Narrative:A violent storm and pursuit by German Messerschmitts led to a crash landing of the C-53 transport plane in a remote part of Albania. There were 30 people on the plane: a pilot, a co-pilot, a radio operator, and a crew chief, plus 13 nurses and 13 medics. In a long ordeal the whole group managed to travel, with help of the Albanian population, in sixty days through Nazi occupied Albania to finally cross the Allied lines. The long journey was depicted in several books and a movie.
Sources:
»
Q&A: Last Survivor of a Dramatic World War II Rescue (National Geographic 23-5-2013)»
Albanian Escape : The True Story of U.S. Army Nurses Behind Enemy Lines / The True Story of U.S. Army Nurses Behind Enemy Lines, 1999
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Catania-Fontanarossa Airport to Bari Airport as the crow flies is 431 km (269 miles).
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.
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