Very few people know that the skies of Odisha had seen the crash of two aircrafts which had collided against each other and resulted in the death of 14 airmen.
On July 26, 1945, two British Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator four-engine bombers, EW225 and EW247, collided at low altitude. The aircrafts were based at the secret Amarda Road airfield and were part of a six-plane contingent from the Air Fighting Training Unit engaged in a formation flying exercise. Fourteen airmen – the crews of the two aircraft – died in the crash.
The Rasgovindpur Airstrip, (as it is known today) has a short but secret and illustrious history which has never been made public. It had the longest runway in Asia, more than 2.5 km long. The total runways, taxiways, aprons etc were more than 60 km. The Amarda Road airstrip, as it was called in war terminology, spreads across an area of nearly 800 acre. Built in the 1940’s at a cost of Rs 3 crore it was eventually abandoned after the war. It was named as the Amarda Road Airfield due to the nearby Amarda Road railway station.
The crash was researched by war historian Anil Dhir in 2011 and since then he holds a service every year at the airstrip. On Tuesday ( July 26), a memorial service for the 14 dead airmen was held at the abandoned Armada Road Air Strip at Rasgovindpur. Wreaths were laid for each of the dead airmen. The ceremony was attended by the AOC, Indian Air Force, Kalaikunda. MLA, Morada, Raj Kishire Das too was present.
This year, the foundation stone for a Peace Museum was laid near the airfield. Many artifacts, photographs and models of the World War II era were displayed at the museum which will be ready in six months.