North Kingstown, Rhode Island – April 28, 1946
F6F Hellcat
U. S. Navy Photo
On April 28, 1946, Lt. (J.g.) William L. Sells, (22), of Burlington, Washington, took off from the Quonset Point Naval Air Station in an F6F Hellcat (Bu. No. 79462) for a routine training flight. While flying at an altitude of 3,000 feet over southern Rhode Island, the engine began to make a clattering noise and the cockpit began to fill with a light smoke. Sells radioed the Quonset Tower and was given clearance for an emergency landing. As Sells steered towards Quonset, the oil pressure continued to drop and then the engine seized.
He was now over the Slocum section of North Kingstown. As he attempted to land in an open field near West Allenton Road the plane struck a tree and broke in half with the cockpit and engine portion skidding across the road and coming to rest a few yards away.
The plane was demolished, but Lt. Sells crawled out of the wreckage with non-life-threatening injuries.
The aircraft was assigned to VF-18.
Sources:
U.S. Navy accident report dated April 29, 1946
Providence Journal, “Navy Fighter Pilot Hurt”, April 29, 1946, pg. 22.
Source:
Providence Journal, “Navy Fighter Pilot Hurt”, April 29, 1946, pg. 22
