On 23 April 1945, a

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

crashed on

North Barrule North Barrule ( gv, Baarool Twoaie ; on, varŏa-fjall, lookout or cairn mountain) is the second highest peak in the Isle of Man at . From the summit the northern plain of the Isle of Man can be viewed along with the coastlines of Ireland, Cumbr ...

, a hill in the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. A total of 31 people were killed. The accident is the deadliest aviation accident to have occurred in the Isle of Man.''Isle of Man Examiner – Brialtagh Ellan Vannin'' page 20 Isle of Man Newspapers Ltd (2015) Johnston Press Publishing – Sheffield Web 28 April 2015 "70th ANNIVERSARY OF BOMBER CRASH. Remembering the tragedy on North Barrule 70 years ago. Beyond the 'Mannanan's Cloak' of low cloud, the crash landing of an American Fortress bomber plane will always remain a mystery." It was due to controlled flight into terrain (CFIT).

Aircraft

The accident aircraft was

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF)

serial number A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...

''43-38856'', a

bomber of the 534th Bombardment Squadron,

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

. The 534th was one of four squadrons that made up the

381st Bombardment Group 381st may refer to: * 381st Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 381st Fighter Squadron or 18th Reconnaissance Squadron, squadron of the United States Air Force *381st Intelligence Squadron, intelligence unit located at Joi ...

(381st BG) based at

RAF Ridgewell Royal Air Force Ridgewell or more simply RAF Ridgewell is a former Royal Air Force station located at Ridgewell, north west of Halstead, Essex, England. During the Second World War, the airfield was used by the Royal Air Force and the United ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, United Kingdom.

Accident

The aircraft was performing a passenger flight, taking 29 personnel on a week's

leave Leave may refer to: * Permission (disambiguation) ** Permitted absence from work *** Leave of absence, a period of time that one is to be away from one's primary job while maintaining the status of employee *** Annual leave, allowance of time away ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The passengers were all armorers, fitters, ground crew, and mechanics of various squadrons and support units of the 381st BG. Many of them had been at RAF Ridgewell since the 381st BG had arrived in June 1943. Two pilots brought the total on board to 31. The aircraft took off from RAF Ridgewell for RAF Nutts Corner at 08:00, with an estimated time of arrival of 11:00. At 10:15, the B-17 was off the northeast coast of the

, flying at an altitude of . At 10:20, the aircraft flew into the east side of the high

and exploded in a fireball. The accident was heard by a tractor driver working at a nearby farm of Margher-e-Kew,

Maughold Maughold (also known as Macaille, Maccaldus, Machalus, Machaoi, Machella, Maghor, Mawgan, Maccul, Macc Cuill; died c. 488 AD) is venerated as the patron saint of the Isle of Man. Tradition states that he was an Irish prince and captain of a ban ...

. All 31 people on board were killed, making this the deadliest aviation accident in the Isle of Man. Personnel from RAF Andreas recovered the bodies to that base for identification. On 24 April, a Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress from RAF Ridgewell arrived, bringing the base commander Colonel Conway S. Hall. He was told that arrangements for the repatriation of the bodies would take some days as diplomatic channels with the Manx Government had to be gone through. Hall decided this would take too long, and the deceased were flown back to RAF Ridgewell on 25 April. A minor

diplomatic incident {{Refimprove, date=December 2011 An international incident (or diplomatic incident) is a seemingly relatively small or limited action, incident or clash that results in a wider dispute between two or more nation-states. International incidents can ...

was caused, but nothing came of it. The victims of the accident were buried at Madingley Cemetery,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, United Kingdom.

Memorial

A memorial plaque was placed at the crash site in June 1995 by the Maughold Commissioners and the Manx Aviation Preservation Society. The American flag was flown at the memorial on the 69th anniversary of the accident.

References

{{B-17 family Aviation accidents and incidents in 1945 Aviation accidents and incidents in the Isle of Man Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Aviation accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain Diplomatic incidents 1945 disasters in the United Kingdom 1945 in the Isle of Man April 1945 events in Europe