Date:	Wednesday 1 August 1945
Time:	09:30
Type:	Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress
Owner/operator:	United States Army Air Force (USAAF)
Registration:	44-6873
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 13 / Occupants: 25
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Tyrrhenian Sea (40°01'N 12°35' E) -   Italy
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Pomigliano, Italy
Destination airport:	Port Lyautey, North Africa

Narrative:
Non-operational flight transporting Army personnel on the first leg of their return home to the United States. About an hour into the flight aircraft experienced engine failure and was ditched in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Aircraft broke in two on impact and sank within 30 seconds. Twelve survivors were rescued approximately 12 hours after the aircraft was ditched. Thirteen missing were later declared dead; only one of the bodies was ever recovered when it washed up on the Italian coast over four months after the ditching, some 300 miles from the crash site.

USAAF Report of Major Accident #46-8-1-509 (Form 14). It is important to note that the Missing Air Crew Report for this incident (MACR #16474) contains erroneous information and should not be relied upon.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
04-Mar-2014 18:46	MPH1965	Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
05-Mar-2014 19:07	MPH1965	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]
21-May-2014 15:02	MPH1965	Updated [Source, Narrative]