ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 77967
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| Date: | Wednesday 14 January 1942 |
| Time: | 07:30 |
| Type: |  Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat |
| Owner/operator: | VF-42 US Navy |
| Registration: | 1860 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Pacific Ocean -
 Pacific Ocean
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | USS Yorktown |
On 6 January 1942, a convoy of five ships carrying the 2nd Marine Brigade to Samoa left San Diego, escorted by the aircraft carrier Yorktown, the heavy cruiser Louisville, the light cruiser St. Louis, four destroyers and a fleet oiler, forming TF 17. Aboard the Yorktown were 101 aircraft, including 20 F4F and 9 SBD as cargo destined to units already in the Pacific. The air cover for the carrier and the convoy was provided by VF-42, with 18 F4F-3s. The latter unit flew daily combat air patrols (CAP) and also practiced simulated coordinated strafing runs on the destroyers. Three fighters were lost in accidents on 8, 12 and 14 January, but each time the pilot was saved.
On 14 January 1942 TF 17 sailed right down on the equator. At 0730 hrs the Yorktown began launching six fighters for routine CAP and more mock strafing runs on destroyers. In the midpoint of his takeoff run, Ens Richard L Wright in F4F-3 42-F-14 (Buno 1860) noticed he just was not getting enough airspeed, but it was too late to stop. His fighter went out over the bow and immediately dropped toward the water. Wright carefully turned left to clear the bow, the ditched 200 yards ahead and was rescued in less than ten minutes by the destroyer USS Walke. For Wright’s mishap there was no ready explanation; perhaps the electrical propellor pitch control was at fault.
The exact location of the loss was not now, but the task force crossed the Equator that day at 1351 hrs at longitude 151.
Sources:
"The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway", by John B. Lundstrom. ISBN 978-1-61251-166-5
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/USN/LLJan42.htm
http://ussstlouis.net/war_diary_1941-46.htm
http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=0.000000&lon=-150.996094&z=3&m=b&search=0%C2%B0%20N%20151%C2%B0%20W (approximate loss area)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Jan-2016 15:00 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Time, Registration, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 26-Jan-2017 18:45 | Laurent Rizzotti | Updated [Operator] |
| 24-Dec-2020 21:02 | Reno Raines | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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