Hillsgrove Army Air Field | New England Aviation History

Point Judith, R.I. – June 28, 1944

March 16, 2015

Narragansett Bay – Point Judith, R.I., June 28, 1944

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

At 7:15 p.m. on June 28, 1944, a P-47D (Ser. # 42-8040) piloted by Elmer Gatti, was on a routine training flight out of Hillsgrove Army Air Field when it crashed into the water just off Point Judith, Rhode Island. Gatti was uninjured, and was rescued from the water by a Coast Guard boat from Point Judith Coast Guard Station. The plane sank.

Source: Lawrence Webster – Aviation Historian

Source: Providence Journal, “Plane Hits House; Man, Wife Burned” , June 28, 1944, pg. 1 (The headline refers to another crash that occurred the same day in Stonington Connecticut.)

Hillsgrove Army Air Field – June 28, 1944

March 16, 2015

Hillsgrove Army Air Field, Warwick, RI, June 28, 1944

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

At 5:05 p.m. on June 28, 1944, a U.S. Army P-47 (Ser # 42-22591) took off from Hillsgrove Army Air Field on a routine training mission and crash-landed a few hundred yards north of the field. The pilot, Daniel S. Miles, was relatively unhurt, and got away from the plane before it burst into flames.

Source: Providence Journal, “Plane Hits House;Man, Wife Burned”, June 29, 1944, pg. 1 (The headline refers to another accident in North Stonington Connecticut. )

Lawrence Webster – Aviation Historian