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Posted By: Dava2479 Liberator explosion over wirral - 24th Dec 2008 1:40am
On the 19th October 1944 a USAF B-24 Liberator was flying over the Wirral, west of Liverpool, when it inexplicably blew up killing all 24 on board. There is a plaque situated near Durley Industrial Estate, by Brook Road on the river Fender, which reads:

IN MEMORY OF THE 24 U.S. ARMY AIR FORCE WHO DIED WHEN THEIR AIRCRAFT EXPLODED IN MID AIR

ABOVE THESE FIELDS ON 19th OCTOBER 1944



Attached picture liberator1.jpg
Posted By: hoseman Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 24th Dec 2008 8:51am
The plaque is directly outside the main gate to Avon Coaches! Way back then all that was just open fields! If i remember right, there was a big memorial service there years ago where relatives attended from USA.
There is quite a lot written about this crash site, ive seen pics too!
Nice reminder DAVA
Posted By: Dava2479 Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 24th Dec 2008 1:26pm
I will have to get myself over there and get some pics.
Posted By: uggla Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 9th Feb 2009 10:49am
The plaque was there in the 90s i used to work on durley and passed it very interesting.

I may go down there and take a picture the globe posted some info about this a few years ago i think aswell.
Posted By: Doctor_Frick Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 9th Feb 2009 12:09pm
You can find pictures of the plaque i took last year here:

USAAF Liberator Bomber number 42-50347


Description: An aerial map showing the location of the crash site
Attached picture 4250347_crash-709x619.jpg

Description: The picture shows roughly were the plane crashed
Attached picture b24_crash_site-709x565.jpg

Description: The memorial stone which has been erected on the Durley industrial estate close to where the bomber fell
Attached picture landican_Memorial-709x598.jpg
Attached picture landican_head_stone-710x593.jpg
Posted By: uggla Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 9th Feb 2009 12:30pm
brilliant i aint seen it for over 10 years
Posted By: AR_One Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 9th Feb 2009 12:58pm
So reading the other postings about this - there are two memorials - the one on Durley drive Industrial estate and the one with 24 yellow bricks which is near the crash site?
Posted By: Doctor_Frick Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 9th Feb 2009 1:31pm
Iv never seen the one about 24 yellow bricks ?

Are you sure your not getting mixed up witn the P47 that came down in Saughall Massey ?

P47 Crash
Posted By: AR_One Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 10th Feb 2009 9:56am
The yellow brinks are mentioned at the end of the first paragraph of the article that you linked to and it just set me off thinking as I couldn't see any yellow bricks in the pictures of the memorial.
Posted By: Doctor_Frick Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 10th Feb 2009 4:39pm
It does indeed !. Maybe there were yellow bricks orinionally. But deffo not now.
Posted By: w10694 Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 11th Feb 2009 12:21am
If anyone is interested, I have a s/s of all USAAF losses over the UK. There were 6436 crashes.
Posted By: Dava2479 Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 11th Feb 2009 12:54am
Yeah,post them dude.with photos.
Posted By: davaw1 Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 11th Feb 2009 2:26am
theres also a plaque on the footpath from landican to storeton about a plane crash in the 1940's its buy the railway bridge don't know if its the same one as its been a while since i've been up them ways
Posted By: uggla Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 11th Feb 2009 7:55am
6436 losses thats huge
Posted By: Doctor_Frick Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 11th Feb 2009 9:13am
"theres also a plaque on the footpath from landican to storeton about a plane crash in the 1940's its buy the railway bridge don't know if its the same one as its been a while since i've been up them ways"

Thats probably the one with yellow bricks then i guess
Posted By: w10694 Re: Liberator explosion over wirral - 11th Feb 2009 7:07pm
Originally Posted by uggla
6436 losses thats huge


My understanding is that they were trained in sunny & dry conditions in the USA, and initially the losses were very high in the cold, damp, wet, snowy, low cloud, rainy conditions across here, so a program of "conversions" were held across here - mainly on the Shropshire bases.
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