USAF Beech C-45 44-47194
‹ Return to Air Crash Sites
USAF Beech C-45 44-47194
Pilot Captain William J Daner and co-pilot First Lt Arthur Garner, both survived when their Beech C-45 crashed on Black Combe in the Lake District on 12th March 1947. The aircraft came down in a snowstorm but fortunately didn’t break up too much, and both men were able to wait till morning before looking for a way down off the hill.
Less fortunate were the 3 schoolboys who went up for a look at the crashed Beech, and themselves got stuck in a snowstorm and also had to spend the night in the wreck of the aircraft!
The Beech was flying from Prestwick in Scotland to RAF Bovingdon near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire.
Below; photo of this aircraft shortly after it crashed. Image from Dave Earl.
Photo of a Beech 18 on jr55’s photostream. The C-45 was the military version of the Beech 18, or Twin Beech as it was also known.
nice one ian
Great work Ian and some terrific colours on the shot .
It must have been pretty bad up there when it crashed , the gaurds sent to watch over the aircraft also became lost in the snow and bumped into the boys on the fell the following day , they all made thier way off together. There is talk of 14 feet of snow at the time in the villages below by the coast.
Good to hear of a happy ending for once Ian!! No doubt it was an horrendous time and the school boys were lucky to survive after spending a night up there in the wreckage!!:)
Amazing shot of the area Ian!!!:)
What a view point.Must of been scary for the kids spending a night up there.
Like some sort of modern art up there on the moors!
Great capture and yet another interesting story to read!
Love the old photos… especially the bottom one with the Southern Comfort picture on the side! %-)
that was a lovely looking plane,my Dad once painted a name and a lass on the side of a plane when he was in the Army in India
Interesting story – nice find – great backdrop
Fascinating stuff Ian … I well remember C-45s flying out of Burtonwood back in the ’50s
has someone fashioned a sculpture out of the wreckage or is that how it should look? nice to have a semi-happy ending.
Thanks everyone. There are fewer crash sites with happy endings, certainly I’ve not been to one for a while it seems.
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/31878512@N06]
The wreckage didn’t look like this, I must admit. We piled it up because it makes a change to have something to photograph that sits well in the frame, without getting so close that it’s practically a macro. It was good to be able to get in something of the view too.
Ian, good stuff as usual and thanks for using my pic and the credit, anytime, I’m out of hopital and on the mend as well.
What an odd scene… but nicely framed in this photograph.
My father, Capt. William J. Daner, was the pilot of the plane in the first picture with the numbers on the nose 7194. He had that photo in his office for years.
Hi Mary Jo,
Thanks for your comment, lovely to hear from you.
The photo was via a researcher called Dave Earl. His website has now gone but I think he may have been sent that photo by your Dad?
Ian