On the trail of an event that kept the world in suspense in 1946

The Gauli Glacier drama thaws again

History

Accompanied by guardian angels, an American Dakota C-53 with twelve passengers crash-landed on the Gauli Glacier on a flight from Vienna to Marseille in 1946. Immediately after the crew was rescued, the aircraft was covered in snow. It is only some time before the glacier reveals the first wreckage of the aircraft - with inspiring effects on the imagination of all those who set off in search of clues...

66 years

After the crash, mountaineers discover the Dakota's propeller in 2012 - the first of many relics of the drama?

Whoever finds it gets to keep it. No, unfortunately not. The Dakota's propeller may not be taken home. It belongs entirely to the Gauli Glacier.

More and more finds are revitalising the drama.

The glacier reveals its knowledge

Passengers and crew were rescued back then, but where has their plane gone? There it lies, tanning in the sun. The propeller of the Dakota.

Hollywood can only be envious of this drama. It doesn't get any better than this.

The media interest in the crash of the Dakota C-53 in the Haslital is unprecedented: journalists from all over the world have arrived, reports are being published every hour and all the hotels in Meiringen are fully booked. It is the largest rescue operation in the Alps to date and the first high mountain rescue from the air - a global sensation that is covered by newspapers, radio and newsreels all over the world.

Invasion in Meiringen

While today it is mainly tourists from all over the world who characterise the appearance of Meiringen, in the fateful days of 1946 it was mainly journalists and an American relief train with white camouflaged caterpillar vehicles that caused great astonishment. The Americans were patrolling the streets. This is quite a sensation for the locals.
But how is a glacier to be conquered with caterpillar vehicles? There is definitely a certain amount of head-shaking among the mountain-loving locals.

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Media representatives and American soldiers populate Meiringen.

Newspaper cuttings and black and white photos from back then can always be found on a tour of the pubs in Meiringen.

There must be something to report. The Gauli drama attracts worthy interest. Media representatives from all over the world are on site.

One headline follows the next. The largest rescue operation in the Alps keeps the world in suspense for several days.

Author of «Haslital - the fateful year 1946»

Roger Cornioley

«The Americans dropped aid packages indiscriminately. Much was lost and sank into crevasses. When a coal sack hit the Dakota's wing, things became dangerous.»

It hails packages. So many, in fact, that the crew have to flee to safety.

At the time, Swiss pilots dropped aid packages over the crash site: Bread, hot tea, cheese, condensed milk, chocolate, cooking equipment. Warm clothes, woollen blankets, bandages and medicines were also reliably delivered.
Later, American, British and French planes also dropped relief supplies: an indiscriminate bombardment of useful and useless items rained down from high altitude... but most of the stuff was lost and found its way straight into the crevasses. The only thing left to say is: it's the will that counts.

Almost 70 years later, the crew of the Dakota would probably be bombarded with such American aid packages. Would the cheeseburgers survive the fall from a great height? They would definitely be too tasty to end up in a crevasse.

Watch out and look up. At the latest when a 60-kilo bag of coal hits the Dakota. Being hit by such an aid package is no fun after all. In order to stop the uncontrolled bombardment of aid packages, the crew simply writes four letters in the snow: "F I N I" - or in other words: Stop it.

In order to rescue the crew and at the same time protect them from the aid packages, the almost impossible is attempted. Rescue by sledge was impossible and the American tracked vehicles were unusable. So skids are attached to two small aeroplanes, so-called Fieseler-Störche. Who invented it? The Swiss, of course.

The Swiss pilots land on the glacier with the skids and fly the injured to Unterbach airfield. All the victims were rescued in eight flights. A mature achievement. Alpine rescue from the air is born.

Nobody has to spend the night in the ice here

There it stands. At the end of the unspoilt and idyllic Urbachtal valley. The Gauli hut. The perfect excursion destination for anyone who wants to go on a (guided) tour to the Gauli Glacier.

Glaciers - in solid and liquid form

The hike to the Gaulihütte is not just a scenic surprise. Now that the Dakota is slowly but surely coming into view, perhaps a discarded whisky bottle will soon be washed down by the glacier water. It would be a good age now.

Gauli hut warden and passionate storyteller

Susanne Brand

«Sooner or later, the aircraft reappears. And with it, things that were air-dropped to the passengers waiting in the ice..»

There are certainly plenty of crevices. I wonder how many aid parcels are still hidden down there? (Top left) Until a museum is set up, found items are currently handed in at the Gaulihütte. (Bottom left) It is not always clear at first glance what was found there. (Top right) Here it is easier to recognise what it might be. (Bottom right)

Over crevices and past fragments

Watch out for the crevasse. Oh, there's actually a wing in the glacier. No problem. The local mountaineers know the way - just trot along behind them. We definitely don't want to fall here.

Stay in a good line and always stay roped up. With the Rosenlaui mountaineering school, we pass below the Bärglistock.

Let's dance. An eternal dance between the crevasses. But the pros know where to dance.

It's also easier to go uphill - by helicopter, of course. A two-day tour with a helicopter flight to Rosenegg and a hike over the Gauli Glacier to the artefacts found by the Dakota sounds tempting.