1940 — June 17, two USAAF B-18s collide and crash, Bellerose Manor, Queens, NY — 12
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 10-15-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–12 NFPA. “Airplane Crash Fire Fighting.” Quarterly of the [NFPA], V.37, N.3, Jan 1944, 192.
–12 National Fire Protection Assoc. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003).
–12 National Fire Protection Assoc. Quarterly of the [NFPA], Vol. 34, No. 1, July, 1940.
–12 Portraits of War. “WWII Bellerose, Long Island B-18 Bomber Crash…” 3-17-2012.
Narrative Information
National Fire Protection Assoc. Quarterly of the [NFPA], Vol. 34, No. 1, July, 1940:
Photo caption: “a mid-air collision and subsequent crash of two Army bombing planes in Queens Borough, New York City, on June 17… Eleven Army flyers and a housewife met death. The housewife was trapped in her home as large amounts of burning gasolene from the bombers’ fuel tanks ignited seven houses along the two streets in which the planes crashed…”
Portraits of War: “….two B-18 bombers…collided mid-air over Bellerose, Long Island on June 17th, 1940. Eleven men died in the crash, and one Bellerose citizen died of burns following the event….” (Portraits of War (website). “WWII Bellerose, Long Island B-18 Bomber Crash in Neighborhood Backyard.” 3-17-2012.)
Newspapers
June 17: “New York, June 17 — (UP) — Eleven army fliers were killed today when two United States army bombers, on maneuvers out of Mitchell field, crashed in mid-air and piled up in flames on the streets of Bellerose Manor, a populous section of suburban Queens. The planes, twin-motor B-18-A Douglas bombers, took off from Mitchel field for maneuvers with student fliers aboard early this morning. One maneuver called for one bomber to pass under another. The under plane was not low enough, it was announced officially, and the wings of the two ships locked and almost immediately, both ships plummeted to earth. The crash occurred shortly after 9 a. m. EDT….
“One of the ships crashed within a block of a public school and the second smashed into a one-story residence which instantly went up in flames which spread to an adjoining house. At least one resident, a woman, was severely injured. Residents of the heavily populated suburban area told of hearing a great crash in mid-air about 9 a. m. EDT and of seeing the ships, plummeting to earth.
“One flier attempted to bale out; but his parachute burst into flames as he leaped from the ship, an eyewitness said. The ships were flying in formation when the crash occurred, it was learned at the Mitchel Field army base.
“Mrs. Laura Chatterton, one of the first at the scene, described the flaming houses as an ‘inferno.’ She said one bomber sliced through the frame house which immediately set up waves of flames, presumably from the ship’s flaming gasoline. One burning wing of the ship that crashed into the house broke off and careened crazily in an arc of flames across the front lawn. One flier’s body could be seen on the back stoop of the house, partly covered by his charred parachute. Two bodies were beside the strewn wreckage of the plane. Another body was 50 feet away on the street.
“A third house also was damaged by the crash. Occupants of that house were said to have escaped.
“The second ship crashed into a mall, near a public school. The pilot’s body remained in the wreckage. That plane had burned in a few minutes, the pilot trapped within. The crumpled skeleton of the ship, still smoldering in the street, was all that remained of the big bomber. One of the occupants of that plane had bailed out but his parachute failed to open. He crashed through the roof of a frame dwelling into the kitchen. The other unsuccessful parachutist landed in a huge sack of flames. His parachute had caught afire from swirling embers…” (Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY. “11 Army Fliers Die as Bombers Crash in Flames.” 6-17-1940, p. 1.)
Sources
Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY. “11 Army Fliers Die as Bombers Crash in Flames.” 6-17-1940, p. 1. http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=57947264&sterm=plane+army+collide
National Fire Protection Association.. “Airplane Crash Fire Fighting.” Quarterly of the National Fire Fighting Association, Vol. 37, No.3, January 1944, p. 192.
National Fire Protection Association. Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 34, No. 1, July, 1940.
National Fire Protection Association. Spreadsheet on Large Loss of Life Fires (as of Feb 2003). (Email attachment to B. W. Blanchard from Jacob Ratliff, NFPA Archivist/Taxonomy Librarian, 7-8-2013.)
Portraits of War (website). “WWII Bellerose, Long Island B-18 Bomber Crash in Neighborhood Backyard.” 3-17-2012. Accessed at: http://portraitsofwar.wordpress.com/2012/03/17/wwii-bellerose-long-island-b-18-bomber-crash-in-neighborhood-backyard/