Wilkes-Barre, Penn. – May 15, 1945
Aircraft was from the Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Airfield in R. I.
On the evening of May 14, 1943, Ensign James Fitzgerald took off from the Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Air Field in Charlestown, Rhode Island, for a cross country training flight to the Willow Grove Navy Air Base in Horsham Township, Pennsylvania. While in route his compass stopped working correctly, and he found himself over the vicinity of Pittston, Pennsylvania, which is northwest of Horsham Township. There he began to circle the area attempting to gain his bearings.
People on the ground heard the plane circling and surmised it might be in distress, and officials at Wyoming Valley Airport in nearby Wilkes-Barre were notified. The tower was able to make radio contact with Ensign Fitzgerald, and successfully guide him to the airport where he landed safely shortly after 1:00 a.m. on the morning of May 15th.
Fitzgerald remained at the airport for about an hour as his plane was refueled and he studied local maps. At about 2:00 a.m. he resumed his journey and took off again. Shortly after taking off, he crashed into nearby Bald Mountain in Wilkes-Barre. His plane exploded on impact, killing him instantly.
The plane crashed about 1.5 miles from the farm of Matilda Meyers, and about nine miles from the Wyoming Valley Airport.
Ensign Fitzgerald was from Cambridge, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the navy in January of 1942, and earned his pilot’s wing at Pensacola, Florida, July 21, 1944.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/246221748/james-fitzgerald
The type of aircraft Ensign Fitzgerald was flying is unknown – only that it was a single seat fighter, possibly an F6F Hellcat.
Sources:
Times Leader Evening News, (Penn.), “Navy Pilot Killed In Crash On Mountain After Stop Here”, May 15, 1945.
Wilkes-Barre Record, “Navy Seeks Crash Cause”, May 16, 1945.
Times Leader Evening News, “Navy Investigates Fatal Plane Crash”, May 16, 1945.
Wilkes-Barre Record, “Crash Victim Identified”, May 18, 1945.
www.findagrave.com
