North Kingstown, R. I. – March 30, 1950

Near Quonset Point Naval Air  Station

Updated February 6, 2024

     On March 30, 1950, a flight of five U.S. Navy F4U Corsairs took off from the Quonset Point Naval Air Station for a formation training flight.  As the aircraft were passing over the Hamilton section of  North Kingstown at about 3,000 feet in a Vee formation, two of them collided in mid-air.  One plane crashed near the Old State Road narrowly missing a home and children playing in the area.  The other came down in a wooded area on the Bicknell Farm.  Debris of both aircraft was scattered over a wide area.  Neither pilot survived. 

     The pilots were identified as:

     Ensign John Hall, 22, of Hamburg, New York.  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/214003811/john-hall

    Ensign Henry F. Hite Jr., 23, of Waco, Texas. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/179740078/henry-fuller-hite

    In 2000, an article was published in The Standard Times, about a homeowner and his family that had recovered artifacts relating to one of the aircraft while digging in their back yard.  Some of the artifacts were turned over to the now defunct Quonset Air Museum.  The present whereabouts of the artifacts is unknown. 

     Sources:

     The Standard, (R.I.), “Planes Collide Over Hamilton, Both Pilots Killed In Crash”, April 6, 1950

     New York Times, “Air Collision Kills Two”, April 1, 1950

     The Standard Times, (R. I.), “Homeowners Dig Up Debris From 1950 Plane Crash”, March 11, 2000.