On 23 August 1944, a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Consolidated B-24 Liberator crashed during a test flight into the centre of the village of Freckleton, Lancashire, England, killing all three crewmen aboard the aircraft and 58 individuals on the ground, including 38 children aged four to six.

[3] The report was unable to discount structural failure of the aircraft in such extreme weather conditions as a factor for the accident, and recommended that American pilots be warned how to respond to British thunderstorms.

[5] The year after the outbreak of World War II, the British Air Ministry announced plans to construct an aircraft factory and airfield close to the Lancashire village of Warton.

[6] Following America's decision to enter World War II in December 1941, many assembled aircraft were initially transported into the UK via Atlantic shipping routes, at great risk, with significant delay, and with numerous losses.

As such, the need for the Allies to identify strategic geographical locations to build and maintain aircraft within Britain to fight the Axis powers across Europe became increasingly apparent and urgent.

[19] On one occasion at Christmas 1943, Freckleton residents were invited to the base for a holiday party, where servicemen gave local children toys and American candy.

[20] Several servicemen were known to spend off-duty hours socialising in and around the village, drinking in local pubs such as The Ship Inn and the Coach and Horses[21] and visiting the amusements in nearby Blackpool.

Named after a contemporary American comic book character,[n 3] this eatery was owned and operated by locals Alan and Rachel Whittle and had been established to primarily cater to servicemen.

[25] On 6 August 1944, another 25-ton Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber arrived at BAD-2 for repairs, refurbishment, inspection and subsequent test flights prior to intended return to active service.

This particular aircraft was named the Classy Chassis II and featured nose art depicting a scantily clad brunette sat upon a cloud, glancing backwards and suggestively smiling while unfastening her bra.

"[n 5] To dispel the fear of the pupils in the infants' classroom, teachers Jennie Hall[37] and Louisa Hulme encouraged the children to sing nursery rhymes with them.

[38] Teachers within classrooms containing slightly older children attempted to distract their pupils with activities such as reading poetry and reviewing times tables.

The main wheel, tail turret and other debris of the disintegrating aircraft then ploughed into and through the Sad Sack Snack Bar—instantly killing 14 of the 20 staff and customers inside the premises—before sliding across Lytham Road, having burst into flames.

[44] The clock upon the wall of the infants' classroom of Holy Trinity School stopped at 10.47 a.m.[23] When Lt. Manassero had successfully cleared the thunderstorm, he attempted to initiate radio contact with Lt. Bloemendal, to no avail.

Several servicemen quickly scaled the six-foot wall of the school playground to hoist panicking children fleeing from the largely undamaged junior classrooms to safety.

[48] Initially, the bodies of the children killed outright in the disaster were taken to the storage room of the nearby Coach and Horses pub, which was used as a temporary morgue prior to their identification by next of kin.

Nichol observed a "blinding orange flash" and a fireball immediately spread across the ceiling as teacher Louisa Hulme, standing close to the classroom door, became "engulfed in flames".

[54] Only two of the servicemen recovered from the ruins of the Sad Sack Snack Bar, RAF airmen William Bone and Ray Brooke, would survive their injuries.

[56][n 8] Many of the civilians killed in the Freckleton air disaster were buried in a communal grave within the Holy Trinity Churchyard in two separate services held on the afternoon of 26 August.

Major Himes was the chief test pilot stationed at RAF Warton at the time of the accident and had been acquainted with Lt. Bloemendal, having flown several missions with him.

[43] Noting that at least two eyewitnesses maintained that the Classy Chassis II had been struck by a bolt of lightning at the juncture of the right wing and fuselage moments before the crash,[18] and that many American pilots deployed to the UK commonly believed that British storms were little more than showers, the report recommended that all American pilots gaining flying experience in England should be "emphatically warned" of the dangers of British thunderstorms, and the perils of flying into or beneath them.

These individuals have stated that although the report does contain testimony indicating that both pilots had initially been instructed to land upon runway 08 despite the fact the aeronautic ceiling and visibility were rapidly decreasing around the airfield and that both pilots had not been advised by the control tower to instead fly north towards Scotland to escape the storm until after Lt. Bloemendal had already crashed, Major Himes had concluded the most likely reason for the accident was Lt. Bloemendal's "error in the judgement of the violence of the storm".

[67] The official report does not hold any inference to the failure of Lt. Col. Britton or the Warton control tower personnel to actually warn Lieutenants Bloemendal and Manassero against descending below the incoming storm until both planes had done so.

Twenty-nine American servicemen stationed at BAD-2 would lose their lives on active service at or close to the base between 1944 and 1945, over a third of whom would die in the Freckleton air disaster.

"[37] The number of American servicemen stationed at BAD-2 gradually decreased in the months following the Freckleton air disaster, as several personnel were redeployed to serve in active combat.

[75] Some servicemen briefly remained stationed at the base to dispose of supplies and property while others undertook eight-week training courses in marketable skills prior to their return to the United States.

[81] Residents past and present have never held ill-feelings towards the personnel stationed at BAD-2 for the disaster; all have appreciated the fact the incident was a tragic wartime accident which impacted numerous families on both sides of the Atlantic.

This particular anniversary saw several hundred former servicemen attend the ceremony, and concluded with local schoolchildren singing Dame Vera Lynn's wartime song "We'll Meet Again".

These events have been attended by British military personnel, Freckleton locals and two of the three surviving children from the infants' wing of Holy Trinity School (George Carey and Ruby Whittle).

An individual serving as a secretary at RAF Warton at the time of the aviation accident, Sergeant Ralph Scott, delivered a speech at the dedication ceremony for this memorial stone.