Narragansett Bay, R. I. – May 22, 1944

Narragansett Bay – May 22, 1944

 

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

On the morning of May 22, 1944, six P-47 fighter aircraft took off from the Hillsgrove Army Air Field in Warwick, Rhode Island, for a ground target, gunnery training flight in Connecticut.  Once in the air, the aircraft formed two formations, each with three aircraft. 

     The flight flew to the target range in Madison, Connecticut, where it encountered bad weather consisting of low clouds and fog.  The flight radioed for weather reports at alternate ranges before heading towards Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island.  As the flight approached the area of the Quonset Point Naval Air Station it encountered a low lying cloud bank with a 700 foot ceiling.   One of the aircraft, (Ser. No. 42-8201), piloted by Captain James H. Pound, Jr., of Benton Harbor, Michigan, flew into the cloudbank.  His airplane was observed to drop out of the clouds and level off before suddenly diving into Narragansett Bay about a mile from Quonset Point.   The cause of the crash was undetermined. 

      To see a photo of Lieutenant Pound click here: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27590631/james-h-pound

     Sources:

     Book, “Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents In The United States, 1941-1945”, by Anthony J. Mireles, C. 2006.

     The Ypsilanti Daily Press, “Flyer Killed”, May 23, 1944, page 5.

     Detroit Evening Times, “Benton Harbor Flier Dies In Plane Crash”, May 23, 1944, page 2-C 

     www.findagrave.com. 

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