mary. Harry made the tough decision, after weeks of consideration and correspondence, to not bring her home for burial. He understandably did not wish to cause Ethel any additional stress attending two memorial services for their children.

Mary was removed for permanent burial to the Cambridge American Military Cemetery, in Cambridge, England, on May 18, 1948 with full military honors.

Mary’s brother, Donald V. Chubb (pictured at left with Mary) who was a co-pilot of a B-17, died when his aircraft exploded over the English Channel, while returning heavily damaged from a mission on May 8, 1944. He served in the 547th Bomber Squadron, 384th Bomber Group, Heavy and was interred in the Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer, France.

Source:
http://dsf.chesco.org/heroes/chubb/mary_chubb.htm
http://www.aviationarchaeology.org.uk/marg/crashes1944.htm
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/Jun1944O.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryton-on-Dunsmore
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=52.366814,-1.434499&spn=0.1,0.1&t=m&q=52.366814,-1.434499