Nashawena Island, MA. – August 27, 1943

Nashawena Island, Massachusetts – August 27, 1943

 

TBF-1 Avenger
U. S. Navy Photo

     On the morning of August 27, 1943, a flight of four TBF-1 Avengers was rendezvousing over Nashawena Island off Cape Cod, as part of a torpedo tactics training flight.  As the planes were getting into formation, two of them were involved in a mid-air collision. 

     One of the aircraft involved was Bu. No. 24125.  The pilot and one of the crewmen were able to parachute safely, but the third crewman, AMM3C Roger W. Krager, (26) of Binghamton, N.Y., went down with the aircraft and was killed.

     To see a photograph of AMM3c Krager, click here: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71934510/roger-w-krager

     The other aircraft involved in this accident was Bu. No. 24130.  The pilot was able to parachute safely, but the two crewmen, S2c Alexander E. Sabalianskas, and ARM3c Bernard G. Manning, (20), of New York City, were killed when the aircraft crashed.  

     Nashawena Island is part of the town of Gosnold, Mass.

     Sources:

     U. S. Navy crash report #44-8210

     The Waterbury Democrat, (Waterbury, CT.), “Investigate Planes’ Crash”, August 28, 1943. 

Gosnold, MA – November 18, 1944

Gosnold, Massachusetts – November 18, 1944 

     On November 18, 1944, two navy planes from Otis Air Field were on an operational flight when they collided in mid-air over Nashawena Island.  The Island is part of a chain known as the Elizabeth Islands, which make up the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts.

     One plane, piloted by Lieutenant Robert Shane Traverse, 27, of Absecon, N.J., crashed on the island, while the other made it safely back to Otis with minor wing damage. Traverse’s body was recovered by the Coast Guard with his parachute unopened. 

     He was survived by his wife, Margurite. 

Source: Falmouth Enterprise, “Otis Field Accidents”, November 24, 1944. awena

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