Remains of Crashed WWII C-46 Found in Himalayas, Dec 2021

[Jim MacDonald]

Not a whole lot of info in the article, but I hadn't heard of this discovery.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south ... r-77-years

Mac

[Sopwith]

That is interesting, hopefully some mag will do a more in depth article. Thanks for posting it

[quemerford]

Looks like either C-46A 42-61072 or 42-96721 (both missing on 6 January 1945); or 42-96559, posted missing the following day.

EDIT: it's -96721.

https://aviation-safety.net/database/re ... 19450106-3

[p51]

Interesting.
My uncle (who sadly passed away in a light airplane crash in the 50s) was awarded the DFC for flying 2-4 engine transports over "The Hump."
After the war, he told my Dad that he'd sometimes see wreckage of other planes in the mountains, too high to reach and he told my father that his greatest fear was crashing up that high, as he'd been told nobody was coming to help you if you did.

[Richard W.]

So sad, all those poor guys lost.

In the Army report, what does the status "KNB" stand for?

[AG pilot]

Possibly Killed Non-Battle? I see Non-Battle listed above.

[Chris Brame]

I'm surprised that no remains of the crew and passengers were found - not even dog tags?
R.I.P. to them, and the three guides who died as well.

[lucky52]

Maybe they bailed out.

[quemerford]

I doubt any of them (especially the passengers) were able to bail out. I too found the lack of remains strange, but maybe it's too early to know for sure?

[marine air]

More pics would be helpful in guessing the whereabouts of the crew. I've heard of people bailing out when they had fuel starvation over the mountains and to stay in the airplane would mean sure death. It's also possible that they all survived and tried to hike down the mountain. Or, that the bodies were removed by villagers. It's also possible that the airplane spun in, or slammed into the side of the mountain. This would have resulted in a very tight debris field and a fierce fire possibly cremating the remains. More pictures would be quite helpful.

[A68-1001]

Some info on that aircraft accident

https://www.miarecoveries.org/reports/