Jamestown, Rhode Island – June 9, 1928
Vought O2U Corsair
U. S. Navy photo.
On June 9, 1928, navy Lieutenant Homer N. Wilkinson, 40, was piloting an O2U Corsair over Narragansett Bay on a routine training flight. With him was Seaman Harry C. Riker. Both men were assigned to the U.S.S. Concord which was anchored not far away. According to observers, the aircraft was high over the bay when it suddenly went into a spin and crashed in a vacant lot along the shore of Jamestown. Both men were transported to Newport Naval Hospital where Wilkinson succumbed to his injuries. The press listed Riker’s condition as “critical”. Research has been unable to learn if he recovered or not.
Lt. Wilkinson was appointed to the Naval Academy in 1921. He’d been a navy aviator since 1916. He was survived by his wife.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36506532/homer-nathaniel-wilkinson
Source:
The Evening Star, (Wash. DC), “Naval Flyer Killed, Another Hurt In Crash”, June 9, 1928
