Westover Field, Massachusetts – June 6, 1942
On June 6, 1942, army 2nd Lt. J. M. Connelly took off from East Boston Airport in a P-40E aircraft, (#40-452) for a local familiarization flight. Upon his return it was discovered that the left landing gear would not fully extend downward, even when Lt. Connelly attempted to do so manually. After continuing to circle the airport while working on the problem without success, Lt. Connelly was ordered to fly to Westover Field in Chicopee, Massachusetts, and make a crash landing there. Following instructions, Connelly crash landed at Westover, and although the aircraft was substantially damaged, he was unhurt.
At the time of this incident, Lt. Connelly was assigned to the 64th Fighter Squadron. He received his pilot’s rating on April 29, 1942.
Source: U.S. Air Corps Technical report Of Aircraft Accident, #42-6-6-2