Atlantic Ocean – December 1, 1954
F9F Panther
U.S. Navy Photo
On December 1, 1954, navy fighter squadron VF-73, based at Quonset Point Naval Air Station, was making practice aircraft carrier landings aboard the U. S. S. Tarawa, which was operating 40 miles off the coast of Rhode Island. One pilot taking part in the exercise was Ensign Thomas J. McDowell, (22), flying an F9F Panther fighter jet. As he was making a landing, the tailhook of his aircraft failed and his plane skidded off the deck and into the ocean where it sank taking the pilot with it.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52313735/thomas-j-mcdowell#view-photo=29048185
Source:
Providence Journal, “Navy Pilot Dies In Carrier Crash”, December 3, 1954, pg. 6.
