Charlestown, Rhode Island – March 8, 1946
Early U.S. Navy Helldiver
U.S. Navy Photo
On March 8, 1946, Ensign Clinton Graham Thornton was piloting an SB2C-5 Helldiver, (Bu. No. 89304) on a training flight with five other aircraft. The aircraft were practicing dive-bombing techniques, and Thornton’s aircraft was in the number 2 position in a line of six.
The flight leader was executing a series of maneuvers with the other five planes following behind. At one point Thornton’s Helldiver spun out of control and crashed about 2,000 feet north-east of a church belonging to the Narragansett Indian Tribe. Ensign Thornton was unable to bail out and was killed.
Ensign Thornton was based at Quonset Point, assigned to VT-74.
To see a photo of Ensign Thornton’s grave, click on the link below.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/102683492/clinton-graham-thornton
Source: Larry Webster, Aviation Historian and Archeologist
