ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 276896
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| Date: | Tuesday 13 November 1945 |
| Time: | c. 11:00 |
| Type: |  Grumman TBM-1C Avenger |
| Owner/operator: | United States Navy (USN) |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | off Miami Beach, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | Miami Naval Air Station |
| NAS Miami, FL |
1) The Miami Daily News first reported the story of this crash. “Navy Plane Missing with Three Aboard,” and on 13 November 1945 states the Gruman Avenger Navy torpedo bomber took off from the Naval Air Base at Opa-Locka with a crew of three, and hadn’t been seen since 11 that morning.
2) The Miami Herald reported on 14 November that Coast Guard and Navy planes were resuming the search, with the plane still being listed as ‘overdue.’ The flight itself was a navigational training flight, carrying gasoline sufficient to keep it in the air only from five to seven hours (the time depending on how ‘rich’ the mixture was). The plane was last seen a mile and a half offshore, south of Miami Beach.
The Herald announced a “Second Body Found in Crash.” On 19 November a second body was recovered from the wreckage of the Navy plane flying out of Opa-Locka with three crewmen aboard. The body of Seaman Harold A. Mooney of Pontiac, Michigan was brought back last week, found off the coast of Florida. The second man found was pinned under the wreckage on the ocean floor; his remains were brought up, along with the wrecked plane. His name would not be published until next of kin were notified.
The third man had not yet been found. S/1c Mooney was not the Pilot, but these sources do not identify which of the other men was.
The identities of the three are:
Crew member Seaman 1st Class Harold Alton Mooney (age 18) of Pontiac, Michigan
Ensign Robert F. Maddlone of Brooklyn, New York
Robert D. Nuenke, AMM/3c of Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Sources:
1) Miami Daily News, November 13, 1945
2) Miami Herald, November 14 and 19, 1945
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Mar-2022 19:31 | Bunrat06 | Added |
| 22-Sep-2022 17:40 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type] |
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