Richmond NAS, Florida - fire destroys 365 a/c - Sept 1945
On 14 Sept 1945 fires destroyed the three blimp hangars at Richmond NAS, Florida, while a hurricane swept by.
The fire wrecked some 25 USN blimps and about 365 airplanes, of which 125 private and 240 military, mainly USN. Numbers vary however: another source says 183 military and 153 civil.
Even so, is there a more detailed tally of what (types of) aircraft were lost?
There is talk of Corsairs, Hellcats, P-51s. It also appears that 61 "torpedo bombers" (Avengers?) had flown in from Opa-Locka, so these must likely be among them as well.
The high airframe loss due to storing many of the air assets in S. Florida in the large hangars instead of sending them north when a hurricane approaches, as is usual now.
Any info welcome, thanks.
Regards,
Leendert
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