Did my dad's C-47 survive WW2? (1 Viewer)

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Charlie23

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Mar 9, 2021
My late dad was a Hump pilot in WW2. He flew C-47's and C-46's. The tail number of one C-47 was #42-48637 which I understand is the one he flew from Baer Field in Fort Wayne, Indiana to India or Burma on his initial deployment. He survived but I would like to know if possible whatever became of this aircraft, or other places I could check to research this. Thanks.
 
No mention of 42-48637. That's not to say there isn't one. There is a C-47A as 43-48637

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No mention of 42-48637. That's not to say there isn't one. There is a C-47A as 43-48637

Thank you very much for your help. Not sure how to interpret "to USAAF 05Sep44". Is that a manufacturing or delivery date? If so this would not be the plane he piloted because he was in the CBI theater at that time. However if that is the date it went into active service in CBI that could be his. I know he arrived there in September 1944.
 
As mentioned, the site I got the above info from may not have your serial number listed, its still a work in progress. Your serial number falls in a cancelled order

I was hoping my 42 was a 43 since the rest of the number was right, it was a C-47 and it did go to CBI. Thanks for the lead on another site. I was unaware of that one. I will check it out. I am going to question my sibs on their source of this tail number for that flight to make sure it's accurate. I do appreciate your time and help with this quest.
 
The Boeing AT-15 was an American twin-engined bomber crew trainer designed and built by Boeing's Wichita Division. Only two prototypes, designated XAT-15, were built. Plans to build over 1,000 were cancelled on the United States' entry into the Second World War. The proposed name Crewmaker was not officially adopted.

One of the first projects for the former Stearman Aircraft Company which in 1939 had become the Wichita Division of Boeing was a twin-engined trainer for bomber crews. Designated X-120 by the company, two examples were ordered by the United States Army Air Corps as the XAT-15. The AT-15 was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with two wing-mounted Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp radial engines. It had a retractable tailwheel landing gear and an extended glazed fuselage nose for the trainee bomb-aimer. Due to shortage of materials, the aircraft was built of welded steel tube covered with plywood, with wooden wings and tail unit. The two aircraft were delivered to the USAAC, but after the country's entry into the war a change in priorities resulted in the planned order for more than 1,000 aircraft not being placed.

Stearman_XBT-15.jpg
 
No mention of 42-48637. That's not to say there isn't one. There is a C-47A as 43-48637

Mystery solved! I asked my older brother where my Dad's WW2 log book was and he said he had it but did not know what he did with it. So I asked his wife and she put her hands on it right away. I am still sorting through his logs and a bunch of his other WW2 stuff she got to me. I found that in his log book he had corrected the certificate number entry so "43-48637" actually was the aircraft he flew from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Dinjan. His log shows departure"9/20/1944" from Fort Wayne and a departure on "10/6/1944" from Karachi. His log also shows his arrival in Karachi as "10/1/1944" with "engine trouble." Guessing here but 10/1-6/1944 is probably where the "Karachi 16Oct44" started. The "05Sep44" service date seems consistent with the delivery and preparation time needed to fly out of Baer Field for CBI two weeks later. The plane was a C-47B, however. I trust that entry in his log since subsequent entires show he flew that same aircraft several times during his service in CBI. Several other certificate numbers are listed in his log. Thanks to you and the other responders to my posts I now have the tools to track down these aircraft and learn their fates. The hazards of flying the Hump in WW2 are well known but going through this log book written in my father's own hand has been a very emotional journey for me as it puts names to my Dad's buddies that perished in that forgotten theater as well as some of the very scary experiences he had there. I will sort this all out and post results when I am done. Thanks again to you and all that have been so helpful.
 

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