Some bizarre things have happened throughout Oklahoma’s history. One of which took place on July 5, 1943, when pilots at Dalhart Army Air Base in Texas were preparing four B-17 bombers for a practice run. The nighttime training mission was to begin shortly after dark. The navigator was supposed to lead the flight group from Dalhart base to drop bombs in a range near Conlen, Texas. The target was a small square area, lit by four lights at each corner. It was supposed to be a simple mission, but somehow, something went terribly wrong. Boise City, Oklahoma, was mistakenly bombed instead.
The six bombs dropped were by pilots in the B-17 Flying Fortress Bombers. They mistakenly took lights around the town’s square to be their target in Texas.
Rob Shenk/Flickr
Boise City is the only town in the United States that was bombed from airplanes during World War II. The explosions weren’t extremely loud, but they were loud enough to wake most, if not all, of the 1,200 people in Boise City.
Jimmy Emerson, DVM/Flickr
The wayward navigator of the B-17 was fired and the rest of the crew was given a chance between court-martial or the battlefront. They chose the front lines.
Screenshot taken from Youtube user Lonestar101
This man is standing where one of the bombs hit in the town of Boise City the morning after the incident.
Screenshot taken from Youtube user Lonestar101
Visit the Boise City Bomb Memorial to view a replica of one of the six bombs mistakenly dropped on the city during testing. The Boise City Bomb Memorial is located just in front of the Red Chamber Caboose.
Screenshot taken from Youtube user LoneStar101
Watch the full story here:
Rob Shenk/Flickr
Jimmy Emerson, DVM/Flickr
Screenshot taken from Youtube user Lonestar101
Screenshot taken from Youtube user LoneStar101
This accidental bombing made Boise City famous. What was the total damage done by the bombs? Less than $25.
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