1942 accident at Curtiss-Wright factory

[Richard W.]

I was surfing for any news about the find in Egypt and stumbled onto something that I hadn't heard about before.

In 1942, a P-40 being tested at the Buffalo plant caught fire while in flight and the test pilot was forced to abandon it. He landed 2 miles from the factory, but the unmanned plane continued on and crashed through the factory roof.

Just a horrific scene. Burning fuel sprayed onto the workers crowded on the assembly line and the wreckage plowed across the floor. 14 people were killed outright or died later from their injuries and 34 others were injured.

Nicely done website about the accident here:

http://www.buffalohistorygazette.com/2010/09/it-happened-today-september-11-1942.html

[deltascrew]

I was surfing for any news about the find in Egypt and stumbled onto something that I hadn't heard about before.

In 1942, a P-40 being tested at the Buffalo plant caught fire while in flight and the test pilot was forced to abandon it. He landed 2 miles from the factory, but the unmanned plane continued on and crashed through the factory roof.

Just a horrific scene. Burning fuel sprayed onto the workers crowded on the assembly line and the wreckage plowed across the floor. 14 people were killed outright or died later from their injuries and 34 others were injured.

Nicely done website about the accident here:

http://www.buffalohistorygazette.com/2010/09/it-happened-today-september-11-1942.html

Thats creepy, it happened on September 11

[ALOHADAVE]

And the original plaque is missing that commemorates this event.
That plane just had to return to its place of birth. Weird story for sure.

[Steve Nelson]

Just goes to show..those on the Home Front fought the war as well, and suffered their share of casualties. I wonder if anyone has calculated the number of deaths and injuries in industrial accidents during the war years.

I visited the National WWII Memorial a few years ago. Among the bronze reliefs showing various theaters and battles are a couple depicting those supporting the war effort in the nation's factories and farms.

SN

[Richard W.]

Those panels are marvelous. Thank you for posting them.

I wonder if the crash was the worst Home Front facory accident of the war.

[ZRX61]

I wonder if the crash was the worst Home Front factory accident of the war.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpO4ZYzjydE

In 1944, the War Production Board reported that industrial accidents killed 37,600 workers and injured 210,000 permanently and 4.5 million temporarily between Dec. 7, 1941 and Jan. 1, 1944. Comparable figures for soldiers were 30,100 killed and 75,000 wounded.

[Mark Allen M]

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Last edited by Mark Allen M on Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

[K5DH]

Slightly OT but not too far. . .

I recently learned that my Dad's mother, Lillian Niedringhaus, worked for Curtiss-Wright in St. Louis during WW2. I have no information on what she did there... yet! I believe C-W built C-46s in that factory.

[Django]

Not sure the worst, but definitely comparable would be when the B-25 crashed into the Empire State Building.

[TROJANII]

He did say "Factory" so the munition explosion and B-25 into the Empire State Building would not qualify.
I forget the name, but the story of the munitions explosion was made into a movie.

[Django]

Ah, I missed the factory qualifier. Perhaps the XB-29 Eddie Allen crash into the Frye Meat Packing plant then?

[TROJANII]

Depends on what kind of meat (spam?)?

[Redtracer]

I know it does not qualify as a "factory" accident but the biggest homefront accident has to be the Port Chicago, California munitions explosion, which happened not far from us here in Stockton. 320 killed and 390 wounded when munitions exploded while being loaded on two ships.

[CWBuff]

.

[TonyM]

On 22 Sept 1943, a North American B-25 crashed through the roof of the Matin B-26 plant at Omaha, Nebraska, killing a bout dozen people. The official USAAF accident report says only that several factory workers were killed but does not name them (the reports usually name all fatalitites). A few B-26 airplanes were destroyed on the assembly line.