[chajin]

"30 planes flying 900 liberated POWs from Manila to Okinawa were downed by Typhoon Ursula"
That's stunning! We seldom hear anymore about planes being downed by typhoons, etc. I presume it's because weather forecasting has improved greatly since then, especially with satellite imagery.

Oddly enough, I have not been able to find any information about this; one would think that it would be as well-covered in the internet as, say, the USS Indianapolis tragedy. I'm hoping someone else here will be more successful in searching.

[PeterPrinciple]

There was a worse prisoner of war disaster:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/04/27/the-prisoner-of-war-disaster-overshadowed-by-lincoln-s-death.html

[Hebrews 11:6]

Typhoon Ursula
This typhoon is especially remembered for the 30 aircraft containing liberated prisoners of war brought down by the typhoon between Okinawa and Manila. Over 900 servicemen lost their lives. It is the single greatest loss of life in an aviation disaster during peacetime.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940%E2%80%9349_Pacific_typhoon_seasons#Typhoon_Ursula

That's the only relevant return from a Google search for "POWs downed by Typhoon Ursula," and it looks like very similar wording to yours, suggesting common sourcing.

Peculiar, indeed.

[Hebrews 11:6]

...one would think that it would be as well-covered in the internet as, say, the USS Indianapolis tragedy.

Then again, the Indianapolis had several features promoting its prominence:
* it delivered the Bomb
* it involved incompetence at best among those alerted by its SOS
* it was gory and chilling and horrific
* it was famously treated in Jaws

[PeterPrinciple]

Typhoon Ursula plane crashes. no info and both references below are pretty detailed.

1945 civilian crashes listed here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_commercial_aircraft#1945

1945[edit]
January 8 – The China Clipper, a Pan Am Martin M-130 flying boat operating as Flight 161, crashes in Port of Spain, Trinidad, killing all 25 on board.
January 31 – The Stinson Tokana operated by Australian National Airways crashes, killing all 10 on board. The accident was caused by a fatigue crack in a wing spar.
July 12 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 45, a Douglas DC-3A, collides with a Douglas A-26 Invader over Florence, South Carolina, United States. One of the 24 on the DC-3 and 1 of the 2 on the A-26 die.
October 5 – National Airlines Flight 16, a Lockheed L-18 Lodestar, overshoots the runway at Lakeland, Florida, United States, killing 2 of 15 on board.
November 3 – The prototype Boeing 314, named the Honolulu Clipper, makes an emergency landing in the Pacific 650 miles east of Oahu due to double engine failure; the aircraft is intentionally sunk after salvage was deemed impractical; all 26 passengers on board survive.

Military crashes listed here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_military_aircraft_(1945%E2%80%9349)