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On Aug 23, 1944, the Freckleton Air Tragedy occurs. It has been called the “single greatest civilian air disaster suffered by the Allies in WW2. Sixty-one people were killed, including thirty-eight children. And it all happened because a sudden thunderstorm took the US Army Air Forces off guard.
At this point in the war, Americans had an air depot in the United Kingdom, near the small towns of Warton and Freckleton. The purpose of the depot (“BAD2â€) was to maintain, modify, and repair aircraft that were fighting in the European Theater. By the spring of 1944, BAD2 housed so many American servicemen that the area came to be known as “Little America.†Unfortunately the tragedy struck BAD2 and the community just as the Allies were celebrating many important victories in Europe.
Nothing seemed unusual about the morning of Aug 23. First Lt. John Bloemendal was supposed to test a newly refurbished B-24 Liberator (B-24H-20 Liberator, serial number 42-50291). The weather forecast wasn’t too threatening, merely predicting “some early sunshine and light clouds followed by rain showers later in the morning.†The flight was scheduled for 8:30.
But Bloemendal got a call just as he was preparing to depart. The flight was delayed while he took care of some items that were his responsibility as “Officer of the Day.†The delay was relatively short, but it proved to be deadly.
B-24 #42-50291 "Classy Chassis"
When Bloemendal returned, it was cloudy and drizzling. The weather still didn’t seem too serious, though, and Bloemendal’s flight took off at 10:30. Another test pilot, Peter Manassero, took off at the same time in a different B-24. Once in the air, the pilots could see that trouble was approaching. They spotted an ominous looking cloud formation, headed their way. Both aircraft were immediately recalled.
As the pilots prepared to land, Manassero radioed to Bloemendal that “we had better head north and get out of the storm.†Bloemendal agreed. Manassero cleared the storm within a matter of minutes, but Bloemendal was already gone.
Already flying very low to the ground and with wings near vertical, the B-24's right wing tip hit a tree-top and was ripped away as it impacted with the corner of a building. The rest of the wing continued, ploughing along the ground and through a hedge. The fuselage partly demolished three houses and the Sad Sack Snack Bar that catered specifically for American servicemen from the airbase, before crossing Lytham Road and bursting into flames.
After part of the aircraft hit the infants' wing of Freckleton Holy Trinity School, fuel from the ruptured tanks ignited and produced another sea of flames.
52 people (the three crew members on the B-24, 34 children, one teacher, six American servicemen, one RAF airman and seven Snack Bar staff) died instantly, with nine others (four children, one teacher, an American serviceman and three RAF airmen) later dying in hospital from their injuries. For years to come, the local school was missing an entire grade level.
A communal service was held for the victims on the afternoon of August 26. The American military provided coffins for the deceased and covered all final expenses. GIs dug the communal grave in Holy Trinity Cemetery. Personnel from BAD 2 served as the honor guard for the funeral procession and as pallbearers for the children’s coffins. The funeral itself consisted of a procession through the village, services at Holy Trinity Church, and burial in the church’s cemetery.
To this day, no one knows exactly what happened. At least two witnesses think the B-24 was struck by lightning. Others say they saw the plane flying with its wings vertical. An intercepted transmission suggests that Bloemendal’s controls had gone haywire. Regardless of the cause, the plane caused a great tragedy.
Sadly, news of the disaster was largely lost. The world was instead focused on the Allied victories in Europe.
At this point in the war, Americans had an air depot in the United Kingdom, near the small towns of Warton and Freckleton. The purpose of the depot (“BAD2â€) was to maintain, modify, and repair aircraft that were fighting in the European Theater. By the spring of 1944, BAD2 housed so many American servicemen that the area came to be known as “Little America.†Unfortunately the tragedy struck BAD2 and the community just as the Allies were celebrating many important victories in Europe.
Nothing seemed unusual about the morning of Aug 23. First Lt. John Bloemendal was supposed to test a newly refurbished B-24 Liberator (B-24H-20 Liberator, serial number 42-50291). The weather forecast wasn’t too threatening, merely predicting “some early sunshine and light clouds followed by rain showers later in the morning.†The flight was scheduled for 8:30.
But Bloemendal got a call just as he was preparing to depart. The flight was delayed while he took care of some items that were his responsibility as “Officer of the Day.†The delay was relatively short, but it proved to be deadly.
B-24 #42-50291 "Classy Chassis"
When Bloemendal returned, it was cloudy and drizzling. The weather still didn’t seem too serious, though, and Bloemendal’s flight took off at 10:30. Another test pilot, Peter Manassero, took off at the same time in a different B-24. Once in the air, the pilots could see that trouble was approaching. They spotted an ominous looking cloud formation, headed their way. Both aircraft were immediately recalled.
As the pilots prepared to land, Manassero radioed to Bloemendal that “we had better head north and get out of the storm.†Bloemendal agreed. Manassero cleared the storm within a matter of minutes, but Bloemendal was already gone.
Already flying very low to the ground and with wings near vertical, the B-24's right wing tip hit a tree-top and was ripped away as it impacted with the corner of a building. The rest of the wing continued, ploughing along the ground and through a hedge. The fuselage partly demolished three houses and the Sad Sack Snack Bar that catered specifically for American servicemen from the airbase, before crossing Lytham Road and bursting into flames.
After part of the aircraft hit the infants' wing of Freckleton Holy Trinity School, fuel from the ruptured tanks ignited and produced another sea of flames.
52 people (the three crew members on the B-24, 34 children, one teacher, six American servicemen, one RAF airman and seven Snack Bar staff) died instantly, with nine others (four children, one teacher, an American serviceman and three RAF airmen) later dying in hospital from their injuries. For years to come, the local school was missing an entire grade level.
A communal service was held for the victims on the afternoon of August 26. The American military provided coffins for the deceased and covered all final expenses. GIs dug the communal grave in Holy Trinity Cemetery. Personnel from BAD 2 served as the honor guard for the funeral procession and as pallbearers for the children’s coffins. The funeral itself consisted of a procession through the village, services at Holy Trinity Church, and burial in the church’s cemetery.
To this day, no one knows exactly what happened. At least two witnesses think the B-24 was struck by lightning. Others say they saw the plane flying with its wings vertical. An intercepted transmission suggests that Bloemendal’s controls had gone haywire. Regardless of the cause, the plane caused a great tragedy.
Sadly, news of the disaster was largely lost. The world was instead focused on the Allied victories in Europe.
