Atlantic Ocean – October 4, 1944
On October 4, 1944, two navy “torpedo” planes out of Quonset Point, Rhode Island, crashed in mid-air over the water reportedly “…a short distance from Nantucket, Island.” Two officers and four enlisted men were “missing”.
The Newport Mercury (Newport, R. I.), identified the men as:
Ensign Arthur D. Fulton, Jr., 22. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/109798149/arthur-davis-fulton
Ensign Bailey Badgley, of San Marino, California.
ARM3/c Charles E. Ford, 17, of Island Park, Michigan. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/658943/charles-e-ford
AOM3/c Charles M. Lovell of Chicago.
ARM3/c Thomas S. Daly, of Philadelphia.
On October 9, 1944, the Detroit Evening Times reported that none of the bodies had been recovered.
It’s possible the aircraft were TBM Avengers which carried a crew of three.
Sources:
The Waterbury Democrat, “Six Navy Flyers Presumably Lost”, October 5, 1944, page 13.
Detroit Evening Times, “Detroiter Air Victim”, October 9, 1944, pg. C-3. (This article stated five fliers had been lost.)
Newport Mercury, (Newport, R. I.), “Lost Fliers Identified”, October 13, 1944, page 3.
