My grandfather was stationed in Northern Ireland during World War Two. He met my grandmother while stationed in Belfast and they got married at Cavehill in June of 1943.
Beautifully done gentlemen! Thank you for the pursuit of the story! Steve and I fondly think of our time with you both during the 75th anniversary. Love the jeeps too! ;)
An outstanding video on an important event. Will Lindsey and Alfie Montgomery are THE subject matter expert’s on the USAAF’s activities in Northern Ireland in World War II. Their work on this subject is vital. Thanks guys for your work!!
Full credit for this kind of painstaking detective work, and a great story thus far. Sadly, there were so many young airmen (mostly American) killed in aircraft crashes in this tiny Province during the war. For its size, NI had some 21 or 22 miltary airfields in what was a strategically important area of the UK, as it had to cover the Western Approaches (North Atlantic), North Sea and Irish Sea. generally coming under RAF Coastal Command. Every kind of aircraft was employed, built/assembled and serviced there, from the lightest GA through the fighters, bombers and transport, including a huge base in Lough Erne for Sunderlands and Catalinas. A brief list of bases: Maydown, Eglinton, Ballykelly, Ballymoney (now Causeway Coast Airfield), Maghaberry, Long Kesh, Belfast Harbour (Land and amphib) now Belfast City), Nutts Corner, Aldergrove (now Belfast International), Langford Lodge (now Crumlin), Cluntoe, Toome, Ballyhalbert, Kirkistown, Bishop's Court, Greencastle, St Angelo, Killadeas (amphib), Castle Archdale (amphib), Sandy Bay (amphib) and Ardboe. Perhaps the most curious arrangement involved the amphibious bases at Killadeas and Castle Archdale. Here, the bases were on the Eire/UK border, with Eire remaining strictly neutral. An agreement was reached between the two nations to allow Allied aircraft to fly the 2-3 miles through neutral Eire to get to the Western Approaches, and was a secret arrangement known as the "Secret Corridor." Many young pilots died in the area, due mainly to navigational problems, hilly surrounds and extremes in weather. Most of these airmen were British, American and Canadian. They are all well-remembered locally. Quite a few were also interned in Eire as a result of ditching.crashing in neutral territory. NI could never have been described as a "picknicking backwater!"
Thank you Reg, you are certainly correct, we punched above our weight, a crucial stepping stone for the successful allied invasion of Europe. We are glad you enjoyed the documentary, we hope to at some point film a for television followup to this story and our findings. Best wishes, Will Lindsay
I just happened to come across this item by accident and have one or two comments to add. My mother called me out to the garden to see this aircraft flying extremely low, straight towards the Cave Hill which was completely covered by low cloud or fog. We watched in horror as it disappeared from sight and then exploded. From memory, there was no sight or sound of any other aircraft so I find it hard to believe it was part of a formation.. I had never heard of Nutts Corner and the aerodrome was known locally at that time as "Aldergrove," Same airfield; different name? I arrived at the scene within a matter of minutes and my main memory was of a fireman sitting on the running board his fire tender on the Antrim Road, being violently sick surrounded by an audience of small boys!
Many thanks for your eyewitness account, the aircraft was one of a number of aircraft which had taken off from Gander, at short intervals, there was no formation flying as such, upon arrival at Nutts Corner, the aircraft, who had departed separately from each other, where stacked up together, on the Nutts corner radio range at varying altitudes, this aircraft was way off the radio range at this time and evidently unable to get back to it. Hope this helps. Many thanks, Will Lindsay
The aircrafts original destination was Valley, in Wales, due to inclement weather enroute, the aircraft were diverted to an Air Transport Command alternate station, Nutts Corner. RAF Aldergrove, at that time, was a few miles North of USAAF-RAF Nutts Corner. Hope this helps. Many thanks. Can you remember the location of where the fire engine was sitting?, It would be very interesting to chat more about your memories of this accident, which I could add to the ever expanding information I've been collecting up over the last 20 years or so of researching USAAF losses in N.I.. Best wishes. Will
Leighton McKenzie was my father's best friend in Mill Valley, California. My father died in 1965 and Leighton's mother passed in 1992. I don't believe he has any other living relatives.
The USAAF in WW2 was a war of amateurs. Amateurs built aircraft, serviced aircraft, repaired aircraft, and flew aircraft. All in a hurry. There were more deaths from accidents than from combat. Add to that British-American RAF/USAAF non cooperation in operations at the field
Hi there, the crew and the aircraft were unassigned, they were on a ferry flight, direct from the US to the UK. They were a replacement crew a and temporarily assigned to the European Wing of the Air Transport Command, 8th AF, for this particular ferry flight of aircraft and crew.
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My grandfather was stationed in Northern Ireland during World War Two. He met my grandmother while stationed in Belfast and they got married at Cavehill in June of 1943.
Beautifully done gentlemen! Thank you for the pursuit of the story! Steve and I fondly think of our time with you both during the 75th anniversary. Love the jeeps too! ;)
Great work. Thanks.
An outstanding video on an important event. Will Lindsey and Alfie Montgomery are THE subject matter expert’s on the USAAF’s activities in Northern Ireland in World War II. Their work on this subject is vital. Thanks guys for your work!!
Full credit for this kind of painstaking detective work, and a great story thus far. Sadly, there were so many young airmen (mostly American) killed in aircraft crashes in this tiny Province during the war. For its size, NI had some 21 or 22 miltary airfields in what was a strategically important area of the UK, as it had to cover the Western Approaches (North Atlantic), North Sea and Irish Sea. generally coming under RAF Coastal Command. Every kind of aircraft was employed, built/assembled and serviced there, from the lightest GA through the fighters, bombers and transport, including a huge base in Lough Erne for Sunderlands and Catalinas.
A brief list of bases: Maydown, Eglinton, Ballykelly, Ballymoney (now Causeway Coast Airfield), Maghaberry, Long Kesh, Belfast Harbour (Land and amphib) now Belfast City), Nutts Corner, Aldergrove (now Belfast International), Langford Lodge (now Crumlin), Cluntoe, Toome, Ballyhalbert, Kirkistown, Bishop's Court, Greencastle, St Angelo, Killadeas (amphib), Castle Archdale (amphib), Sandy Bay (amphib) and Ardboe.
Perhaps the most curious arrangement involved the amphibious bases at Killadeas and Castle Archdale. Here, the bases were on the Eire/UK border, with Eire remaining strictly neutral. An agreement was reached between the two nations to allow Allied aircraft to fly the 2-3 miles through neutral Eire to get to the Western Approaches, and was a secret arrangement known as the "Secret Corridor." Many young pilots died in the area, due mainly to navigational problems, hilly surrounds and extremes in weather. Most of these airmen were British, American and Canadian. They are all well-remembered locally. Quite a few were also interned in Eire as a result of ditching.crashing in neutral territory.
NI could never have been described as a "picknicking backwater!"
Thank you Reg, you are certainly correct, we punched above our weight, a crucial stepping stone for the successful allied invasion of Europe. We are glad you enjoyed the documentary, we hope to at some point film a for television followup to this story and our findings. Best wishes, Will Lindsay
@@USAAFLANGFORDLODGEHC Cheers Will. Best wishes to all, and much success to come..
I just happened to come across this item by accident and have one or two comments to add. My mother called me out to the garden to see this aircraft flying extremely low, straight towards the Cave Hill which was completely covered by low cloud or fog. We watched in horror as it disappeared from sight and then exploded. From memory, there was no sight or sound of any other aircraft so I find it hard to believe it was part of a formation.. I had never heard of Nutts Corner and the aerodrome was known locally at that time as "Aldergrove," Same airfield; different name? I arrived at the scene within a matter of minutes and my main memory was of a fireman sitting on the running board his fire tender on the Antrim Road, being violently sick surrounded by an audience of small boys!
Many thanks for your eyewitness account, the aircraft was one of a number of aircraft which had taken off from Gander, at short intervals, there was no formation flying as such, upon arrival at Nutts Corner, the aircraft, who had departed separately from each other, where stacked up together, on the Nutts corner radio range at varying altitudes, this aircraft was way off the radio range at this time and evidently unable to get back to it. Hope this helps. Many thanks, Will Lindsay
The aircrafts original destination was Valley, in Wales, due to inclement weather enroute, the aircraft were diverted to an Air Transport Command alternate station, Nutts Corner. RAF Aldergrove, at that time, was a few miles North of USAAF-RAF Nutts Corner. Hope this helps. Many thanks. Can you remember the location of where the fire engine was sitting?, It would be very interesting to chat more about your memories of this accident, which I could add to the ever expanding information I've been collecting up over the last 20 years or so of researching USAAF losses in N.I.. Best wishes. Will
Quality ...
Leighton McKenzie was my father's best friend in Mill Valley, California. My father died in 1965 and Leighton's mother passed in 1992. I don't believe he has any other living relatives.
The USAAF in WW2 was a war of amateurs. Amateurs built aircraft, serviced aircraft, repaired aircraft, and flew aircraft. All in a hurry. There were more deaths from accidents than from combat.
Add to that British-American RAF/USAAF non cooperation in operations at the field
We would like more information about the B-24 liberator Katy Did 2 that crashed 10 Oct 1943 killing all 9 aboard. Our information is conflicting.
What bomb group and Squadron did the crew belong to?
Hi there, the crew and the aircraft were unassigned, they were on a ferry flight, direct from the US to the UK. They were a replacement crew a and temporarily assigned to the European Wing of the Air Transport Command, 8th AF, for this particular ferry flight of aircraft and crew.