Charlestown, Rhode Island – April 17, 1944
Great Swamp
Updated July 8, 2017
On April 17, 1944, a flight of four F6F-3 Hellcats left Quonset Point Naval Air Station for a familiarization training flight. During the flight the aircraft flew in a line of four, in a “follow the leader” type of pattern. It was during a phase of the exercise when the aircraft were changing positions in the formation that a mid-air collision between two of the aircraft occurred. Both aircraft, (Bu. No. 40345), piloted by Ensign Stephen L. Smith, 21, and (Bu. No. 66034), piloted by Lieutenant Robert C. Stimson, 27, crashed and exploded in a wooded portion of the “Great Swamp” area of Charlestown. Neither pilot survived.
Ensign Stephen Luther Smith was from of St. Andrews, Florida. He’s buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Panama City, Florida. (See www.findagrave.com, memorial #32844142)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/32844142/stephen-luther-smith
Lieutenant Robert Charles Stimson was from of Shelby, Ohio, and was survived by his wife. He’s buried in Oakland Cemetery in Shelby. To read more about Lt. Stimson, and to see photographs of him, go to www.findagrave.com, memorial 73196817.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/73196817/robert-charles-stimson
Sources:
North Kingstown, Rhode Island, death records
U.S. Navy Accident Report #44-12263