Alconbury, UK

Memorial to the Disaster at RAF Alconbury/USAAF Station 102

Cambridgeshire UK
Dedicated May 27, 2013

Editor’s Note: Because this site is being redeveloped, this memorial has been put into storage. There are plans for a permanent memorial to be dedicated closer to the explosion epicenter. A memorial display is inside the Watch Office that the memorial stood beside until a permanent memorial is installed.

On May 27, 1943, a horrific explosion took place at the Alconbury base barely a month after the 95th Bomb Group had arrived. On that sunny afternoon, with many ground and air crew surrounding the planes, armorers were loading fused bombs onto the B-17s that were to take off the next morning. Something ignited one of the 500-lb. bombs and the entire aircraft disintegrated in an instant, taking with it all of the men on the aircraft, as well as many who had been nearby working or observing. The final toll: 4 B-17s destroyed; 11 others damaged; 18 men killed instantly; 1 more died later. The early practice of loading fused bombs was discontinued. To commemorate the disastrous loss of life in this accident, a memorial plaque has been erected on the site, which is no longer an RAF or USAF base. The memorial was brought about through collaboration between the owners and developers of the site, Urban Civic, and the Airfield Research Group, who are working to capture the historic use of the former airfield during the Second World War and Cold War.

The plaque recognizes all who were lost:

412th Bomb Squadron
PFC Frank A. Baldassaro, ordnance section
Sgt. Stanley B. Banks, mechanic
Sgt. Frederick W. Briske, mechanic
Cpl. Byron A. Carroll, crew chief
M/Sgt. Thomas F. Cunningham, radio maintenance
Sgt. Sam P. Eliah, mechanic
PFC Albert E. Finn, ordnance section
M/Sgt. John F. Gira, aircraft inspector
Cpl. Wallace F. Henderson, radio maintenance
Sgt. Clinton L. Lewis, mechanic
Sgt. Alvis W. McCool Jr., ordnance section
1st Lt. Frank A. Metzger Jr., navigator
Sgt. Earl C. Rogers, armament section
Sgt. Glen W. Swarts, armament section
Sgt. Jack S. Twiford, armament section
Sgt. Howard R. Welch, armament section

334th Bomb Squadron
Pvt. John E. Carlisle, radio maintenance
T/Sgt. Louis Palmer, radio maintenance

335th Bomb Squadron
2nd Lt. Harry Irwin Jr., ordnance office

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