Monument

Photo added by Bobb Edwards

Le Mans 1955 Disaster Memorial Famous memorial

Birth: unknown
Death: unknown
Monument: Circuit de la Sarthe

Le Mans, Departement de la Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France Add to Map
Plot: North wall of the Pit Straight
Memorial ID: 86250164 View Source

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Memorial
Photos 5
Flowers 15

Memorials
Region
Europe
France
Pays de la Loire
Departement de la Sarthe
Le Mans
Circuit de la Sarthe

Maintained by: Find a Grave

Originally Created by: Bobb Edwards
Added: Mar 4, 2012
Find a Grave Memorial ID:
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Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86250164/le_mans_1955_disaster_memorial: accessed ), memorial page for Le Mans 1955 Disaster Memorial (unknown–unknown), Find a Grave Memorial ID 86250164, citing Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, Departement de la Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France; Maintained by Find a Grave.

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Memorial plaque at the pit straight of the Le Mans track. It was dedicated when the grandstand and pit areas were rebuilt in 1956.

Detail of 2009 photograph by Stevingtonian, issued on Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Added by: Bobb Edwards on 06 Jan 2013

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A split-second before the disaster. Pierre Levegh's Mercedes becomes airborne (right) after hitting the rear of Lance Macklin's Austin-Healey (center) at 150 mph; the dirt retaining wall where he landed is at bottom right. At left is Mike Hawthorn in his Jaguar, breaking for a pit stop. Hawthorn's sudden action had forced Macklin to swerve to avoid hitting him - and into Levegh's path. Slightly visible behind Levegh's left is his Mercedes teammate Juan Manuel Fangio, who narrowly avoided the smash-up.

Added by: Bobb Edwards on 06 Jan 2013

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Death and chaos reigned over spectators (center right) in the moments after the crash of Pierre Levegh's Mercedes 300 SLR. At bottom in another 300 SLR is Levegh's teammate Karl Kling. Mercedes withdrew its remaining team from Le Mans and did not participate in professional motorsport for three decades.

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Spectators flee from the burning wreckage of Levegh's Mercedes. Flying debris from the crash wreaked carnage over a 100-yard area. One victim was swept up by the somersaulting vehicle and thrown to her death on the track; 14 were decapitated and dozens maimed. A British driver returning from the scene told his teammates, "My God, it looks like a butcher shop out there".

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The Mercedes 300 SLR burned for two hours after the crash. Its body was built of magnesium and attempts to douse it with water only intensified the flames.

Added by: Bobb Edwards on 06 Jan 2013

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