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1944 B-24 crash in Freckleton killed 61, including 38 children

A US Army Air Forces B-24 Liberator crashed into a school in Freckleton, England, on August 23, 1944, killing 61 people, according to a report from The Economic Times.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 22, 2026, 7:39 a.m. ET
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On August 23, 1944, at approximately , a bomber of the crashed into a school in , , killing people, according to a report from The Economic Times. The crash killed 38 schoolchildren aged between four and six, and of the 41 children in the school's infants' wing, only survived. The bomber was named Classy Chassis II, and the village had the nickname 'Little America.' The aircraft carried crew members, all of whom were killed, according to the report. The cause of the crash has not been determined; the investigation remains open, as reported by The Economic Times. Geographic reference data places in Lancashire, , at an elevation of 30 feet, about 1.4 miles east-northeast of Warton Aerodrome.

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Terrain elevation
30 ft
Nearest aerodrome
1.4 miles ENE of Warton Aerodrome (EGNO/WRT)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 122 Aug 2026, 11:39current

    First published.

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