Massachusetts Navy Aircraft Accident | New England Aviation History

Atlantic Ocean – May 1, 1958

July 2, 2017

Atlantic Ocean – May 1, 1958

Douglas AD-4N Skyraider
Naval History And Heritage Command

On May 1, 1958, U.S. Navy Lieutenant(jg.) Willaim C. Cox, 25, of Wickford, Rhode Island, was piloting a Douglas AD-5 Skyraider on a training flight off Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. At 11:30 a.m. he reported that he had an emergency and was bailing out from an altitude of 2,000 feet. No position was given.

Two witnesses reported seeing the plane go down in Vineyard Sound about 8 miles west of Martha’s Vineyard, about half way between Noman’s Land and Cuttyhunk Islands, but did not see a parachute. A search was instituted, but neither Lt. Cox or his aircraft were recovered.

Source:

Cape Cod Standard Times, “Navy Plane, Body Found Off Vineyard”, July 10, 1958. This headline refers to a WWII navy Hellcat that was found in the waters off Martha’s Vineyard with the pilot’s remains still inside. The last part of the article mentions Lieutenant (jg.) Cox’s accident. The two incidents were not related.

Atlantic Ocean – June 15, 1943

April 20, 2016

Atlantic Ocean – June 15, 1943

Updated January 15, 2023.

Updated October 9, 2023.

U.S. Navy OS2U-2 Kingfisher
U.S. Navy Photo

On June 15, 1943, a U. S. Navy OS2U Kingfisher aircraft with two men aboard took off from the Squantum Naval Air Station on a routine flight over the Atlantic Ocean north of Boston. The plane never returned and was declared missing. It was later determined that the plane had gone down in the ocean off the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The cause was never established.

On of the men aboard was Lieutenant (Jg.) Lloyd D. Hollingsworth, Jr., 24, of Wilmington, North Carolina. To see a photo of Lt. Jg. Hollingsworth, click on the link below.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/28042949/lloyd-dixon-hollingsworth

Lt. Hollingsworth earned his pilot’s wings in April of 1942 after training in Jacksonville, Florida. He graduated from New Hanover High School and attended the University of North Carolina. He received the Air Medal for his actions during Operation Torch.

The other man aboard was Ensign Raymond John MacGregor, USNR, of Baltimore, Maryland. His body was recovered on or about August 19th by the Gloucester fishing trawler Mayflower, about two miles south of Thatcher’s Island, near Gloucester.

Ensign Macgregor is buried in Milford Cemetery in Milford, Penn. To see photographs of Ensign Macgregor click on link below.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/75051586/raymond-john-macgregor

Sources:

The Wilmington Morning Star, (N.C.), “Navy Reports Death Of Lieut. Hollingsworth In Crash Off Rockport”, January 23, 1944, p.5

The Wilmington Morning Star, “Wilmington Boy Gets Navy Wings”, April 18, 1942, p.10

The Wilmington Morning Star, “2 Wilmington Men Included In UNC Alumni Honor Roll”, August 17, 1943, p.9

The Boston Globe, “Body Recovered By Dragger, Identified”, August 20, 1943

Nashua Telegraph, “Identify Body Of Naval Officer” August 20, 1943

Updated info supplied by Eric T. Wiberg – author & historian.