Vesuvius produced its most powerful eruption of the 20th century, sending lava flows through the towns of San Sebastiano al Vesuvio and Massa di Somma and ash clouds that grounded and damaged dozens of US Army Air Forces bombers stationed nearby. Coming amid the Italian campaign of World War II, the eruption killed at least 26 people and displaced thousands already suffering the hardships of war.
American airmen based at the Pompeii Airfield, just recaptured from German forces months earlier, watched in astonishment as the volcano that had famously buried Pompeii in 79 AD roared back to life. Lava fountains lit the night sky red, visible for miles, while ash and volcanic bombs rained down on nearby towns.
The eruption destroyed the villages of San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, Massa di Somma, and parts of San Giorgio a Cremano, burying homes and vineyards under lava and ash. Ash fall coated the wings and engines of B-25 Mitchell bombers at the nearby airbase, and the weight and corrosive effect ultimately destroyed 88 aircraft of the 340th Bombardment Group, a rare instance of a natural disaster inflicting greater losses than enemy action.
Filmmaker and war correspondent footage captured the surreal juxtaposition: soldiers who had just fought their way up the Italian peninsula now fleeing molten rock instead of German shells. It remains the volcano's last eruption to date, and scientists still study the event for clues to when Vesuvius might next awaken.