Even if they survived the German flak and managed to cross the English channel, C-47 crews were not yet home safe. The conditions over England could be treacherous, especially for aircraft damaged by flak, as one 435th pilot learned the hard way. 1st Lt. Jim “Happy” Shive had completed his paradrop during D-Day and was piloting his C-47 back to England. The weather was bad and visibility poor, so Shive decided to divert to Welford Airfield. They’d taken heavy flak over the Rhine and were now flying with a basketball-sized hole in one wing. It was standard at the time for landing aircraft to keep their tails up until the end of the runway to allow following aircraft to land as quickly as possible. Just as Lt. Shive broke out from the low ceiling over the runway, there was another C-47 right below them. The other pilot gunned his engines to get out of the way but it was too late. Shive’s C-47 landed right on top of the other one, with the propeller ripping through Shive’s cockpit floorboard. Thankfully both aircrews escaped unhurt, though both aircraft were a total loss.Photo courtesy of Air Force Historical Research Agency
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