Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts – February 13, 1950
Douglas Skyraider
U. S. Navy Photo
On the morning of February 13, 1950, a flight of navy AD-3 Skyraider aircraft took off from the Quonset Point Naval Air Station in Rhode Island for a dive-bombing training flight over Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, in the area of the Elizabeth Islands. One of the aircraft, (Bu. No. 122849), was piloted by Midshipman Philip Kuehl.
At 10:02 a.m., Midshipman Kuehl was making a high-speed dive-bomb run at a surface target when his aircraft inexplicably crashed into the water and exploded on impact in the area between Gull Island and Nashawena Island. (41-26N, 70-54W)
Neither the aircraft or the pilot were recovered. The exact cause of the accident could not be determined by the naval investigation board.
Philip Kuehl
High School graduation, 1946
Courtesy of Paul Kuehl.
Midshipman Kuehl was assigned to VA-34 at Quonset Point NAS.
Source: U. S. Navy Accident Report dated February 13, 1950, courtesy of Paul D. Kuehl, nephew of the pilot.
