Off Cohasset, MA. – May 1, 1944

Off Cohasset, Massachusetts – May 1, 1944   

TBF-1 Avenger
U. S. Navy Photo

     On May 1, 1944, a flight of navy torpedo bombers from the Squantum Naval Air Station were on a training flight over the water off the coast of Cohasset, Massachusetts, when two of the planes were involved in a mid-air collision.  One of the aircraft was able to remain airborne and return to base, but the other was forced down in the water about 100 yards off Pleasant Beach in Cohasset.  The plane remained afloat long enough for the three occupants to escape in a life raft. 

     The crewmen were identified as Sub Lt. Peter F. Morris of Stratford-on Avon; Sub. Lt. James Rathbone of Waterford; and Air Gunner Patrick Sedgewick, of London.  All three were members of the Royal Navy Air Force.

     None of the men suffered serious injuries.  They were rescued by Raymond C. Hunt, a yachtsmen who’d seen the plane go down, and immediately set a course for it. 

     Although not specifically stated in the news article, the aircraft is believed to have been a Grumman Avenger.     

     Source:

     The Boston Globe, “3 British Flyers Saved Off Cohasset After Planes Collide”, May 2, 1944.  Article submitted by Eric Wiberg, author and historian.  

Off Cohasset, MA. – February 22, 1975

Off Cohasset, Massachusetts – February 22, 1975

     On February 22, 1975, a single-engine Navion aircraft with a father and his 18-year-old son aboard was off the coast of Cohasset when they were forced to make an emergency landing in the water.  The airplane “belly-flopped” into the ocean and sank.  The two occupants escaped unharmed and were rescued by two lobster boats that happened to be in the area.   

     Source:

     Providence Evening Bulletin, “Father, Son Safe After Plane Crash”, February 24, 1975, page A-9.  

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