Dungiven landmine and gun attack

On 24 June 1972, in the small village of Crabarkey near Dungiven town, the Provisional IRA detonated an improvised land mine, killing three British Army soldiers in a Land Rover.[1]

Dungiven landmine and gun attack
Part of the Troubles, Provisional IRA campaign and Operation Banner
Date24 June 1972
Location
Crabarkey near Dungiven,
County Londonderry,
Northern Ireland
54°55′40.8″N 6°55′30″W
Result IRA victory
Belligerents
Provisional IRA

 United Kingdom

British Army
Commanders and leaders
unknown Sergeant Stuart Reid  †
Strength
2 active service units 1 army convoy
Casualties and losses
None 3 killed
7 wounded
1 vehicle destroyed
1 vehicle damaged
Location within Northern Ireland

The attack

The attack occurred in the early morning of 24 June 1972, in the village of Crabarkey along the main A6 Belfast to Derry road just outside Dungiven.[2] An army Land Rover was escorting a lorry that was transporting a crippled helicopter, damaged in a crash landing, toward RAF Aldergrove in County Antrim. The bomb was packed into two milk churns that weighed a total of about 120 pounds (54 kg). IRA volunteers hiding about 200 yards away detonated the land mine by command wire as the convoy passed, catching seven soldiers in the blast, killing three and injuring four of them. Immediately after the blast, an IRA unit opened fire on the lorry that had been following the Land Rover and three more soldiers including a helicopter pilot were injured.[3] The three soldiers killed in the blast were Lance-Corporal David Moon (24) of No. 664 Squadron AAC, Private Christopher Stevenson (24) of the Parachute Regiment and Sergeant Stuart Reid (28) of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.[4]

Aftermath

Malachy Bernard O'Kane, a farmer, was convicted of the attack and was ordered to serve at least 25 years of a life term.[5][3] A year after he was sentenced, his mother and his two brothers attempted to help him escape from Magilligan Prison. One brother was to disguise himself as Malachy and switch places. All three were caught and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, the mother's sentence being suspended. O'Kane was given a five year sentence, to run concurrently with his life term.[6][3] O'Kane was later released from prison and unsuccessfully ran as a Sinn Féin Candidate for Parliament in the 1997 general election.[3]

References
  1. Sutton, Malcolm. "CAIN: Sutton index of death for 24 June 1972". CAIN Archive - Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  2. "3 British Soldiers And a Youth Slain In Ulster Violence - NY Times". The New York Times. 24 June 1972. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  3. McKittrick, David (1999). Lost lives: the stories of the men, women, and children who died as a result of the Northern Ireland troubles. Edinburgh: Mainstream. pp. 204–205. ISBN 978-1-84018-227-9. OCLC 41503120.
  4. Parkinson, Alan F. (19 April 2010). 1972 And The Ulster Troubles 'A Very Bad Year' (Hardcover – Illustrated ed.). English: Four Courts Press Ltd. p. 164. ISBN 978-1846822377.
  5. "Life Sentence for Malachy O'Kane". Press and Sun-Bulletin. 24 May 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  6. "'Family Loyalty Misguided': Jail Term Suspended". Belfast Telegraph. 22 June 1976. p. 6.
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