Haverhill, Massachusetts – November 4, 1944
F4U Corsair
US Navy Photo
On the afternoon of November 4, 1944, Ensign Robert E. McLaughlin, (22), was piloting an F4U-1D Corsair, (Bu. No. 50636), over the town of Haverhill when the aircraft was observed to go into a roll and then dive into the ground at high speed and explode off Hilldale, Avenue.
Ensign McLaughlin was assigned to Carrier Air Service Unit 22, (CASU-22) at Quonset Point, Rhode Island. He enlisted in the Naval Air Corps V-5 program on September 30, 1942, training at Amherst College in Amherst Massachusetts, and further training in North Carolina, Florida. Illinois, and Texas. He earned his wings at Corpus Christi, Texas, on July 28, 1944.
Ensign McLaughlin is buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Haverhill. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35825894/robert-e-mclaughlin
Sources:
U. S. Navy accident report dated November 4, 1944.
www.findagrave.com
Haverhill During WWII
