Massive explosion at RAF Metfield 15 Jul 1944
Apr 2, 2015 18:31:36 GMT
Hill, diane9247, and 2 more like this
Post by frankmcvey (Angel) on Apr 2, 2015 18:31:36 GMT
RAF Metfield 1945.kmz (838 B)
RAF Metfield was an isolated WW2 airfield in Suffolk, England. In 1944, it was used by the 491st Bombardment Group of the USAAF, operating Consolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft.
B-24 Liberators of the 491st Bombardment Group
RAF Metfield was an isolated WW2 airfield in Suffolk, England. In 1944, it was used by the 491st Bombardment Group of the USAAF, operating Consolidated B-24 Liberator aircraft.
B-24 Liberators of the 491st Bombardment Group
On the 15th Jul 1944, a resupply convoy of vehicles transporting 500lb bombs arrived at the bomb dump at the east end of the airfield. This is what happened, from the official accident report.
Most of the information for this post came from the excellent forum Aces, Contrails and Unsung Heroes
I should also note that I believe that datestamp (1st Jan 1945) on this imagery to be incorrect. In January 1945, we were still hard at war with Germany; in fact this very airfield was shot up by a German raider in March 1945. However the imagery shows the airfield to be completely devoid of aircraft and the runways closed by large white Xs painted on the runway thresholds. As stated above, the station did not close until VE-Day in May 1945.
About 16:15 hours on the afternoon of the explosion a bomb delivery party of 6 loaded trucks arrived at the bomb dump. The loads of five vehicles were bombs, mainly or perhaps all, were 500 pounders. The other truck carried fuses and bomb fins.
All of the bomb dump crew had gone to supper which involved a long ride around the perimeter road. There was no one to unload the bombs. The Sgt. in charge told the drivers to wait until the men came back from supper and the bombs could then be unloaded properly with a hoist. According to the driver of the truck with the fins and fuses, who survived the explosion, the other drivers were impatient to get back to their base for a big Saturdy night on the town. They decided to roll the bombs over the tailgate and be gone.
In this procedure the long axis of the bomb was aligned across the truck bed and parallel to the axles. The tailgate was dropped, the driver shifted into reverse and gunned his engine to achieve speed. When moving fast enough the driver would hit the brakes hard causing a sharp stop. The momentum imparted to the bomb by fast backing would cause it to roll out the back of the truck when the truck stopped sharpley.
In this case, one bomb fell on another already rolled out and the detonation which resulted spread to other bombs nearby and finally involved the whole dump.
On the night before the explosion we had laid a mission and had loaded the aircraft with a bomb load that included incendiary bombs. It was common practice for the last formation to carry incendiaries.
The mission had been delayed for several hours and finally scrubbed about noon on the 15th because of bad weather in the target area. These bombs had then been offloaded and hauled back to the bomb dump where they were still on dollies awaiting the mission instructions for the next day.
The force of the explosion tossed the IB's around helter skelter throughout the bomb dump, some of them ignited and thus started other fires we surmised.
When the five drivers decided to roll their bombs out, the driver of the sixth truck which carried fuses and fins, moved off to a seperate area where those items were stored. He dismounted his vehicle and sat on the running board so the truck was between him and the bomb unloading area. He recalled hearing the trucks rev up their engines, brakes screeching, and bombs falling out -- then the explosion.
He dove into a deep drainage ditch for shelter and then followed the ditch out and away from the dump. He was the only survivor of the delivery party.
The investigation disclosed one exceptionally interesting angle about the explosion. According to the Ordnance people, the bombs beng delivered were filled with an explosive designated RDX. In this mode the ordinarily used explosive was mixed with beeswax. This compound gave each bomb about 50% more explosive power, i.e. a 500 lb. bomb became the equivalent of a 750 lb. bomb.
It was also known by Ordnance that the RDX compound was much less stable than normal HE, that is more likely to explode due to rough handling or inadvertant dropping. The RDX bombs therefore were required to be identified by a yellow strip around the girth where the lugs were welded to the case. This was intended to be a warning to bomb handlers. It was later ascertained by Ordnance that the bombs delivered to Metfield on 15 July 1944 were not marked with a yellow band."
From a report by Maj. Gen. Frederick H. Miller USAF (Ret'd)
"Damage assessment showed that 23 - 24 aircraft (B-24's) would be unfit to ever fly again. On most, the aft fuselage section between the trailing edge of the wing and the rudders was twisted as much as 15 to 20 degrees. Also the wings were warped.
Pressure sensitive instruments such as altimeters and manifold pressure gauges were almost all ruined in the 54 or more aircraft on the base. Much of this damage was not detected until missions to altitude were resume
The wheels which guided hangar doors had come off their tracks and the doors knocked about by the force of the explosion.
It was reported that windows were blown out in a village several miles away. Five bomb delivery truck drivers and their trucks were missing. Only fragments of the vehicles or men were found.
A crater estimated at 25 feet deep by 75 feet diameter was holed in the bomb dump where dollies, bombs, cranes and other equipment was jumbled together like jack straws. An estimated 700 tons of bombs were destroyed or made unusable for operations."
The 2218th Quartermaster Truck Company (Aviation) unit diary refers to six drivers killed in the explosion at Metfield; they would have been based at the Earsham ordnance depot at the time.
The ABMC roll for that unit gives three of the names, all were killed on the 15th July 1944 and have no known grave:
Private Donald P. Adkins, U.S. Army Air Forces
Service # 35350614
2218th Quartermaster Truck Company, Aviation
Entered the Service from Indiana
Private First Class Donald L. Hurley, U.S. Army Air Forces
Service # 35619775
2218th Quartermaster Truck Company, Aviation
Entered the Service from Ohio
Private Steve W. Suchey, U.S. Army Air Forces
Service # 34197931
2218th Quartermaster Truck Company, Aviation
Entered the Service from Alabama
All three are recorded on the Wall of Missing at Madingley Cemetery in Cambridgeshire.
In May 1945, Metfield was closed and turned over to the RAF. It was subsequently abandoned, but remained in the hands of the Air Ministry.
The airfield was not used by the Air Ministry after the Second World War ended and for years it sat abandoned and empty. In 1964 and 1965, the airfield and support buildings were sold to private individuals. Metfield was returned to agricultural use; however, the site of the bomb dump explosion could be seen for many years as a water-filled lake. When the lake was cleaned out, all types of discarded equipment was found, including several unexploded bombs. Indeed, ordnance that was tossed into the air during the bomb dump explosion has been found over the years in the fields surrounding Metfield. Pieces of metal from the exploded bombs has been found scattered over the area to the present day.
In the late 1960s, the main runways, taxiways and parking aprons were mostly torn up or turned into single lane agricultural roads. Very little evidence of the airfield can be seen today only a few brick buildings, deteriorating Quonset (Nissen) huts, and some concrete roadways that were aircraft taxiways.
My placemark is just north of the bomb dump crater in the Historical Imagery dated January 1945. the imagery clearly shows the crater left by the blast and several other collateral craters, presumably left by bombs which had already been offloaded by the crew around the dump site:
All of the bomb dump crew had gone to supper which involved a long ride around the perimeter road. There was no one to unload the bombs. The Sgt. in charge told the drivers to wait until the men came back from supper and the bombs could then be unloaded properly with a hoist. According to the driver of the truck with the fins and fuses, who survived the explosion, the other drivers were impatient to get back to their base for a big Saturdy night on the town. They decided to roll the bombs over the tailgate and be gone.
In this procedure the long axis of the bomb was aligned across the truck bed and parallel to the axles. The tailgate was dropped, the driver shifted into reverse and gunned his engine to achieve speed. When moving fast enough the driver would hit the brakes hard causing a sharp stop. The momentum imparted to the bomb by fast backing would cause it to roll out the back of the truck when the truck stopped sharpley.
In this case, one bomb fell on another already rolled out and the detonation which resulted spread to other bombs nearby and finally involved the whole dump.
On the night before the explosion we had laid a mission and had loaded the aircraft with a bomb load that included incendiary bombs. It was common practice for the last formation to carry incendiaries.
The mission had been delayed for several hours and finally scrubbed about noon on the 15th because of bad weather in the target area. These bombs had then been offloaded and hauled back to the bomb dump where they were still on dollies awaiting the mission instructions for the next day.
The force of the explosion tossed the IB's around helter skelter throughout the bomb dump, some of them ignited and thus started other fires we surmised.
When the five drivers decided to roll their bombs out, the driver of the sixth truck which carried fuses and fins, moved off to a seperate area where those items were stored. He dismounted his vehicle and sat on the running board so the truck was between him and the bomb unloading area. He recalled hearing the trucks rev up their engines, brakes screeching, and bombs falling out -- then the explosion.
He dove into a deep drainage ditch for shelter and then followed the ditch out and away from the dump. He was the only survivor of the delivery party.
The investigation disclosed one exceptionally interesting angle about the explosion. According to the Ordnance people, the bombs beng delivered were filled with an explosive designated RDX. In this mode the ordinarily used explosive was mixed with beeswax. This compound gave each bomb about 50% more explosive power, i.e. a 500 lb. bomb became the equivalent of a 750 lb. bomb.
It was also known by Ordnance that the RDX compound was much less stable than normal HE, that is more likely to explode due to rough handling or inadvertant dropping. The RDX bombs therefore were required to be identified by a yellow strip around the girth where the lugs were welded to the case. This was intended to be a warning to bomb handlers. It was later ascertained by Ordnance that the bombs delivered to Metfield on 15 July 1944 were not marked with a yellow band."
From a report by Maj. Gen. Frederick H. Miller USAF (Ret'd)
"Damage assessment showed that 23 - 24 aircraft (B-24's) would be unfit to ever fly again. On most, the aft fuselage section between the trailing edge of the wing and the rudders was twisted as much as 15 to 20 degrees. Also the wings were warped.
Pressure sensitive instruments such as altimeters and manifold pressure gauges were almost all ruined in the 54 or more aircraft on the base. Much of this damage was not detected until missions to altitude were resume
The wheels which guided hangar doors had come off their tracks and the doors knocked about by the force of the explosion.
It was reported that windows were blown out in a village several miles away. Five bomb delivery truck drivers and their trucks were missing. Only fragments of the vehicles or men were found.
A crater estimated at 25 feet deep by 75 feet diameter was holed in the bomb dump where dollies, bombs, cranes and other equipment was jumbled together like jack straws. An estimated 700 tons of bombs were destroyed or made unusable for operations."
The 2218th Quartermaster Truck Company (Aviation) unit diary refers to six drivers killed in the explosion at Metfield; they would have been based at the Earsham ordnance depot at the time.
The ABMC roll for that unit gives three of the names, all were killed on the 15th July 1944 and have no known grave:
Private Donald P. Adkins, U.S. Army Air Forces
Service # 35350614
2218th Quartermaster Truck Company, Aviation
Entered the Service from Indiana
Private First Class Donald L. Hurley, U.S. Army Air Forces
Service # 35619775
2218th Quartermaster Truck Company, Aviation
Entered the Service from Ohio
Private Steve W. Suchey, U.S. Army Air Forces
Service # 34197931
2218th Quartermaster Truck Company, Aviation
Entered the Service from Alabama
All three are recorded on the Wall of Missing at Madingley Cemetery in Cambridgeshire.
The Wall of Missing at Madingley, Cambridgeshire
The airfield was not used by the Air Ministry after the Second World War ended and for years it sat abandoned and empty. In 1964 and 1965, the airfield and support buildings were sold to private individuals. Metfield was returned to agricultural use; however, the site of the bomb dump explosion could be seen for many years as a water-filled lake. When the lake was cleaned out, all types of discarded equipment was found, including several unexploded bombs. Indeed, ordnance that was tossed into the air during the bomb dump explosion has been found over the years in the fields surrounding Metfield. Pieces of metal from the exploded bombs has been found scattered over the area to the present day.
In the late 1960s, the main runways, taxiways and parking aprons were mostly torn up or turned into single lane agricultural roads. Very little evidence of the airfield can be seen today only a few brick buildings, deteriorating Quonset (Nissen) huts, and some concrete roadways that were aircraft taxiways.
My placemark is just north of the bomb dump crater in the Historical Imagery dated January 1945. the imagery clearly shows the crater left by the blast and several other collateral craters, presumably left by bombs which had already been offloaded by the crew around the dump site:
Most of the information for this post came from the excellent forum Aces, Contrails and Unsung Heroes
I should also note that I believe that datestamp (1st Jan 1945) on this imagery to be incorrect. In January 1945, we were still hard at war with Germany; in fact this very airfield was shot up by a German raider in March 1945. However the imagery shows the airfield to be completely devoid of aircraft and the runways closed by large white Xs painted on the runway thresholds. As stated above, the station did not close until VE-Day in May 1945.
