Manchester, N. H. – May 16, 1945

Manchester, New Hampshire – May 16, 1945

Grenier U. S. Army Air Field   

B-17G “Flying Fortress”
U.S. Air Force Photo

     On the morning of May 16, 1945, a Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress”  (Ser. No. 42-5463) with a partial crew aboard was on the runway at Grenier Army Air Field in Manchester.   The engines were in operation at the time, warming up, and the wheels were “chocked”.  An army station wagon containing four officers of the bomber’s crew and a civilian driver drove out to the B-17.  When it did so the the B-17 reportedly jumped its wheel-chocks and lurched forward into the station wagon, killing one man and injuring the rest.  

     2nd Lieutenant Bernard W. Schutter, Jr., (20) of Ames, New York, was killed in the accident.  https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/42281985/bernard-william-schutter

     2nd Lieutenant James H. Wagner, (22) of Los Gatos, California, was seriously injured. 

     2nd Lieutenant George Hermestroff (22) of Chicago, and 2nd Lieutenant Donald C. Maler, (21) of Fairfax, California, and the driver of the station wagon all received non-life-threatening injuries. 

     Sources:

     The Manchester Union, “Army Board Presses Probe Of Bomber Mishap At Base”, May 18, 1945. 

     The Wilmington Morning Star, (North Carolina) “Car Collides With B-17”, May 30, 1945, pg. 2

     www.findagrave.com

     B-17 serial number supplied by Larry Webster, Aviation Historian, Charlestown, R. I.  

 

 

Candia, N. H. – May 13, 1943

Candia, New Hampshire – May 13, 1943

 

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

     On May 13, 1943, three P-47 aircraft took off from Grenier Airfield in Manchester, New Hampshire, for an authorized aerobatic training flight.  While over the nearby town of Candia, the three aircraft were seen going through aerial maneuvers, when one plane, (Ser. No. 42-8194), piloted by 2nd Lt. Charles R. Ralph, suddenly went into a spin from which it did not recover.  When the plane crashed and exploded the pilot was killed.  The cause of the accident was undetermined.  

     Source:

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

Manchester, N. H. – June 7, 1949

Manchester, New Hampshire – June 7, 1949

 

P-51 Mustang
U.S. Air Force Photo

      On June 7, 1949, 1st Lieutenant William Arthur Primm, (26), of Farmingdale, New York, was killed when the F-51 Mustang he was piloting crashed shortly after take off from Grenier Field in Manchester.  (The serial number of his airplane was  44-74791A.) 

     The cause of the accident wasn’t stated. 

     Lt. Primm entered the service in 1942 and served with the Army Air Corps.  At the time of his death he was the communications officer of the 97th Fighter Squadron at Grenier Field.  He’s buried at Long Island National Cemetery in East Farmingdale, N.Y.

     The F-51 Mustang was formerly known as the P-51.  The designation was changed in 1947. 

     Source:

     Nashua Telegraph, “Pilot Killed In Grenier Crash NY State Man”, June 8, 1949 

     www.findagrave.com

Grenier Air Force Base – August 16, 1956

Grenier Air Force Base – August 16, 1956

 

F-80C Shooting Star
U.S. Air Force Photo

     On August 16, 1956, Air Force Reserve pilot Captain Samuel B. Bellevue, (33), was killed when the F-80 fighter jet he was piloting crashed on takeoff from Grenier Air Force Base in Manchester, New Hampshire.  Capt. Bellevue was from Saco, Maine, assigned to the 89th Fighter Bomber Wing.  He was at Grenier AFB for two-weeks of training.   

     Source: Sanford Tribune, no headline, August 23, 1956, page 14, col. 2. 

Grenier Field, NH – April 2, 1942

Grenier Field, New Hampshire – April 2, 1942 

    

Douglas A-20 Havoc U.S. Air Force Photo

Douglas A-20 Havoc
U.S. Air Force Photo

      At 9:15 a.m., on April 2, 1942, a Douglas A-20 Havoc, (Ser. No. 40-108) with a crew of four aboard, took off from Grenier Field in Manchester, New Hampshire, for a training flight.  Just after becoming airborne the pilot discovered that the landing gear would not retract.  He circled the airfield to land the plane, but aborted the attempt when he discovered further problems with the hydraulic pressure system.  After gaining sufficient altitude, the crew worked on fixing the problems. 

     After making temporary repairs, the pilot was cleared to land on runway 17, but upon touching down the brakes failed while the plane was halfway down the runway.  The pilot couldn’t retract the landing gear, and was unable ground loop the aircraft.  After avoiding some sandbag obstructions the aircraft plowed though a fence and was wrecked.  Fortunately the crew escaped with minor injuries.  

     The crew included:

     (Pilot)  1st Lt. Lloyd A. Walker  

     Lt. Col. Talma W. Inlay

     Corporal Charles B. Gannon, Jr.

     Pfc. Gaetano Pagliuco

     Source: U.S. Army Air Corps Technical Report Of Aircraft Accident #42-4-2-1

 

    

 

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