About

    310 Thank you for visiting New England Aviation History.  We hope to continually add new information on a daily or weekly basis, so please check back to see what’s new. 

     This website is dedicated to recording forgotten aeronautical events that occurred in New England as a way to preserve history, serve as an educational tool, and assist researchers.  Our goal is to post information not readily found elsewhere. 

     Portions of this site deal with aviation accidents, both civilian and military, of which there have been thousands in New England since the beginning of air travel, starting with balloon flights in the 19th century.   Of course, no website could possibly document every incident, and the actual number of accidents will never be known for certain because in the early days of air travel record keeping wasn’t mandatory.  In many cases the only accounts of these early crashes are found in old newspapers.    

     Some accidents involve aviators who simply disappeared, thus creating mysteries that have yet to be solved.  Some are assumed to have gone down in the ocean, but others have vanished while over land.  Take a moment to look over our Aviation Mysteries section.  Do you know of aluminum wreckage lying in the woods somewhere, or of an aircraft at the bottom of a reservoir?  If so, then you might be able to help solve a mystery.  Don’t assume that because it’s “always been there” that everyone knows about it.

Memorial to those who lost their lives in the Uxbridge Bomber Crash - May 18, 1944.

Memorial to those who lost their lives in the Uxbridge Bomber Crash – May 18, 1944.

     In cases involving military accidents, many would be surprised to learn that New England is littered with forgotten crash sites, particularly from the World War II era, but during peacetime as well.   These accidents weren’t due to hostile action, yet the servicemen who lost their lives did so in the service of their country.  Most of these pilots were from other parts of the country, and these local events quickly faded from the public mind.  It is hoped this website will serve in part as a way to honor and remember these men for their sacrifice. 

     Despite the huge number of aviation accidents that have occurred in New England, there is a surprisingly small number of memorials to these lost airmen.  Part of our mission is to post images of these memorials as we visit them. 

     We will periodically post a wide variety of unusual and vintage images, as well as new images that may one day be considered historic.  

Lockheed P2V Neptune Fuel Gauge

Lockheed P2V Neptune Fuel Gauge

     In recent years, military aviation gauges/instruments from scrapped World War II and Cold War aircraft were released to the collectors market and eagerly sought after by aviation and military enthusiasts.  A portion of this site is dedicated to these gauges/instruments under the Images section for the purpose of  identification.  Virtually all of these aircraft were based in New England at some point in time.  While some gauges/instruments such as compasses and artificial horizons were standard from one plane to the next, fuel gauges were unique to particular aircraft.  (If they could talk, think of the stories they could tell.)     

      The articles and stories posted here cover a wide range of aeronautical topics, some of which may contain surprising information.  Much has been written about aviation over the years, but our goal is to search for forgotten or little known information that’s been overlooked.  To assist researchers looking for information not posted here, we have included a links page to other history related websites.  

     Thank You for visiting. 

 

 

 

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