ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-47-DL (DC-3) 41-38658 Wau
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Status:
Date:Sunday 7 February 1943
Type:Silhouette image of generic DC3 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Douglas C-47-DL (DC-3)
Operator:United States Army Air Force - USAAF
Registration: 41-38658
MSN: 6041
First flight: 1942
Crew:Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair
Location:S of Wau (   Papua New Guinea)
Phase: Unknown (UNK)
Nature:Military
Departure airport:Port Moresby-Seven Mile Aerodrome (POM/AYPY), Papua New Guinea
Destination airport:Wau Airport (WUG/AYWU), Papua New Guinea
Narrative:
Three Douglas C-47s took off from Seven Mile Aerodrome near Port Moresby at 09:20 on a flight to Wau Airfield. C-47 41-38658 was carrying ammunition and equipment.
Over Wau at 10:30, the C-47s were preparing to land at Wau Airfield during a Japanese air raid by Kawasaki Ki-48 Lily's escorted by Nakajima Ki-43 Oscars. The other two C-47 returned to Port Moresby. C-47 41-38658 overflew the Bulolo River and turned before crashing into the jungle the south of Wau.
The wreckage was located in September 1988.

Classification:
Shot down from the ground

Sources:
» Aviation Archaeological Investigation and Research (AAIR)
» The Douglas DC-1/DC-2/DC-3 - the first seventy years / J.M. Gradidge
» pacificwrecks.com


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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 Port Moresby-Seven Mile Aerodrome to Wau Airport as the crow flies is 240 km (150 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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