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Dungannon land mine attack

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Coordinates: 54°30′N 6°46′W / 54.50°N 6.77°W / 54.50; -6.77
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Dungannon land mine attack
Part of the Troubles and Operation Banner
Date16 December 1979
Location
Near Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
54°30′N 6°46′W / 54.50°N 6.77°W / 54.50; -6.77
Result Provisional IRA victory
Belligerents
Provisional IRA  British Army
Units involved
East Tyrone Brigade 16th Regiment Royal Artillery
Strength
Unknown 1 mobile patrol
Casualties and losses
None 4 killed, 1 vehicle destroyed
Dungannon land mine attack is located in Northern Ireland
Dungannon land mine attack
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Location within Northern Ireland

In the Dungannon land mine attack of 16 December 1979, the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ambushed two British Army Land Rovers with an improvised land mine outside Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Four British soldiers were killed in the attack.[1]

Background

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Since the beginning of its campaign in 1970, the Provisional IRA had carried out many improvised landmine and roadside bomb attacks on British forces in the region. In September 1972, three British soldiers were killed when their armoured vehicle was blown up by an IRA land mine at Sanaghanroe, near Dungannon.[2] In March 1974, two IRA members were killed on the Aughnacloy Road near Dungannon when the landmine they were planting exploded prematurely.[3]

On 27 August 1979, the IRA killed 18 British soldiers with roadside bombs in the Warrenpoint ambush in south County Down; the deadliest attack on British troops during the conflict.[4]

Attack

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On 16 December 1979, two armoured British Army Land Rovers were driving along Ballygawley Road, about two miles outside Dungannon.[5] A unit of the IRA had planted a 600–1,000-pound (270–450 kg)[6] improvised landmine in a culvert under the road at Glenadush.[5] When the second vehicle reached the culvert,[5] the landmine was detonated by remote control.[6][7] It blew the vehicle into the air and killed four soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Artillery outright: William Beck (23),[8] Keith Richards (22), Simon Evans (19),[9] and Allan Ayrton (23).[10][5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Sutton Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland: 16 December 1979". Conflict Archive on the Internet.
  2. ^ "Sutton Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland: 10 September 1972". Conflict Archive on the Internet.
  3. ^ "Sutton Index of Deaths from the Conflict in Ireland: 15 March 1974". Conflict Archive on the Internet.
  4. ^ Moloney, Ed (2007). A Secret History of the IRA (2nd ed.). Penguin Books. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-14-102876-7.
  5. ^ a b c d McKittrick, David (2001). Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Random House. pp. 809–810. ISBN 9781840185041.
  6. ^ a b "Northern Ireland (terrorist activities) (Hansard, 17 December 1979)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  7. ^ Rev. Ian Paisley (17 December 1979). "NORTHERN IRELAND (TERRORIST ACTIVITIES)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 976. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 55.
  8. ^ "Gunner WILLIAM JOHN BECK" (PDF). Northern Ireland Veterans Association. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  9. ^ "Gunner SIMON PETER EVANS" (PDF). Northern Ireland Veterans Association. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  10. ^ "Gunner ALAN DAVID AYRTON" (PDF). Northern Ireland Veterans Association. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
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