Manchester New Hampshire History | New England Aviation History

Manchester, N. H. – October 12, 1951

January 11, 2021

Manchester, New Hampshire – October 12, 1951

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

On October 12, 1951, a P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft left Grenier Field in Manchester for a training flight. During the flight the aircraft’s engine caught fire. The pilot attempted to return to the airfield but was unable, and crash-landed in a swampy area of a farm. The pilot was not injured, but the airplane suffered heavy damage.

Source:

The Nashua Telegram, “Pilot Unhurt In Crash Of Grenier Plane”, October 12, 1951.

Manchester, N.H. – May 20, 1979

September 21, 2018

Manchester, New Hampshire – May 20, 1979

Kaman Seasprite helicopter – built by Kaman Aircraft Corp, Bloomfield, Connecticut.

On the morning of May 20, 1979, a U.S. Navy HH2-Delta Seasprite helicopter left Norfolk, Virginia, with five crewmen aboard, bound for the Brunswick, Maine, naval air station. The crew was assigned to Light Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 30, also known as HSL-30. The purpose of the flight was for instrument training.

At about 9:30 a.m. the aircraft was passing over Manchester, New Hampshire, at an altitude of 5,000 feet when it suddenly went down and crashed near Manchester Airport. The weather at the time was cloudy and raining.

All five crewmen were killed in the crash. They were identified as:

Lieutenant Commander Lynwood H. Duncan, 33, of Greensboro, North Carolina. He’s buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Oxford, North Carolina.

Lieutenant Commander James P. Hogan, 34, of Davenport, Iowa.

Lieutenant Paul L. Mellott, Jr., 31, of Chesapeake, Virginia. He’s buried in Rest Haven Cemetery in Hagerstown, Maryland. He was survived by a wife and two children.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael J. Kennedy, 25, of Warminister, Penn.

Airman Paul J. Dellas, 21, of San Jose, California.

Sources:

Providence Evening Bulletin, “Investigators Probe Helicopter Wreckage”, May 21, 1979, page A-4

New York Times, “5 Killed As Navy Copter Crashes In Drizzle Near Manchester, N.H.”, May 21, 1979