The wreckage from the attack
The M62 coach bombing was a Provisional IRA attack that occurred on 4 February 1974 when a bus carrying off-duty British Army personnel was bombed on the M62 motorway in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. 25 pounds of high explosive hidden in a luggage locker exploded under the bus, destroying the front part of the vehicle. 9 soldiers and 3 civilians, family members of the soldiers, were killed in the attack, while 38 people were wounded. IRA Army Council member David O'Connell claimed that IRA intelligence chose the target because of the military personnel on board, not because of the civilians that happened to be on board.