ACUFO-1945-09-21-MIAMI-1
In the archive of the ufology group National Investigation Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), USA, in the 1960 - 1970's, there was a newspaper article of the Banner, of Nashville, Tennessee, USA, page 1, for September 22, 1945.
The article told that on September 21, 1945, on Miami, Florida, USA, two F6F-3 of the US Navy crashed, and their pilots were killed, when their flight split to avoid a flight of unidentified “formation of night flying aircraft swung unto its path.”
I was able to find that the incident did occur, that the pilots who died were Lieutenant David Lamont Sims of Fort Worth, a WWII accomplished pilot, and Lieutenant James O'Connor of Dorchester, Massachusetts. They were part of a five-plane night formation from the Melbourne, Florida naval training station. The three other pilots who returned to base reported that a “mystery flight” interfered with theirs over Miami. After the flight commander ordered the F6F's formation to break up, the two downed planes crashed in the Dallas Park area of Miami a short distance from each other.
I was unable to find any official accident report, and unable to find any identification of description of the “mystery flight”.
| Date: | September 21, 1945 |
|---|---|
| Time: | Night. |
| Duration: | ? |
| First known report date: | September 22, 1945 |
| Reporting delay: | Hours. |
| Country: | USA |
|---|---|
| State/Department: | Florida |
| City or place: | Miami |
| Number of alleged witnesses: | 3 |
|---|---|
| Number of known witnesses: | ? |
| Number of named witnesses: | 0 |
| Reporting channel: | The Press. |
|---|---|
| Visibility conditions: | Night. |
| UFO observed: | Yes. |
| UFO arrival observed: | Yes. |
| UFO departure observed: | ? |
| UFO action: | Crossed airplane path. |
| Witnesses action: | Split. |
| Photographs: | No. |
| Sketch(s) by witness(es): | No. |
| Sketch(es) approved by witness(es): | No. |
| Witness(es) feelings: | ? |
| Witnesses interpretation: | Unidentified night flight formation. |
| Sensors: |
[X] Visual: 3.
[ ] Airborne radar: N/A. [ ] Directional ground radar: [ ] Height finder ground radar: [ ] Photo: [ ] Film/video: [ ] EM Effects: [ ] Failures: [ ] Damages: |
|---|---|
| Hynek: | ? |
| Armed / unarmed: | ? |
| Reliability 1-3: | 2 |
| Strangeness 1-3: | 2 |
| ACUFO: | Probably not UFO-related. |
[Ref. nip1:] NICAP ARCHIVE:
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(5) 1945 September 21 Near Melbourne, Florida
Two pilots killed and two planes lost when a flight of F6F3s took evasive maneuvers to avoid a flight of unidentified “formation of night flying aircraft swung unto its path.”
Status: None.
Suggested Action: Miami and other newspapers should have more on this incident including the identity of the other formation.
Nashville (TN) BANNER 22 Sep 1945 page 1
Unidentified Flight Blamed for Miami Crash; Two Killed
Miami, Fla. -- Sept. 22 -- (UP) -- Capt. D. L. Day, commanding officer of the Melbourne, Fla., Naval Air Base, today blamed an unidentified formation that swung into the path of a five-ship flight from Melbourne for the crash last night of two Navy fighter planes.
Day issued a statement today after interrogating the flight leader of the ill-fated formation. He did not reveal the name of the flight commander.
Day said the formation was on a routine flight from Melbourne to Miami. It was scheduled to return via Civil Airways. As it approached the end of its south-bound journey, another formation of night-flying aircraft swung into its path.
The flight leader is quoted as saying that he ordered his formation to break up and rendezvous over Biscayne Bay. It was during the breaking up procedure, Day said, that two of the F6F's locked wings, dived a half-turn, and carshed into the business section of the city, killing both pilots.
Day said the flight leader had called for this breakup because he was not familiar with the Miami area, and the glare from this city lights might hinder the pilots' vision.
Names of the two victims were known, but not revealed, pending notification of next of kin, Day said.
Meanwhile, city officials estimated the loss of a civilian business and a Navy-operated warehouse at approximately $75.000.
The Grumman F6F “Hellcat” (photo below) was a carrier-based fighter developed to replace the F4F “Wildcat” in the United States Navy. Although the F6F was an extrapolation of the F4F, it was much more powerful with a Pratt & Whitney R-2800 2000 HP engine. Often called “Wildcat's big brother”, the Hellcat, like the F4U Corsair, was the main fighter plane of the US Navy during the second part of the World War II.
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Its armament was 6 Browning M2 12.7 mm machine guns, or, for the F6F-5N version, 2 20 mm cannons and 4 Browning M2 12.7 mm machine guns.
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I searched many lists of air crashes and incidents and found no information on the incident thet newspaper reported about.
For example, on: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_military_aircraft_(1945%E2%80%931949) a list of “accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1945-1949)” does not mention this incident.
For example, on this list of F6F crashes: pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/f6f/index.html nothing is said of the incident.
The only F6F crash I found for September 21, 1945, was on aircraft carrier USS Belleau Wood.
But, finally I found it.
In the book “Heroes, Scoundrels and Angels - Fairview Cemetery of Gainesville, Texas”, by Ron Melugin, 2010, we read:
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The tall monument close to the front fence of Fairview that features Lieutenant (jg) David Lamont Sims (February 6, 1923-September 21, 1945) is eloquent but somewhat misleading. Lieutenant Sims was a decorated naval aviator who served with distinction in the Pacific during World War Tl. He received the Silver Star for his actions as a navy dive bomber shortly before his death and was also “credited with saving the flagship or Admiral R.K. Turner when he broke formation on a photographic reconnaissance mission to down a Japanese suicide pilot heading” toward Admiral Turner's flagship, according to the Gainesville Register.
It was after the formal end of World War II, however, that Lieutenant Sims was killed as a result of a collision with another navy plane over Miami. The two pilots of the F6F-3 Hellcats that collided, Lieutenant Sims of Fort Worth and Lieutenant James O'Connor of Dorchester, Massachusetts, were part of a five-plane night formation from the Melbourne, Florida naval training station. The three pilots who returned to base reported that a “mystery flight” interfered with theirs over Miami. The two downed planes crashed in the Dallas Park area of Miami a short distance from each other. One slid across a parking lot into the Tuttle garage, housing coast guard vehicles; the other crashed through the roof of the Frank T. Budge warehouse, resulting in a spectacular fire.
According to the Orlando Star, the planes “miraculously escaped the upper floors of hotels, some occupied by navy personnel and WAVES.” Thousands of persons “lured from a wrestling march, only a few blocks away,” crowded around the crash site.
What I did not find is an identification of the “mystery flight”, “formation of night-flying aircraft” that crossed the paths of the F6Fs. I found no accident report, and no description of that unidentified flight.
Of course, this does not mean that the “mystery flight” was a flight of alien spacecraft.
Probably not UFO-related.
* = Source is available to me.
? = Source I am told about but could not get so far. Help needed.
| Main author: | Patrick Gross |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | None |
| Reviewers: | None |
| Editor: | Patrick Gross |
| Version: | Create/changed by: | Date: | Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Patrick Gross | May 4, 2024 | Creation, [nip1]. |
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | May 4, 2024 | First published. |
