Norwalk Airport, CT – December 12, 1938

Norwalk Airport, Norwalk, Connecticut – December 12, 1938

     On December 12, 1938, 2nd Lt. Lawrence A. Spillman, 25, was piloting a North American BC-1 aircraft, (Ser. no. 38-379) on a training flight over Connecticut when he encountered thick cloudy weather.  The aircraft’s radio receiver wasn’t working properly, and with deteriorating conditions, he thought it wise to set down at the nearest airfield rather than attempt to make it back to his home base of Mitchel Field on Long Island, New York.  

     As he came in to land at Norwalk Airport, the aircraft hit a patch of soft ground and flipped over on its back.  Neither Lt. Spillman, or his passenger, 2nd Lt. Leroy L. Stefonowicz, 21, were injured.  

     It was reported that it was necessary to rip apart part of the fuselage and dig a hole under the aircraft to free the flyers.  The aircraft was less than eight months old and it was said little could be salvaged. 

     The men were assigned to the 5th Bomb Squadron based at Mitchel Field, Long Island, N.Y.

     Norwalk Airport was a small airfield that no longer exists.  Today, All Saints Catholic School at 139 W. Rocks Rd. occupies the site of the former airport.

     Sources:

     U.S. Army Air Corps Technical Report Of Aircraft Accident, dated December 16, 1938.   

     The Waterbury Democrat, “Army Pursuit Plane Crashes”, December 12, 1938

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