B-24 Hot Stuff Crash Memorial
A roadside memorial to the B-24D Liberator Hot Stuff and the 14 people killed in its 3 May 1943 crash near Fagradalsfjall, including Lt Gen Frank M. Andrews.
About
About B-24 Hot Stuff Crash Memorial
A roadside memorial to the B-24D Liberator Hot Stuff and the 14 people killed in its 3 May 1943 crash near Fagradalsfjall, including Lt Gen Frank M. Andrews.
Learn the remarkable and tragic story of Hot Stuff, its pioneering 25-mission record and the 1943 crash that killed Lt Gen Frank M. Andrews and 13 others.
Photos
Photo Gallery
Background
History & Background
Hot Stuff, B-24D serial 41-23728, served with the 330th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force. It completed its 25th combat mission in February 1943. The aircraft crashed at Fagradalsfjall on 3 May 1943 with Lt Gen Frank M. Andrews aboard. Fourteen of 15 occupants died. The memorial near the crash area was dedicated on 3 May 2018.
The B-24 Hot Stuff Crash Memorial marks one of the most significant American aviation accidents in Iceland during the Second World War. Hot Stuff was a Consolidated B-24D Liberator of the 93rd Bombardment Group. In February 1943 it became the first heavy bomber of the U.S. Eighth Air Force to complete 25 combat missions, months before the better-known Memphis Belle reached the same milestone. On 3 May 1943 the aircraft was travelling west with Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews and members of his staff aboard. Andrews was then commander of U.S. forces in the European Theater of Operations. Bad weather, low cloud and snow squalls complicated the flight in Iceland. The aircraft crashed into Fagradalsfjall. Fourteen of the fifteen people aboard were killed; tail gunner Sergeant George A. Eisel survived. The loss had consequences far beyond the aircraft itself. Andrews was one of the most senior American military leaders of the war, and Joint Base Andrews in Maryland was later named in his honour. A memorial near the crash area was dedicated on 3 May 2018, exactly 75 years after the accident. It honours the people who died as well as the achievement of the Hot Stuff crew. The memorial is accessible from the Route 43 area and should be visited with respect. The actual mountain crash terrain is separate, rough and potentially hazardous; the roadside monument is the appropriate public place for most visitors to learn the story.
Folklore
Story & Folklore
By early 1943, Hot Stuff had survived the kind of combat schedule that destroyed many heavy bombers. It became the first Eighth Air Force heavy bomber to complete 25 combat missions and was being prepared for a return to the United States when the final flight ended in Iceland. Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews and members of his staff joined the aircraft for the westbound journey. On 3 May, poor Icelandic weather obscured the mountainous terrain. Hot Stuff struck Fagradalsfjall, killing 14 of the 15 people aboard. Tail gunner George A. Eisel survived. Seventy-five years later, the memorial was dedicated near the site. It connects a quiet Reykjanes roadside with a story of wartime aviation, one of the senior American commanders of the era and a bomber crew whose 25-mission achievement had briefly made Hot Stuff a symbol of survival.
💡 Did You Know?
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force identifies Hot Stuff as the first Eighth Air Force heavy bomber to complete 25 combat missions.
Local Legend
Hot Stuff: Triumph and Tragedy
Hot Stuff had achieved a rare wartime milestone before its last flight: it was the first heavy bomber in the Eighth Air Force to complete 25 combat missions. Its planned return west should have marked that achievement. Instead, the journey ended against Fagradalsfjall in Icelandic bad weather on 3 May 1943. The memorial preserves both sides of the story — the crew's combat achievement and the loss of 14 lives, including Lt Gen Frank M. Andrews.
Location
Location
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