Atlantic Ocean – December 10, 1944
F6F Hellcat
U. S. Navy Photo
On December 10, 1944, a group of eleven navy F6F Hellcat fighter planes left Otis Field in Falmouth, Massachusetts, for an operational training flight over the Atlantic, but only nine returned. By 8:00 p.m. a search was begun for the two missing planes, and aircraft from Otis and Quonset Point, R.I., as well as crash boats from Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket, searched the area north of Nantucket where there had been unconfirmed reports of flares being sighted.
Despite the efforts, no trace of the missing aircraft or the pilots was ever found.
The missing men are: Ensign John Daniel Cassidy, 21, of Macon, Georgia, and Lieutenant Commander John I. Drew, 27, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Both were assigned to Fighter Squadron 88, (VF-88).
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/30180216/john-daniel-cassidy
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/237356486/john-i-drew
Source:
Falmouth Enterprise, ”Planes Lost On Training Flight”, December 15, 1944.
