Born in 1925, Pawtucket resident Ken Brown joined the Navy in early 1943. He saw action in the Mediterranean, European, China-Burma-India and Pacific theaters, and participated in both the Sicilian and Normandy invasions as a Gunner’s Mate on LSTs. Brown took flying lessons shortly after his discharge, and in 1957 he joined the FAA as […]
CDR John B. Dana, US Navy, Retired (1932-1988) Naval Aviator, Patrol and Early Warning Pilot. Operations Officer, XO and CO of Quonset squadron VXE-6 supporting Operation DeepFreeze in Antarctica. Thailand-based test pilot for USAF infrared recon missions over Ho Chi Minh Trail. First manager of the Quonset Industrial Park, 1974-1985.
“Bob” P. Douglas (1930-2023), a Johnston resident for more than 60 years, was born in Melrose, MA. He grew up in Groton MA and South Boston, and developed the flying itch at a very young age. Bob attended the Hillside School for Boys in Marlborough and graduated from Ayer High School in 1948.He joined the […]
Domenic Giarrusso has spent his life in aviation. At 101 years old (at the time of this writing), he served as an Army Air Corps flight engineer and mechanic in North Africa and Italy during World War II. After the war, he worked as an aircraft mechanic and supervisor at the Naval Air Rework Facility […]
Edward Albert Johnson (1885-1949) was born in Newport, RI in January of 1885. He developed an interest in aeronautics and spent May-October, 1915, at the Curtiss school in Buffalo. He first soloed in 1915 and received Pilot License No. 32. He joined the Curtiss Aeroplane Company and became its representative in England. After the US […]
Raised in Providence, Harold Edminston Lemont, Jr. (1920-2003) was an aeronautical engineer and inventor who graduated from Moses Brown School, and Rhode Island State College (now URI).
Mary Ann Lippitt (1918-2006) was a descendant of an old and influential Rhode Island family that was very active in Rhode Island business and politics. In 1944 she learned to fly during a visit to Virginia, and was soon a skilled aviatrix. She worked as a flying instructor in Virginia and served in the US air postal service before returning to Rhode Island. She was one of about a dozen women pilots in the state.
Sabatino ‘‘Sabbie’’ Ludovici (1910-2001) Born in Oguila, Italy, this pioneer aviator was also founder and chief flight instructor of Skylanes at North Central Airport. He started flying in 1927, and launched his first flight school at the What Cheer Airport in Pawtucket (later the site of Narragansett Race Track). In 1932 he moved to Smithfield […]
Thomas J. H. Peirce (1888-1956), a Providence native, is one of the most accomplished and least known Rhode Islanders from the first half of the 20th century. After attending Providence public schools, he graduated from the RI School of Design (RISD) in 1907 and became an accomplished designer, architect and engineer. In 1916 Peirce was […]
Master Army Aviator Thomas P. Shortall is best known for safely crash landing the helicopter carrying Governor Noel after a mechanical failure in May of 1976. He was raised in the Mount Pleasant section of Providence and graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1950. He joined the RI Air National Guard in 1949, and […]
COL Paul L. Smith, USA (Ret) (1887-1978). When the Defense Department finally authorized an aviation unit for the Rhode Island National Guard in 1939, then-Governor Vanderbilt had to find an experienced military aviator to head up this unit, the 152nd Observation Squadron. The choice was relatively easy. Woonsocket resident Paul L Smith was a Captain […]
Riverside resident Roland E. Stumpff flew for more than 68 years. He was a WWII B-24 bomber pilot who participated in the dangerous raids on the Ploesti oil fields. On his 13th Ploesti mission his aircraft was hit by flak over the target and lost two engines. With a wounded copilot he nursed his B-24 […]