Westerly, Rhode Island – April 14, 1943
On April 14, 1943, 2nd Lt. Robert W. Coleman took off from Trumbull Field in Groton, Connecticut, for a gunnery training flight. Shortly after take off his aircraft, a P-47B Thunderbolt, (Ser. No. 41-5998), developed engine trouble as it was passing over the town of Westerly. He was forced to make an emergency landing in an open field strewn with boulders. When the aircraft struck the boulders it erupted in flames. Lt. Coleman did not survive.
Source:
Book, “Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents In The United States, 1941 – 1945”, by Anthony J. Mireles, C. 2006.