Air Crash,POW:Sapper HAROLD WILLIAM ATKINSON FINDLAY 2072609, 226 Field Coy., Royal Engineers

Tony thank you
Regards
Clive

 

Flight Lieutenant Emerson Parish
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Looking at Operation Exodus last night I carried out a little research.It is Interesting to see how the RAF managed the task of returning former POWs to the UK as soon as practically possible after liberation.

Given that Sapper Findlay must have been a casualty from Operation Exodus and the date of death is given as 6 May 1945.

As I see it the arrangements for the repatriation of British POWs and that would include Commonwealth categories from Europe by air was undertaken by Bomber Command Nos 1,3 and 8 Groups using Lancasters with 2900 sorties carried out in 23 days and 72590 POWs returned to designated airfields.No 38 Group (No 298 Squadron (Stirlings) and No 46 Group (all Dakotas) were also involved.

Bill Chorley does not record a Bomber Command related air crash but since internment took place in the UK.the crash must have occurred here.As far as I am aware, Exodus aircraft were detailed to land at designated airfields such as Wing,Dunsfold, Odiham and Westcott where special POW reception centres were set up which points to an incident related to these airfields.

Interesting to look at the involvement of Wing which received its first POWs on 9 April 1945 and by the end of April had received nearly 15000 POWs...operations continued to mid May with one Lancaster carrying 31 POWs lost due to a crash on landing on 10 May 1945.Of the 1259 aircraft received at Wing during May,518 were Lancasters,the others would be Dakotas or Stirlings.

Of the airfield related to the crash and since Sapper Findlay's death is registered at Surrey SW,it looks to me that Dunsfold may be the airfield that the aircraft was heading for.This airfield handled 47000 incoming POWs and the incoming aircraft were said to be Dakotas.The American aircraft reported as crashing would have been one of RAF No 46 Group which was equipped with the Dakota Mark 111 aircraft. Hindhead is off the A3 and about 7 miles west of Dunsfold airfield.....perhaps may have been in circuit given the intensity of aircraft movements at the time.

 

Hello Harry
The crash did occur here see the previous posts it was an American aircraft

Regards
Clive

 

Thanks Clive....Obviously Mark had provided the background to the loss of the aircraft along with the supplementary information.

Interestingly the aircraft was a C46... Curtiss Commando,a transport alternative to the Dakota but regarded as not as successful but used extensively in supply operations over the Hump from India to China.

The RAF was never equipped with the type.A few were used by the 9th Air Force Troop Carrier Command in the ETO to compliment the C47 Dakotas From this, it is possible to narrow down the unit which operated the aircraft who had a parent unit HQ at Greenham Common..

The 9th Air Force as well as a tactical arm of the USAAF,provided the transports and gliders for the Normandy and Arnhem operations including the Rhine crossing.Its transport element provided a shuttle service with supplies to the continent to bring back the wounded to the UK.

As far as I am able to ascertain only the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing with HQs at Greenham Common operated the C46 and of it, two Troop Carrier Groups out of its five Groups operated the aircraft along with the C47 Dakota.

The individual home airfields were as below and became transit airfields when vacated for the continent early in 1945.

Welford which housed the 435th Troop Carrier Group consisting of Nos 74,76,77 and 78 Squadrons but left to be based at (A 48) Bretigny sur Orge,south of Paris, by 21 February 1945.

Ramsbury which housed the 437th Troop Carrier Group consisting of Nos 83,84,85 and 86 Squadrons but left to be based at (A 58) Coulommiers/Voisins east of Paris from 25 February 1945.

A resume of the loss of the C 46 aircraft in question.

ASN Aircraft accident Curtiss C-46D-10-CU Commando 44-77839 Hindhead

 

I am in the process of uploading these images to a Gallery on the forum, entitled Missing Aircrew Report - 44-77839. Gallery link: Missing Air Crew Report - 44-77839 | WW2Talk

I shall also upload, to a seperate gallery, the images for:

 

In 52nd Troop Carrier Wing of US IX Troop Carrier Command the 313th Troop Carrier Group was equipped with C-46.
313th TCG consisted of 29th Troop Carrier Squadron, 47th TCS, 48th TCS and 49th TCS.