On 10th October 1944, Sub-Lieutenant R.J. McHaffie of No. 1843 N.A.S. fatally crashed Vought F4U-1 Corsair JT479 off the coast of Castlerock, Co. Londonderry.
On 10th October 1944, Vought F4U-1 Corsair JT479 crashed off the coast of Castlerock, Co. Londonderry. While on a routine training flight, pilot Sub-Lieutenant Richard James McHaffie of No. 1843 Naval Air Squadron dove from low cloud, plummeting into the North Atlantic about 5.5 miles off the coast of Northern Ireland.
The Corsair had only been with the squadron a short time. It embarked in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.A. on H.M.S. Ruler on 20th April 1944 arriving in Liverpool, England on 6th May 1944. Testing was completed at R.N.A.S. Donibristle, Fife, Scotland on 27th September 1944, less than two weeks before the fatal incident in Ulster.
At the time No. 1843 Naval Air Squadron was at the nearby R.N.A.S. Eglinton airfield. The body of 21-year-old McHaffie of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve was recovered and taken to Portrush, Co. Antrim. His grave is in Section L, Grave 34-35-36 of Colvend Parish Churchyard, Kircudbrightshire, Scotland.