F6F Hellcat Bu.no. 08825 story

[Stoney]

^^^^ Just remember that Bill Compton told me that he had gone to several former Navy airbases and dug up some parts.

[Lon Moer]

Post accident photo here, https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums ... on/page/3/

post-17684-1349201919.jpg (24.69 KiB) Viewed 994 times

[Jack Cook]

^^^^ Just remember that Bill Compton told me that he had gone to several former Navy airbases and dug up some parts.

Bill, Jack Lenhardt and one other guy who name escapes me dug all over the former NAS Pascoe. I have one of the tailhooks they recovered.

[Jack Cook]

Post accident photo here, https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums ... on/page/3/

post-17684-1349201919.jpg

Those are all my photos

[Jack Cook]

I think Steve Coonts either misremembered what the book said, or the book itself was wrong - Willard Compton certainly seems to have survived the crash!

Cannibal Queen is a favourite read of mine, the sort of trip I'd like to do.

I told Steve Coonts about Bill at least 20 years back. Has I recall he was given bad intell.

[Jack Cook]

Bill Compton's Hellcat on his farm...

civil6Hcat2.jpg

That's way before Bill owned it. Wayne Fowler was the owner at this time

[Jack Cook]

[quote="marine air"]I remember reading about the crash in "Air Classics" and "Air Progress" magazines back in the seventies. It never mentioned anyone dying, but seriously injured. It crashed on a highway and had substantial damage. It was trucked back and stored. At that time in the 1970's, no one was fabricating parts for WW II aircraft. He would have had to put an ad in Trade A Plane. The fact that it is just now being rebuilt suggests it had severe, not easy to repair damage. There would have been a few parts around at Chino for Hellcats at that time. The accident happened before Kalamazoo's and the one that went to Britain, and Bob Pond's example were built up from parts and pieces. It wasn't until the 1980's that shops started fabricating more and more items for the warbirds.
quote]
It didn't crash on a highway. It crashed in a plowed field. Bill put the gear down and it cartwheeled tearing it into 5 pieces.
If your friends with me on facebook here are some photos!
Bill passed away in Nov 2014
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1478306951586&type=3

[Hooligan2]

I think Steve Coonts either misremembered what the book said, or the book itself was wrong - Willard Compton certainly seems to have survived the crash!

Cannibal Queen is a favourite read of mine, the sort of trip I'd like to do.

I told Steve Coonts about Bill at least 20 years back. Has I recall he was given bad intell.

Cheers Jack, I did think of trying to contact Steve to let him know back when I bought Cannibal Queen (probably 20 years ago, think I got it at Miami Airport to read on a flight back to London), but didn't really know how to do so and figured somebody probably would have!

Reckon Steve and Bill would be entertaining people to enjoy a pint with in a convivial pub! Sad to hear Bill has died but I imagine he reached a good age.

[Archer]

That's way before Bill owned it. Wayne Fowler was the owner at this time

Thank you for the additions and corrections! I can make sense of the story now.