Manchester, N.H. – February 19, 1933

Manchester, New Hampshire – February 19, 1933 

     On February 19, 1933, a 35-year-old man from Concord, New Hampshire, was piloting a small rented airplane from Manchester Airport, to Concord, and back to Manchester.  While coming in to land at Manchester Airport, the pilot “attempted a wing-over” while too close to the ground and crashed.  The aircraft exploded in flames and the pilot perished.   

     The type of aircraft is unknown. 

     Source: 

     The Waterbury Democrat, (CT.), “Amateur Pilot Crashed And Was Burned To Death”, February 20, 1933, pg. 8. 

Manchester, N. H. – October 12, 1951

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.   

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. 

Manchester, N.H. – June 18, 1998

Manchester, New Hampshire – June 18, 1998

     At approximately 11:15 a.m. on June 18, 1998, a 1950s vintage British Hawker Hunter military jet aircraft (Civil Tail # N745WT) crashed in a sandpit off Frontage Road in Manchester, New Hampshire, about 1.5 miles from Manchester Airport.  The pilot, Col. John Childress, 50, of Columbia, South Carolina, ejected moments before the crash, but did not survive.  No other persons were aboard at the time of the accident, and there was no explosion or fire after the crash.  

      When the engine flamed out, Col. Childress stayed with the aircraft and waited to eject so as to direct it away from nearby businesses and houses.       

     The recently restored aircraft owned by an aviation business at Manchester Airport reportedly hadn’t flown since the 1950s. 

     The cause of the crash was later determined to be lack of fuel due to faulty readings of the fuel gauges.

     Col. Childers was an Air national Guard advisor at Shaw Air Force base in South Carolina.   

    Sources:

     The Telegraph, “Vintage Jet Crashes; Pilot Dead”, June 19, 1998

     The Item, (S.C.) “Shaw Pilot Out Of Fuel”, June 21, 1998

     Aviation Safety Newtork, Wikibase Occurrence ASN#40862

    

 

 

Grenier Field, NH – December 23, 1942

Grenier Field, Manchester, New Hampshire

    

P-40 Warhawk  U.S. Air Force Photo

P-40 Warhawk
U.S. Air Force Photo

     On December 23, 1942, a group of four P-40 aircraft were scheduled to fly a gunnery practice mission.  The first aircraft flown by Lt. Julian Adams took off without incident.  The second aircraft (41-13720) piloted by 2nd Lt. Herbert Lawler, 25, suddenly developed engine trouble during take off.  The engine was heard to misfire, and smoke was seen trailing as the aircraft became airborne.  Moments later Lawler crashed into a wooded area just beyond the air field.  

     The P-40 caught fire after impact, and Lt. Lawler suffered fatal burns. He succumbed to his injuries five days later on December 28. 

     Lt. Lawler was from Houston, Texas, and he’s buried at the Earthman Resthaven Cemetery in Houston.  A photo of his grave can be found at www.Findagrave.com  Memorial #47226508.

     Sources:

     The Nashua Telegraph, “Plane In Crash Near Grenier Field”, December 24, 1942, page 2

      Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents In The United States 1941 – 1945, By Anthony J. Mireles, McFarland & Co. Publishers, 2006

     Larry Webster, Aviation Historian and Archeologist

     Findagrave.com

Grenier Field, NH – May 19, 1943

Grenier Field, New Hampshire – May 19, 1943

    

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

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

     On May 19, 1943, two U.S. Army P-47D airplanes attempted to land at the same time at Grenier Field in Manchester, New Hampshire, and collided near the intersection of Runways 35 and 24.  Both planes became locked together and caught fire.  

     One of the pilots, Lieutenant Gilbert L. Jamison, was able to climb free of the wreck, but the other pilot, Lieutenant Russell C. Wilson was trapped inside his aircraft and burned to death before he could be rescued.

     The serial numbers of the aircraft involved were; Jamison (42-22344) and Wilson (42-8024)

     Lieutenant Jamison later became an ace with seven aerial victories.

     Lieutenant Wilson is buried in Grandview Cemetery, Bonners Ferry, Idaho.  For a photo of his grave go to Findagrave.com Memorial # 16415555.   

     Sources:

     Larry Webster, Aviation Archeologist & Historian, Charlestown, R.I.

     The Outer Circle – 359th Fighter group Association, WWII, January, 2005, Vol. 16, No. 1, Pg. 5.  

     Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents In The United States by Anthony J. Mireles, McFarland & Co., 2006    

     Findagrave.com

     WWII Victories of the Army Air Force, by Arthur Wyllie, Lulu.com, 2005

Return to Top ▲Return to Top ▲