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

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Closer to the subject, two US nurses killed in air crashes:

27 July 1943:

The C-47 41-38643 of 54th TCS, PTCG, crashed 12 miles NE of Naknek Army Air Base, Alaska. Among the killed were the pilot, Carl T Moore, and a nurse and a technicien of Flight A, 805th Medical Air Evacuation Squadron, that were flying medical air evacuation in the area. The nurse, Lt Ruth L Gardiner, was said to have been the first American nurse to have died in the line of duty during WWII.

Source:
http://www.au.af.mil/au/afhra/wwwroot/numbered_studies/467615.pdf
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/Jul1943S.htm

24 February 1944:

The C-47 41-7725 of 12th TCS, 60th TCG carried to their death its aircrew (including Robert S Smith (pilot) and Cpl John H Arp) and their 18 passengers (a nurse, 2nd Lt Elizabeth J Howren, and a technician from 807th Medical Air Evacuation Squadron and their 16 patients) when it crashed into the side of a mountain during an aerial evacuation. Apart form this accident, no deaths or harmful effect were noted among the 51 419 patients evacuated by auir in the MTO between September 1943 and May 1944.

Source:
http://www.au.af.mil/au/afhra/wwwroot/numbered_studies/467615.pdf
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/AARmonthly/Feb1944O.htm
http://www.abmc.gov/search/wwii_unit.php

[DavidIsby]

If you are looking for US Army nurses killed in air accidents, 22 in a single C-46 in India was the largest single loss of life of female personnel in the war.

Terrible, preventable accident. The O-6 that authorized the flight shot himself in remorse. My uncle (to whom I dedicated my Osprey on C-47s in the Pacific/CBI) identified the bodies from their dental records, recognizing some work he himself had done.

[dp_burke]

David, have you the serial number, names to allow the chaps read up on that one?
Dennis

[DavidIsby]

The Internet suggests it was a C-47 of the 11th CCS, 41-18554, Capt Nicholas J. Mandoukos (of NY) PiC, 4 March 1945.

I'd always heard it was a C-46.

Is anyone aware aware of any published sources on this accident? A C-46 full of nurses is tragically close to being the Titanic with radial engines.

[kaki3152]

There is an account of the accident in book "The Aluminum Trail by Chick Mars Quinn

[Bruce Dennis]

Hello David and all: there was a discussion on another forum a few years back with good responses.

http://www.voy.com/105285/449.html

My father mentioned this a long time ago. He was a founder member of 2CCS and, I believe, knew someone in the C-47 crew.

Regards,
Bruce

[RSwank]

The MACR for this crash, a C-47, is on fold3.com. The plane was attempting to land and made a turn too low and crashed. There are 27 names, all listed KNB (Killed Non Battle). The pilot was Nickolas J Mandoukas and the co-pilot was John J Lukaszczyk. Of the 25 passengers, it appears only 15 were female nurses (an N in their serial number and clearly a woman's name for 14 of them, the other was a woman Red Cross Nurse). The other 10 were male officers, one was listed as in the medical corps, one in the signal corps and the rest so not identified.

Out of curiosity, I looked up one of the names who was not identified as to branch of service.

Capt Charles Loucks was in the 3 Combat Cargo Grp.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg...&GRid=56123713

[Brian]

Hi RSwank

Is there any chancethat you could list the names of the female nurses, please?

You wouldn't believe it, but only one hour ago I cancelled my one-month trial with Fold3.com!!

Cheers
Brian

[RSwank]

I will try to attach the page. This is the page of nurses. Note all have serial numbers starting with N except for the Red Cross Nurse. (If you have trouble reading the page, you can download it then enlarge and read it locally.)