The QAM's Grumman Hellcat is U.S. Navy Buno.70185. The Aircraft was recovered by QAM in December,1993 off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, MA. It has been discovered that The Hellcat was assigned to NACTULANT (Night Air Combat Training Unit atLANTic) which was headquartered at NAAF Charlestown, R.I.

According to Navy Crash records, this F6F was on a familiarization flight out of NAAF Westerly, R.I. on April 3, 1945. The aircraft was one of seven aircraft on a ground control intercept flight. The aircraft were in the vicinity of Nantucket Sound when the Pilot, Ensign Vincent A. Frankwitz, USNR, radioed a loss of oil pressure. He was ordered to turn towards Martha's Vineyard where there was a small Navy Auxilary landing field. he decended rapidly to below the 600 foot overcast and at this point his wingman noted that Frankwitz's engine seized. The aircraft appeared to make a successful ditching and Ens. Frankwitz was seen to exit the aircraft. The aircraft sank in approximately one minute. Ens. Frankwitz was sighted several times in the water in the midst of the oil slick before his wingman was orderd back to base. Ens. Frankwitz was never rescued. The Water Temperture was 42 degrees. This Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat will be dedicated and restored in his memory.

This particular Hellcat is an early production F6F-5 that retains the small windows behind the cockpit. Of the 7,869 F6F-5 Hellcats produced, only 1,404 were built before the rear windows were deleted.

Source: Howard K. Weekley Jr. of QAM