H. Patton C-47 Crash at Likiang, China

     The 4th Combat Cargo Sqdn. was stationed at Chenkung China in January of 1945 when we received a request from a small weather station at Likiang for gasoline for their generator . We loaded 16 barrels of gasoline in to our plane and departed for Likiang. The crew consisted of the following Personnel:
                                 Pilot: Lt. Nelson Savoy
                                 Co-Pilot: Lt. James Lippard
                                 Crew Chief: Sgt. Ted Nudelman
                                 Radio Operator: Sgt. Herbert (Pat) Patton

     It was not a real long flight and was uneventful until we reached our destination. The field elevation was approximately 8000ft. and the landing strip was a grass field with the runway delineated by twin rows of stones. We were near a range of mountains dominated by a 19,000 ft. snow covered peak and the winds sweeping down from this peak were ferocious. Some of the men at the station later told us that some times these winds would hurl rocks the size of baseballs through the air! As I recall we came in low and a little bit fast, hoping to stick the plane on the ground. However, as we were nearing the end of the runway, a severe blast of wind caught the plane, causing it to rise off the ground somewhat, and since the runway was quite short, we soon had nowhere to go but up. The pilot gave it full throttle and started to retract the gear, and for a moment it looked as though we were going to make it okay- but we got a little too close to the mountain and got hit by a horrendous down draft which literally pushed us into the ground with both engines roaring wide open! The Crew Chief and I were standing at the cockpit entrance watching the landing and we could see what was happening. The Pilot motioned us to get back when he saw that a crash was inevitable, and for some reason that I still don't understand to this day, I took off towards the rear of the plane and was almost to the door area when we hit. I was thrown about, coming to rest in a sitting position, against a barrel of gasoline next to the door. There was this God-awful cacophony of noise--the plane scraping the ground--barrels of gasoline ripping their tie--downs from the floor and hurtling through the air (I remember one barrel flying right past my head) -the left propeller ripping through the fuselage--the din was horrific! Then suddenly -SILENCE! we had stopped! I started to extricate myself from the debris in which I was entangled- ropes, boards and miscellaneous junk, when I heard a new sound--the sound of flames licking back along the left side of the plane. I pulled myself up and tried to open the door,but it was jammed! (Now they say that the threat of imminent death tends to focus ones thinking tremendously) , and believe me , mine was focused on one thing-getting that door open! I braced myself against the side of the fuselage opposite the door and charged that door with every ounce of strength I possessed-and it came open!   I fell out the door and started to roll down into a little gully, because I was sure that the whole thing was going to explode into one huge fireball at any second. But after a few agonizing minutes of waiting, with nothing happening, I noticed some movement at the nose of the plane and saw that it was the Pilots climbing out of the hatch and trying to pull the Crew Chief out. I ran back up to help and we got him out and and started to drag him away from the wreck as fast as we could (he was injured and unable to walk). We got him as far away as we could, but at that altitude the thin air would not let us get very far until we ran out of breath and could do little except lie there and pant. Eventually, the guys from the station arrived and and started to extinguish the fire (actually what was burning was the left landing gear tire which was jammed up into the wheel well) and they got it out before it could catch anything else.

     The squadron sent in a second C-47 several days later to evacuate us, but the same winds which did us in also caused this plane to crash. Several days later Col. Penn tried to land, but after battling the winds one time he decided not try again, and returned to base. Several days later the winds stopped and Col. Penn again came in, this time successfully, and got us all back to Chenkung. The Crew Chief recovered from his injuries and later returned to duty.

     As I said earlier, I have no idea why I headed for the rear of the plane, but I am convinced that it saved my life! Had I stayed at the Radio Operators position, that left propeller would certainly have done me in. My seat, which I would have been sitting in, was mangled and smashed flat on the floor! We all had a guardian Angel sitting on our shoulders that day!! No Fire, No explosion, No serious injuries, and we didn't spill a drop of the gasoline we were delivering! (We also left
them several hundred gallons of gas in the wing tanks of the plane, which miraculously had maintained their integrity throughout the whole disaster.

H. D. Patton
From Memory , 1998

Rev..1: 7/20/98

Crash Image #1 Crash Image #2

I am looking for former members of the 3rd Combat Cargo Group, 1st, Combat Cargo Group, 2nd Combat Cargo Group and the 4th Combat Cargo Group. In fact I would like to hear from anyone who flew over the Hump during WW II, or flew any Combat Cargo Missions at any time (Berlin Air-Lift, Korea, etc.)

Please e-mail comment, suggestions, corrections,etc to: bill@comcar.org

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