Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island – February 4, 1954
U.S. Navy
Grumman F9F Panther
U.S. Navy Photo
Shortly after 2 p.m. on the afternoon of February 4, 1954, navy Lieutenant Elmer O Johnson, (36), was piloting a Grumman Panther jet over Narragansett Bay approaching to land at the Quonset Point Naval Air Station. Accodring to witnsses, the aircraft suddenly dropped into the water and upon impact, skipped and somersaulted for about 300 yards breaking apart as it did so, and then sank. The crash occurred about 5 miles north of the Jamestown Bridge.
Lieutenant Johnson’s body was revovered on February 17 still strapped in the cockpit.
Lieutenant Johnson enlisted in the navy on December 7, 1942, and received his flight training in Pensacole, Florida, and was commissioned in October of 1944. He’d been assigned to the Quonset Point Naval Air Station since January of 1953. He is survived by a wife and young daughter.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/111661937/elmer-oscar-johnson
Sources:
Evening Bulletin, “Quonset Pilot Killed As Jet Falls Into Bay”, February 5, 1954.
Evening Bulletin, “Body Recovered – Navy Pilot Died In Bay Crash While Approaching Quonset”, February 18, 1954.
