C-46 ditching in the Med

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Dwilma01
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C-46 ditching in the Med - 06/28/2008 12:14:00 PM
Dad told a story from his service with the Air Transport Command in Africa in 1944: A C-46 crew ditched their empty aircraft in the Mediterranean and all made it safely to the life rafts. But the plane did not sink. Several weeks later the plane floated past the Straits of Gibralter and command had it towed back to shore.
 
Has anyone else heard this bit of GI urban legend?


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David Wilma
Son of 1LT Francis R. "Dick" Wilma (1920-2005)
ATC, Chabua, India, '44 - '45
http://home.comcast.net/~davidwilma/Index.htm
lg_glidr
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RE: C-46 ditching in the Med - 06/29/2008 07:22:03 AM
Weeks sounds a bit of a stretch.  Lee Jett told me of a post-War C-47 that ditched into the Pacific just off the Mexican coast that floated for 4 days.  He was with the FAA at the time and involved in the accident investigation.

Sadly Lee passed away in April:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR2008050203699.html
He co-authored on this recent article on cargo glider snatch pickup
http://www.ndu.edu/inss/Press/jfq_pages/editions/i48/29.pdf