Preston Connecticut History | New England Aviation History

Preston, CT. – February 2, 1945

August 7, 2017

Preston, Connecticut – February 2, 1945

U.S. Navy F6F Hellcat
U.S. Navy photo

On February 2, 1945, Ensign Nelson L. Hazard was piloting an F6F-3N Hellcat, (Bu. No. 70211), over Connecticut on a routine training flight. After using up the fuel from the right main tank, he turned on the emergency fuel pump and switched to using the fuel in his droppable fuel tank suspended beneath the aircraft. The engine ran normally for about five minutes before it abruptly stopped. Ensign Hazard then switched to his reserve fuel tank but the engine wouldn’t start. He then tried switching to the left main tank but with no results. The aircraft was at 6,000 feet at this time, and Hazard decided to remain with the aircraft and attempt an emergency landing.

After seeing an open field below, Hazard aimed for it, and came in with the wheels up. At the edge of the field the plane scraped over the top of a tree which ripped away the droppable fuel tank. The tank fell against a boulder and exploded. Meanwhile, the aircraft hit the ground and skidded for 100 yards before coming to rest. A small fire erupted on one wing, but burned itself out. The pilot was not injured.

The location of the crash was in a field off Brickyard Road in the town of Preston.

Source: National Archives TD 450202CT, via Larry Webster, Aviation Historian, Charlestown, R.I.

Preston, CT – October 19, 1944

May 22, 2015

Preston, Connecticut – October 19, 1944

Updated January 14, 2019

Hellcat Fighters
U.S. Navy Photo

On the night of October 19, 1944, Ensign George Kenneth Krause, 22, and Ensign Merle Henry Longnecker, 20, took off from the Charlestown Navy Auxiliary Air Field in Rhode Island for a night tactics training flight over Connecticut. Each was piloting an F6F-5N Hellcat. The Bu. No. for Ensign Krause’s aircraft was 70519, and Ensign Longnecker was piloting Bu. No. 70826.

At about 10:30 p.m., both aircraft were over the Norwich State Hospital area conducting mock interceptions when they were involved in a mid-air collision with each other. Scattered wreckage fell over a large area, some coming down about one mile northeast of the hospital. Neither pilot survived.

Both men were assigned to Carrier Air Service Unit (CASU) 25 at Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Air Field in Rhode Island.

Ensign Krause is buried in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To see a photo of him, click on the link below.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79674174/george-k-kraus

Ensign Longnecker was survived by his wife Blanche. He’s buried in New Rockford, North Dakota. To see a photo of him, click on the link below.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151515469/merle-henry-longnecker

Ensign Longnecker had survived an earlier aircraft accident only a few days earlier on October 12, 1944. On that date he was practicing night carrier landings at Charlestown NAAF, while piloting another F6F-5N Hellcat, (Bu. No. 42794). The weather was foggy with a 700 foot cloud ceiling making for poor visibility. After making four successful landings and take-offs, he crash-landed while making his fifth approach. The aircraft was damaged, but he was not hurt.

Sources:

U. S. Navy accident report dated October 19, 1944

U. S. Navy accident report dated October 12, 1944

Rhode Island Department Of Health death certificates

The Norwich Bulletin, “Veterans Group Plans 70th Anniversary Tribute To Pilots killed In Preston Crash”, October 17, 2014