1944 Neuleiningen Douglas DC-3 shootdown
437 Sqn RCAF Douglas C-47 Dakota III · Shootdown
From RAF Pershore to Karachi
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 23 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- Unknown
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
Douglas C-47 Dakota III
- Aircraft type
- Douglas C-47
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- KG653
- Operator
- 437 Sqn RCAF
- Onboard fatalities
- 23
- Route
- From RAF PershoreTo Karachi
Approximate · Estimated position: Neuleiningen, near the place the Wikipedia article names. Not the accident site.
From the Wikipedia article
On 24 September 1944, Douglas C-47 Dakota serial number KG653 operated by 437 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force was shot down over Neuleiningen by a Messerschmitt Bf 109 after it veered off course into Germany, killing all 23 occupants on board.
Accident
The flight took off from RAF Pershore at 3:30 local time. Mid-flight, it encountered poor weather (dark low clouds, heavy rain, thunder, and lightning) and entered Germany. Later, a Messerschmitt Bf 109 piloted by Julius Meimberg of the Luftwaffe attacked the C-47, firing at its right engine. The pilot then performed a split S, but the wing tore off and it crashed near Neuleningen, killing all 23 occupants.
Text from the Wikipedia article “1944 Neuleiningen Douglas DC-3 shootdown” (revision 1362601579, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 1944 Neuleiningen Douglas DC-3 shootdown
- Revision
- 1362601579 · 2026-07-05 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q110719837
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "1944 Neuleiningen Douglas DC-3 shootdown" (page 75930858, revision 1362601579)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- place the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata coordinates)
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator named as an armed force or military unit in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.