Windsor Locks, Connecticut – May 13, 1943
P-47 Thunderbolt – U.S. Air Force Photo
On May 13, 1943, three P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft took off from Bradley Field in Windsor Locks for a high altitude formation training flight. While at 27,000 feet, one of the aircraft, (Ser. No. 42-8255), piloted by Flight Officer Claude Gregory Baker, (23), began a split-s maneuver from which he was unable to recover due to a failure in the tail section of the aircraft. His plane went out of control and crashed and burned near the airfield.
Flight Officer Baker was assigned to the 361st Fighter Squadron. He enlisted in July of 1941, and had received his pilots wings on April 26th. He’s buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19167719/claude-gregory-baker
Sources:
Book:, “Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents In The United States, 1941-1945”, by Anthony J. Mireles, C. 2006.
Imperial Valley Press, (Calif.), “Death Of Fighter Pilot Investigated”, May 14, 1943
Long Beach Independent, (Calif.), Obituary for F/O Baker, May 18, 1943, page 5.
www.findagrave.com
