Tullagh Strand. Photo: Google Maps
On this day, March 18, in 1943 a British Royal Air Force bomber made a crash landing on Tullagh Strand outside Clonmany in north Inishowen.
The American designed Consolidated Liberator III (B-24D-CO) aircraft was attached to the RAF’s 86th squadron based at Aldergrove Airport in Belfast during World War II.
The aircraft played a big role in the Allied victory in the Battle of the Atlantic against German U-boats. The aircraft had the ability to undertake air attacks against surfaced u-boats.
According to reports at the time, the plane belly landed at 7.30 am and damaged its fuselage.
The crew of seven, who were uninjured, were brought to the border that night and handed over.
The aircraft was subsequently salvaged and sent across the border as well.
A shortage of fuel and wireless failure were causes associated with the forced landing.
Above: An American Air Force Liberator. The RAF used similar planes from the class in the Battle of the Atlantic.
A RAF museum crash card confirmed the first two names, Flight Officer, Ernest Charles Hammond and First Officer, Ronald Peter James. The other crew members are understood to have been F/Sgt A. Bolton, Sgt A. W. Cave, F/Sgt F. J, Williams, F/Sgt Alan Wilkie and Sgt W. H. Bryan.
More details on World War II crashes can be found on the Foreign Aircraft Landings in Ireland - WW2 website compiled by Sligo native Dennis Burke.
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