Lyme, Connecticut – June 21, 1943
P-47 Thunderbolt – U.S. Air Force Photo
On Wednesday, June 23, 1943, two P-47B fighter planes assigned to the 326th Fighter Group, 322nd Squadron, based at Westover Field in Massachusetts, were engaged in a training flight over Lyme, Connecticut, when they collided in mid-air in the vicinity of the Lyme School.
The pilot of one plane, (41-6035) Lt. Elmer Buss, was able to bail out safely, but the pilot of the other plane, (41-6052) Lt. William Carlton Ives, 21, was killed.
Lt. Ives is buried in Highland Park Cemetery in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. For a photo of his grave, see www.findagrave.com #86564235.
Source:
The New Era, (Deep River Ct.) “Pilot Dies In Crash Of Planes At Lyme”, June 25, 1943, pg. 1
