Incident Overview
Date: Saturday 25 March 1944
Aircraft Type: Douglas C-54A-DO (DC-4)
Owner/operator: United States Army Air Force – USAAF
Registration Number: 41-37274
Location: off Azores –
ÿ Atlantic Ocean
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6
Component Affected: C-54 transport aircraft and Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter aircraft.C-54 transport aircraft and Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter aircraft.
On October 12, 1944, a C-54 transport aircraft crashed near a convoy in the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft was identified as a transport for the U.K., and a Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter from the Royal Navy mistakenly identified it as a German Focke-Wulf FW-200. The Wildcat shot down all on board.On October 12, 1944, a C-54 transport aircraft crashed near a convoy in the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft was identified as a transport for the U.K., and a Grumman F4F Wildcat fighter from the Royal Navy mistakenly identified it as a German Focke-Wulf FW-200. The Wildcat shot down all on board.
Description
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 Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Striker mis-identified the transport for a German Focke Wulf FW-200 and shot it down killing all on board.
Source of Information
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/db.asp, http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/archive/index.php?t-14779.htmlhttp://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/db.asp, http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/archive/index.php?t-14779.htmlPrimary Cause
Misidentification of a transport aircraft by a fighter pilot.Misidentification of a transport aircraft by a fighter pilot.Share on:
