Famed American bomber plane crash landed in Kilkenny

Exciting stories from Irish history are hidden all across the country - and one of those fascinating tales is set to be brought back to life in a special Heritage Week talk in north Kilkenny tomorrow (Saturday) evening.

Did you know that in 1944 a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber crash landed in a field in Johnstown, narrowly missing a local farmhouse and just half a mile from the village? Not only is it a great story, but many local families still have souvenirs from that dramatic January, Sunday morning! From parachutes to machines guns, sheds and homes in North Kilkenny, for many years, held on to the memory of the daring tale! 

Local woman Susan Garrett first heard the story when she was at a family gathering, when she was five years old, and was presented with a round from one of the B-17's machine guns! It sparked a life-long curiosity about the exciting event, and now she is sharing the full story with us for Heritage Week.

It's a fascinating story and one Susan brings to vivid life, thanks to a lifetime of research, including making contact with the son of one of the American airmen who shared his father's photographs, some taken from inside the B-17 in flight, and his war diaries.

But neither that airman, nor any of his crewmates, were found in the wreckage in Johnstown!

The plane had taken off from Goose Bay airfield in Newfoundland, earlier on the day it crashed, en route to a goods drop at Nutts Corner in Belfast before flying on to RAF Prestwick in the UK to be made battle ready. But it never made it to those destinations.

Ireland was a neutral country during 'The Emergency' so how did a famed American bomber end up in the fields of North Kilkenny?

And what happened to her crew who were not found in the wreckage? (Small spoiler - they all survived the war and lived full lives!)