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  Salford Local History Society: January talk
On Thursday January 25th, the Salford Local History Society will present, The Salford Lancasters Last Flight and given by John Cook. The Lancaster bomber PB304, from 106 squadron RAF, crashed in Salford, on July 30th, 1944. The crash killed all seven crew members and two civilians on the ground, yet had it not been for the ingenuity of the pilot, the accident could have killed hundreds more. The Lancaster bomber had flown from its base in Lincolnshire to drop its cargo of high- explosive bombs on German positions in Normandy. It was sent back due to bad weather, however the plane's engines were hit by enemy fire causing glycol, a vital engine coolant, to leak out of the plane. It made its way back to England flying a route which took it over Blackpool and then Salford. The plane was faltering, but the pilot knew that the bomber was still heavily-laden with 9,000 pounds of bombs on board. Had such a cargo hit Salford houses, the death toll would have been unimaginable. The PB304 bomber eventually crashed while the pilot was attempting to make an emergency landing on Littleton Road playing fields. Its wings hit a row of terraced houses on Regatta Street, causing the plane to hit the banks of the River Irwell and settle there near Langley Road. There was apparently a brief pause, before a tremendous boom when the payload of bombs caught fire. The explosion was so loud that it was reportedly heard eight miles away. The talks are held at Salford Art Gallery and Museum, The Crescent, Salford and admission is £2. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
