Hope Valley, Rhode Island – June 6, 1944
D – Day
U.S. Navy F6F Hellcat
U.S. Navy photo
On the evening of June 6, 1944, a civilian was piloting an F6F-3, (Bu. No. 41461), on a ferry flight from Boston, Massachusetts, to the Naval Air Station in Atlantic City, New Jersey. While passing over the Hope Valley area in southern Rhode Island at 10,000 feet, the aircraft suffered a complete engine failure. The pilot managed to make a wheels up landing in a field where the aircraft suffered relatively minor damage. The pilot was uninjured.
Investigation revealed that the cause of the failure was due to a vent plug to the “A” diaphragm chamber of the carburetor coming out during flight.
The specific name of the town in which the plane landed was not mentioned.
Source: U. S. Navy Accident Report, dated June 6, 1944
