Narragansett Bay – February 10, 1945
One mile northeast off Quonset Point Naval Air Station
U.S. Navy F6F Hellcat
U.S. Navy photo
On February 10, 1945, Ensign Pierce Hubert Beach, 22, took off from Quonset Point Naval Air Station in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, in an F6F-5N Hellcat (Bu. No. 58058) for a routine training flight where he and other aircraft were to practice carrier landings and takeoffs. He was killed when his plane crashed into Narragansett Bay.
Ensign Beach earned his pilots wings at Pensacola, Florida, in May of 1944, and was married in June, ’44. To see a photo of Ensign beach, click on the link below.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/180839171/pierce-hubert-beach
Sources:
Lewiston Daily Sun, “Navy Pilot Killed; Another Missing”, February 12, 1945, Pg. 1
Larry Webster, Aviation Historian & Archeologist
The (Bunnell Florida) Flagler Tribune, (no headline) February 15, 1945
U.S. Navy Accident Report dated February 10, 1945
