Quincy, Massachusetts – June 11, 1943

     On the afternoon of  June 11, 1943, a flight of three navy planes were passing over the city of Quincy when, according to witnesses, an eight-inch long, by three-inch-in-diameter, incendiary bomb fell from one of the aircraft.  The device landed in the city’s Wollaston neighborhood at the intersection of Watkins and Randall Street.  (The release of the bomb was accidental.)

     The bomb landed near five children who were walking home from school however none of them were injured.  The first to respond to the scene was Arthur Luke of Watkins Street, an air raid warden for the city, and the father of one of the children.  He stood by the device until officials from the Squantum Naval Air station arrived to remove it.    

     Source:

     The Boston Globe, “Incendiary Bomb From Navy Plane Imperils 5 Boys”, June 11, 1943, pg. 8.  (Article submitted by Eric Wiberg, author and historian.)