history · 28 February 1945 · 79 years ago
A F4U Corsair fighter of US Marine Corps squadron VMF-214 suffered a belly tank accidental detachment during its landing aboard USS Franklin in the Pacific Ocean between California, United States and the Territory of Hawaii. The tank flew forward into the propeller blades, and the resulting fuel spill was ignited into a fire that would burn for an hour. The pilot Ralph Husted was killed.
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