Barkhamsted, CT – April 15, 1949

Barkhamsted, Connecticut – April 15, 1949

P-47 Thunderbolt - U.S. Air Force Photo

P-47 Thunderbolt – U.S. Air Force Photo

     At 3:22 p.m., on April 15, 1949, 1st Lt. Paul Arnold Roney, 29, took off from Olmsted Air Force Base in Pennsylvania bound for Dow Air Force Base in Bangor, Maine, in an F-47N fighter aircraft, (Ser. No. 44-89422).  He was due to arrive at Bangor between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m.  At approximately 4:15 p.m. Lt. Roney was killed when his plane crashed in the Peoples State Forest, about two miles southeast of the Riverton section of Barkhamsted, Connecticut.   

     The F-47 was an aircraft designation given to the P-47 Thunderbolt after WWII.   

     According to the Air Force crash investigation report of the accident, the aircraft struck the ground at an angle of approximately 75 to 80 degrees in a straight dive and was not spinning.  The aircraft was completely demolished and burned after impact.

     Due to the total destruction of the aircraft, conflicting witness statements, and uncertain weather conditions, Air Force investigators were unable to determine the cause of the crash. 

     Lt. Roney is buried in Black Hills National Cemetery, in Sturgis, South Dakota. 

     Sources:

     Army Air Forces Report Of Major Accident, #49-4-15-4 

     www.findagrave.com, Memorial # 32164313

 

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