South Kingstown, Rhode Island – July 16, 1953
F4U Corsair
US Navy Photo
On July 16, 1953, a flight of four navy F4U Corsairs took off from the Quonset Point Naval Air Station for a routine training flight. The planes flew to Worden’s Pond and engaged in what was described in the press as “target maneuvers”.
According to a civilian witness, the planes were overhead when one of them, (Bu. No. 81882), suddenly sideslipped from the group and dove towards the ground. It was his opinion that the pilot had aimed for the Rocky Brook Reservoir but missed.
The plane crashed in a field on Curtiss Corner Road and burst into flames. The pilot, Ensign John Robert Taylor, 24, of Ames, Iowa, was killed.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34220731/john-robert-taylor
As a point of fact, this aircraft had been involved in a ground accident at the Quonset Point Naval Air Station in December of 1951. Click here fore more info.
Source:
Evening Bulletin, “Quonset Pilot Killed In Crash”, July 16, 1953, pg. 12.
