Status: | |
Date: | Sunday 24 September 1944 |
Time: | 13:00 |
Type: | Douglas Dakota III (DC-3) |
Operator: | Royal Air Force - RAF |
Registration: | KG653 |
MSN: | 13470 |
First flight: | 1944 |
Crew: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
Passengers: | Fatalities: 20 / Occupants: 20 |
Total: | Fatalities: 23 / Occupants: 23 |
Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
Location: | Neuleiningen ( Germany)
|
Phase: | En route (ENR) |
Nature: | Military |
Departure airport: | Pershore RAF Station, United Kingdom |
Destination airport: | Cagliari-Elmas Airport (CAG/LIEE), Italy |
Narrative:Dakota KG653 took off from RAF Pershore with 14 other aircraft on a troop transport flight to Karachi. The first stop was planned at Cagliari, on the Italian island of Sardinia. Due to bad weather, KG653 strayed off course and flew into Germany.
A Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109G-14 opened fire on the right-hand engine. The aircraft rolled inverted and one of the wings separated. The Dakota burst into flames and crashed.
Sources:
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RAAF Personnel serving on attachment in Royal Air Force Squadrons and Support Units in World War 2 and Missing with No Known Grave
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 Pershore RAF Station to Cagliari-Elmas Airport as the crow flies is 1656 km (1035 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
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.