Hatfield, MA. – August 27, 1943

Hatfield, Massachusetts – August 27, 1943

 

P-47B Thunderbolt
U.S. Air Force Photo

     On August 27, 1943, a pair of P-47 Thunderbolts was passing over the Hatfield area when one aircraft, a P-47B, (Ser. No. 5930), developed engine trouble and the pilot was forced to bail out.  The aircraft plunged into a wooded are in North Hatfield near the Whately town line and exploded.  Some nearby field workers had to scatter as the flames set off ammunition in the aircraft. The pilot landed safely.

     Both aircraft were part of the 320th Fighter Squadron, 326th Fighter group, based at Westover Field in Chicopee, Massachusetts.

     Source: Unknown Newspaper, “Westover pilot Jumps Out Over North Hatfield”, August 28, 1943.     

Westhampton, MA. – April 10, 1943

Westhampton, Massachusetts – April 10, 1943

 

P-47C Thunderbolt
U.S. Air Force Photo

     On April 10, 1943, 2nd Lt. John Franklin Reed, 26, was piloting a P-47C Thunderbolt, (Ser. No. 41-6095), over the Westhampton area when the engine stopped.  A 12-year-old boy who witnessed the event later told a reporter that he saw the plane, with its motor not running, gliding overhead at a low altitude.  Then he saw the pilot jump, but his parachute didn’t fully open before he hit the ground.  The plane crashed and exploded in a thickly wooded area off Route 66 in the southern portion of town.  The pilots body was found a short distance from the crash site.

     Lieutenant Reed was from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where he attended Pine Bluff High School and graduated with honors.  He was a 1941 graduate of Ouachita Baptist College, in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he earned academic honors, was active in athletics, and enrolled in the Army Reserve Officers Training Program, (ROTC).  After graduation he transferred to the Army Air Corps, and after completion of his training received his pilot wings and officer’s commission at Luke Field, Arizona.

     At the time of the accident he was assigned to the 320th Fighter Squadron based at Westover Field in Chicopee, Massachusetts. 

     He was survived by his mother and his wife whom he married in June of 1942.  Lt. Reed is buried in Graceland Cemetery in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.  

     Sources:

     Springfield Republican, (Mass.), “Westover Field Pilot Is killed At Westhampton”, April 11, 1943, page 1.  

     Arkansas Gazette, “Lt. Frank Reed Of Pine Bluff Crash Victim”, April 11, 1943, page 32

     www.findagrave.com

Litchfield, CT. – June 12, 1943

Litchfield, Connecticut – June 12, 1943

 

P-47C Thunderbolt
U.S. Air Force Photo

     On the morning of June 12, 1943, a flight of three U.S. Army P-47 aircraft took off from Westover Field in Chicopee, Massachusetts for a training flight.  While the airplanes were passing over the area of Litchfield, Connecticut, two of the aircraft were involved in a mid-air collision. 

     One of the aircraft, a P-47C, (Ser. No. 41-6081), piloted by Lieutenant Andrew Lemmens, crashed and burned in a wooded area off Norfolk Road in the town of Litchfield, near the Goshen/Litchfield  town line.  Lt. Lemmens was able to parachute safely, and landed in the woods about a mile from the crash site.  Two local youths who’d witnesses the incident found the pilot and led him out of the woods. 

     The other aircraft involved was a P47C, (Ser. No. 41-6088).  Further details are unknown as of this posting.    

     Both aircraft were assigned to the 320th Fighter Squadron.

     Sources:

     The Torrington Register, (Torrington, Ct.) “Plane Crash Reported Near Goshen”, June 12, 1943, page 1

     The Torrington Register, (Torrington, Ct.), “Airplane Burns Following Crash In Litchfield”, June 14, 1943

Westover Field, MA. – August 17, 1943

Westover Army Air Field, Chicopee, Massachusetts – August 17, 1943    

P-47B Thunderbolt
U.S. Air Force Photo

     On the evening of August 17, 1943, 2nd Lt. William E. Neudorfer was killed when the P-47B, (Ser. No. 41-6019), that he was piloting, crashed and burned as he was attempting to land at Westover Field.

     Lt. Neuforder was assigned to the 320th Fighter Squadron.

     He’s buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.  To see a photo of his grave see www.findagrave.com, memorial #3614500. 

     Sources:

     Larry Webster – Aviation Historian, Charlestown, R.I.

     www.findagrave.com 

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