Quonset Point, R. I. – September 7, 1951

December 10, 2020

Quonset Point Naval Air Station – September 7, 1951

 

F4U Corsair
US Navy Photo

     On September 7, 1951, an F4U-4 Corsair, (Bu. No. 81397), was returning to the Quonset Point Naval Air Station after a training flight.  A short time prior, a severe weather system had moved through the area which left puddles of water on the runway.  Upon landing, the aircraft ran into a puddle and ground-looped off the runway suffering damage.  The pilot was not injured. 

     Source: U. S. Navy accident report dated September 7, 1951.       

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – September 13, 1951

December 10, 2020

Quonset Point Naval Air Station – September 13, 1951

 

F4U Corsair
US Navy Photo

     On September 13, 1951, an F4U-4 Corsair, (Bu. No. 81479), was taking off from runway 19 at the Quonset Point Naval Air Station.  Immediately after becoming airborne, but while still over the runway, the pilot retracted the landing gear, and as he did so the plane settled back to the runway and briefly scraped the ground before bouncing back up and remaining airborne.  The pilot managed to circle the field and make a successful emergency landing.  The aircraft suffered damage to the propeller, the engine, the auxiliary fuel tank, and the landing gear doors.  The pilot was not injured.      

     Source: U. S. Navy accident report dated September 13, 1951.

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – September 25, 1951

December 10, 2020

Quonset Point Naval Air Station – September 25, 1951

 

F4U Corsair
US Navy Photo

     On September 25, 1951, the pilot of an F4U-4 Corsair, (Bu. No. 80992), was making practice touch-and-go-landings on runway 19 at the Quonset Point Naval Air Station.  After making five successful landings, he attempted a sixth, and upon touch-down the left-side landing gear collapsed.  The aircraft skidded 600 feet before coming to rest.  The pilot was not injured.  

     Source: U. S. Navy accident report dated September 25, 1951. 

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – December 27, 1951

December 10, 2020

Quonset Point Naval Air Station – December 27, 1951

 

F4U Corsair
US Navy Photo

     On December 27, 1951, an aircraft mechanic was working on an F4U-4 Corsair, (Bu. No. 81882), which was parked outside.  To the right of it, a short distance away, was another F4U-4 Corsair, (Bu. No. 96931).  At one point the mechanic sat at the controls of 81882 and started the engine in order to check the instrument gauges.  Just after doing so, the aircraft “jumped” the wheel chocks and lurched forward into an arc and crashed into the other Corsair causing damage to both aircraft.  The mechanic was not injured. 

     Source: U. S. Navy accident report dated December 27, 1951    

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – March 20, 1952

December 10, 2020

Quonset Point Naval Air Station – March 20, 1952

 

F4U Corsair
US Navy Photo

     On March 20, 1952, an F4U-4 Corsair, (Bu. No. 61479), was taking off from the Quonset Point Naval Air Station when a sudden drop in power led the pilot to attempt to abort the take off. The aircraft ran off the end of the runway and onto soft ground where it nosed over, and then fell back on its wheels.  The aircraft was damaged, but the pilot was not hurt. 

     Source: U. S. Navy accident report dated March 20, 1952. 

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – June 9, 1952

December 10, 2020

Quonset Point Naval Air Station – June 9, 1952 

 

F4U Corsair
US Navy Photo

     On June 9, 1952, an F4U-4 Corsair, (Bu. No. 81260), was taking off from the Quonset Point Naval Air Station for a training flight.  As it was leaving the ground, but while still over the runway, the engine failed and the aircraft crash-landed back onto the runway.  The aircraft was severely damaged, but the pilot was not injured.  

     Source: U. S. Navy accident report dated June 9, 1952

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – July 1, 1944

June 19, 2019

Quonset Point, R. I. – July 1, 1944

 

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

     On the afternoon of July 1, 1944, a ground collision occurred between two aircraft on Runway 19 at the Quonset Point Naval Air Station.  An F6F-3 Hellcat, (Bu. No. 42300), taxied into the back of an SNJ-5 Texan trainer aircraft, (Bu. No. 51651).  The SNJ-5 was damaged beyond repair, but there were no injuries reported from those aboard either aircraft.     

     Source: U. S. Navy accident report dated July 1, 1944.

North American Texan Military Trainer
Author Photo

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – August 15, 1944

April 1, 2019

Quonset Point, Rhode Island – August 15, 1944

 

North American Texan Military Trainer
Author Photo

     On August 15, 1944, a navy SNJ-3 Texan trainer aircraft, (Bu. No. 7002), left Otis Field in Falmouth, Massachusetts, bound for Quonset Point Naval Air Station.  Upon landing at Quonset the plane’s landing gear collapsed causing heavy damage to the aircraft .  There were no injuries.

     Source:

     U. S. Navy accident report dated August 15, 1944.  

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – January 12, 1942

March 16, 2019

Quonset Point, Rhode Island – January 12, 1942

    On January 12, 1942, an SNJ-3 Texan trainer aircraft, (Bu. No. 6911), had just landed at the Quonset Point Naval Air Station when the brakes jammed.  The aircraft skidded forty feet and then nosed over.  The aircraft was damaged, but the two-man crew was not injured.

     Source: U. S. Navy accident report dated January 12, 1942.

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – August 10, 1948

February 15, 2019

Quonset Point, Rhode Island – August 10, 1948

 

F8F Bearcat
U. S. Navy Photo

     On August 10, 1948, a pilot took off from the Quonset Point Naval Air Station in an F8F-1 Bearcat, (Bu. No. 121657), to test the performance of the aircraft after a new carburetor had been installed.   Shortly after takeoff the engine stopped and the pilot was unable to restart it.  He brought the plane in for an emergency landing, but upon touchdown a tire blew out, causing the aircraft to careen into another Bearcat,( Bu. No. 121667) that was parked along the side of the runway.   After the collision, the landing Bearcat rolled over and came to rest in an inverted position.  The pilot wasn’t injured, but the aircraft was damaged beyond all repair.

     Source:

     U. S. Navy accident report dated August 10, 1948    

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – January 28, 1948

February 4, 2019

Quonset Point, Rhode Island – January 28, 1948 

 

F8F Bearcat
U. S. Navy Photo

     On January 28, 1948, an F8F-1 Bearcat, (Bu. No. 95260), took off from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Leyte, (CV-32), bound for the Quonset Point Naval Air Station in Rhode Island.  Thirty minutes later, as the aircraft approached the air station, the pilot noticed that the controls were not responding properly.  He was advised to climb to 2,000 feet where he went into a holding pattern to try to determine the cause.  No cause could be found, so he was cleared  land.  Unknown to the pilot was the fact that a thin layer of ice had formed on the runway and when the aircraft touched down it slid off the runway and into a snowbank where it cartwheeled before coming to rest.  The pilot was not seriously injured, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage. 

     Source:

     U. S. Navy accident report dated January 28, 1948    

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – March 17, 1949

February 1, 2019

Quonset Point, R. I. – March 17, 1949 

 

Douglas Skyraider
U. S. Navy Photo

     On March 17, 1949, an AD-1 Skyraider, (Bu. No. 09349), took off from the Quonset Point Naval Air Station for a familiarization flight.  About an hour later the aircraft returned, and as the pilot was making his final approach, the landing gear wheels struck the top of the seawall at the end of the runway tearing loose the right side landing gear.  The impact caused the aircraft to bounce upwards, and the pilot applied full throttle and remained airborne.  The pilot then circled the area for an hour trying to raise the landing gear so as to make an emergency belly landing, but was unable to do so.   With fuel running low, he made a one-wheel landing.  The aircraft suffered significant damage, but the pilot was not injured.

     Source:

     U. S. Navy accident report dated March 17, 1949   

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – January 11, 1944

February 1, 2019

Quonset Point, Rhode Island – January 11, 1944

 

U.S. Navy Wildcat
U.S. Navy Photo

     On January 11, 1944, an F4F Wildcat, (Bu. No. 11863), with a target tow sleeve attached, was in the process of taking off from the Quonset Point Naval Air Station.  At the time, the aircraft had been cleared by the tower for takeoff. When the Wildcat was about two-thirds of the way down the runway, a Grumman J2E Duck suddenly landed ahead of, and in the path of the Wildcat.  To avoid a collision, the pilot of the Wildcat skidded to the left and went off the runway and plowed into a snowbank.  The pilot was not injured, but the Wildcat was in need of a major overhaul.  

     Nobody aboard the other aircraft was injured.  

 

Grumman Duck
U. S. Navy Photo

Source: U. S. Navy accident report dated January 11, 1944   

 

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – April 25, 1947

January 21, 2019

Quonset Point, Rhode Island – April 25, 1947 

 

F8F Bearcat
U. S. Navy Photo

     On April 25, 1947, an F8F-1 Bearcat, (Bu. No. 94797), was taking off from the Quonset Point Naval Air Station.  Just after becoming airborne and while still over the runway, the engine suddenly lost all power.   The pilot made an emergency water landing in Narragansett Bay just off the end of the runway.  The aircraft sank, but the pilot was able to escape and was rescued by a crash-rescue boat from Quonset.  

     The aircraft was assigned to VF-17 at Quonset Point.

     Source: U. S. Navy accident report dated April 25, 1947

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – June 12, 1947

January 20, 2019

Quonset Point, Rhode Island – June 12, 1947

 

F8F Bearcat
U. S. Navy Photo

     On June 12, 1947, an F8F-1 Bearcat, (Bu. No. 95166), was taking off from Quonset Point Naval Air Station for a training flight.  As the aircraft became airborne, the pilot retracted the landing gear.  As the gear was being raised, the engine suddenly lost power and the aircraft settled back onto the runway where it skidded for approximately 500 feet before it came to rest.  The pilot was not hurt, but the aircraft was severely damaged.

     The aircraft was assigned to VF-8A at Quonset Point.

    Source: U. S. Navy accident report dated June 12, 1947  

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – July 20, 1942

January 5, 2019

Quonset Point, Rhode Island – July 20, 1942

 

TBF-1 Avenger
U. S. Navy Photo

     At 1:15 p.m. on July 20, 1942, a TBF-1 Avenger, (Bu. No. 00524), was returning to Quonset Point Naval Air Station after a training flight when the engine lost all power and crashed into a pile of rocks at the end of the runway while attempting an emergency landing.  Two men were aboard the aircraft at the time, and both suffered broken bones.

     The aircraft was a total loss.

     The aircraft was assigned to VF-4.   

     Source:

     U. S. Navy accident report #43-4516

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – June 22, 1944

January 5, 2019

Quonset Point, Rhode Island – June 22, 1944

 

TBF-1 Avenger
U. S. Navy Photo

     On June 22, 1944, a TBF-1 Avenger, (Bu. No. 06152), was taking off from Quonset Point Naval Air Station when the engine suddenly lost power.  The aircraft came down at the end of the runway with it wheels retracted.  It went off the end of the runway skidding through soft dirt and then over a seawall.  The aircraft required a major overhaul but the three-man crew was not hurt.  The accident was blamed on mechanical failure.

     The aircraft was assigned to VT-48. 

     As a point of fact, this same TBF Avenger, (Bu. No. 06152), had been involved in a previous accident.  On January 13, 1944, while landing at Martha’s Vineyard Naval Air Station during strong wind gusts, the aircraft went off the runway and was damaged, but the crew was not injured.  At that time the aircraft was assigned to VT-7. 

     Sources: 

     U. S. Navy accident report #44-15764 dated June 22, 1944

     U. S. Navy accident report #44-10853 dated January 13, 1944

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Quonset Point, R. I. – June 6, 1944

January 5, 2019

Quonset Point, Rhode Island – June 6, 1944

 

TBF-1 Avenger
U. S. Navy Photo

     On June 6, 1944, a TBF-1D Avenger, (Bu. No. 24508), was landing at Quonset Point Naval Air Station after a training flight when the left brakes failed causing the aircraft to ground-loop at a high speed.  Damage consisted a buckled wing and buckled rear stabilizer as well as a blown tire.  The crew was not injured.

     The aircraft was assigned to VC-19.

     Source:

     U. S. Navy accident report #41-14953

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Quonset Point NAS – March 29, 1945

January 13, 2018

Quonset Point Naval Air Station – March 29, 1945

 

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

     At 3:36 a.m. on the morning of March 29, 1945, an Ensign was practicing night landings and take offs at Quonset Point NAS in an F6F-5N Hellcat, (Bu. No. 71001).  As the pilot was coming in to land, the right wing of the aircraft  suddenly dropped and the plane rolled over and crashed into a wall.  The aircraft was completely wrecked, and the pilot received lacerations, burses, and possible internal injuries, but he later recovered.          

     Source:

     U.S. Navy crash investigation report #33-45

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , ,

Newport, R.I. – November 4, 1951

January 6, 2016

Newport, Rhode Island – November 4, 1951 

    

U.S. Navy Grumman F9F Panther U.S. Navy Photo - National Archives

U.S. Navy
Grumman F9F Panther
U.S. Navy Photo – National Archives

     On Sunday, November 4, 1951, a flight of several U.S. Navy, Grumman F9F-5 Panther jets took off from Quonset Point for a routine training mission.  While over the Newport metropolitan area, one of the aircraft (Bu. No. 125269) suddenly began trailing “yellowish smoke” and loosing altitude.   

     The pilot, Ensign Ralph Anthony Lennon, 23, of Flushing, New York, elected to stay with the aircraft to maneuver it away from a populated area and aimed the plane towards the water near Easton’s Beach. 

     Witnesses on the ground reported that after trailing smoke, the plane suddenly burst into flame and began to break apart.  The tail section came down on top of a home at 77 Cottage Street while the main body of the plane came down on property at 396 and 428 Gibbs Avenue.  Cottage Street intersects with Gibbs Avenue, and the three locations are close to each other, and close to Easton Pond behind Easton’s Beach.

     Ensign Lennon was killed in the crash.  Had he not stayed with his aircraft it would have crashed in downtown Newport where the streets were crowded with people and traffic.  As it was, pieces of his jet rained down over an area a 1/2 mile from the crash site, with one piece reportedly narrowly missed a baby sleeping in its carriage.

     There were no reports of anyone on the ground being injured, and the debris that landed on homes didn’t start any fires. 

     Thousands of onlookers descended on the area, sifting through debris, trampling the scene, and hampering fire and rescue efforts. 

     The cause of the accident wasn’t immediately apparent.        

     Ensign Lennon was born October 9, 1928.  He graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School in The Bronx, N.Y., and the University of Iowa, before joining the navy in 1946.  He was a veteran of the Korean War, and at the time of his death was attached to VF-71, then stationed at Quonset Point.  He’s buried in Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York. 

     Sources:

     Newport Daily News, “Navy To Probe Crash Of Quonset Jet Plane In City” November 5, 1951, Page 1

     Newport Daily News, “Navy Jet Plane Crash Spectators Give harrowing Stories Of Incident”, November 5, 1951, page 1.

     Newport Daily News, “Navy Salvage Crew Clears Scene Of Jet Crash”, November 6, 1951, page 3.

     www.Findagrave.com – Ralph Anthony Lennon

     

    

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Quonset Point Naval Air Station – June 14, 1943

May 5, 2015

Quonset Point Naval Air Station – June 14, 1943

Updated April 27, 2016

    

    On June 14, 1943, Sub-Lieutenant Douglas Hamilton Morgan, (Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve) crashed on take-off at Quonset Point Naval Air Station.  The impact detonated a bomb the plane was carrying, fragments of which injured twenty-three men in the immediate area, but only three of them seriously.  

     Morgan initially survived the crash, but died the following day.  He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, November 11, 1923, and was 19-years-old at the time of his death.  He was commissioned a midshipman in the R.N.V.R in 1942. 

     It was reported that Morgan was flying a single-seat aircraft, but the type was not specified. (Possibly a Corsair)  A newspaper account published June 17th mentioned another R.N.V.R. pilot was also killed on June 14 in an air crash in Rhode Island, but no specifics were given.  That pilot was identified as Lieutenant Anthony Max Leslie Harris, 20, R.N.V.R., of Surrey, England.    

     Update 1: It has since been learned that Lt. Harris was killed when his Corsair I crashed behind a church in Tiverton, Rhode Island, on June 14, 1943.   

     Update 2:    

Quonset Point NAS June 14, 1943 U.S. Navy Photo

Quonset Point NAS
June 14, 1943
U.S. Navy Photo

     There is information to suggest that Sub-Lieutenant Morgan’s aircraft crashed into a bomb bunker setting off a series of explosions which might explain the high number of casualties connected to this incident.

     The aircraft piloted by Sub-Lieutenant Morgan was a Corsair I, on loan to the British.  

     (U.S. Navy Bu. No. 18139)

     (British number JT-117)

     

     Both Lt. Harris and Sub-Lieutenant Morgan are buried in Island Cemetery in Newport, Rhode Island. 

     Sources:

     Woonsocket Call, “Victim Of Bomb Crash In Critical Condition”, June 16, 1943, Pg.1

     Woonsocket Call, “British Aviators Names In R.I. Fatal Crashes”, June 17, 1943, Pg. 1

     University of Edinburgh Roll Of Honor, 1939- 1945

     North Kingstown, Rhode Island, death records #43-36

     www.findagrave.com, Memorial #15037581, and 15037579

 

      

Filed Under: Rhode Island - Military Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,
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