Norwalk Reflector Herald*
Norwalk, Ohio
Friday, December 27, 1946

CAPTAIN RICHARD MOSS, U.S.N.

Word was received here this morning of the tragic
death of Captain Richard Moss, 45, of the United
States Naval Air Corps, in a plane crash over
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Thursday, December 26, 1946.
The body was recovered and will be flown to
Washington for burial in Arlington Cemetery.

No other details are available as Captain Moss
was flying alone at the time.

His Father, Colonel James A. Moss, retired Army
Officer, who with Mrs. Moss, has been living in
Sarasota, Florida, is flying to Cuba, and will
return to Washington with the body. In the
meantime, his Mother, Mrs. Moss, formerly Kate
Kellogg, will go to Fayetteville, North Carolina,
where her other son, Romaine will accompany her
to Washington.

Captain Moss graduated from Norwalk High School
with the class of 1920, and from the Annapolis
Naval Academy in 1925. On the day of his
graduation, he was united in marriage to Miss
Louise Bean, of Baltimore, who also survives.
There are no children.

During World War II, he served on the airplane
carrier, USS Block Island, and for the past nine
months, has been the Commander of the Naval Base
at Guantanamo. A month ago, he was decorated by
the Cuban Government, for saving the town of
Guantanamo from destruction by fire.

Captain Moss was the grandson of the late General
E.R. Kellogg, of Norwalk; is a nephew of Mrs. J. G.
Gibbs; and Mrs. Emma Peters; and a cousin of Mrs.
Esther Gibbs Powers; Miss Eleanor Wickham; and Mrs.
N.W. Gatrell, of this city.

Besides his parents, and his widow, Louise; he is
survived by one brother, Romaine, of Fayetteville,
NC; and a sister, Pauline, wife of Colonel M.O.
Perry, of the U.S. Army.

++++++++++

Captain Richard Stanley Moss was Killed in the Crash of USN Stinson OY Sentinel: OY-1; Serial#/BuNo: 03929; 300 yards off Runway #1 at NAS Guantanamo Bay' on December 26, 1946.

++++++++++

His Service as COMMANDER of the USS Block Island:

While moored at Port Everglades on 8 January 1945, Captain M. E. Crist, USN, was relieved as commanding officer by Captain R. S. Moss, USN.

On 26 January 1945, the 5,000th landing on the deck of the Solomons was made by an F6F. It is noted here that the Solomons Excelled at making More Landings Per Day and Qualifying More Pilots than any other ship in the CVE Atlantic Fleet. By the time the USS Solomons CVE 67 is decommissioned in 1946, she will have recorded a total of OVER 34,000 landings on her flight deck in just three years. The remainder of January and the month of February were spent conducting rigid air drills off the coast of Florida. Steaming in company with USS LEA DD118, and the USS BERNADOU, the USS SOLOMONS CVE 67 conducted air operations in which 43 F6F pilots were qualified on 1 March 1945.

She returned to port shortly thereafter and picked up 12 pilots who reported aboard for temporary duty. On 7 March 1945, additional planes reported aboard for flight operations, and when she moored on 10 March 1945, 42 officers departed, having completed their temporary duty.

On 17 March 1945, 58 more fighter pilots were qualified in carrier landings. The remainder of the month was spent conducting air operations. The period 18 March 1945 to 30 September 1945 was occupied in more air operations off the East Coast. On 15 April 1945, all hands were called to quarters on the Flight Deck for a Memorial Service for our late President and Commander In Chief, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The Ship's Chaplain led the Officers and Crew in Prayer. Several hymns were sung and the Ensign was brought to Half Mast , where it remained for thirty days in Tribute to a Great President. The Bugler sounded Taps and after a short period of respectful silence the crew dispersed to carry on the Ship's work.

When Germany surrendered, the USS Solomons CVE 67, lost her opportunity to grasp a Surrender "Prize" when it was learned that the only U-boat in the vicinity of the USS Solomons had already contacted the Naval Shore Authority regarding her surrender.

On 7 August 1945, 25,000th Landing aboard the USS Solomons CVE 67, being made by Ens. R. I. Jacobsen, in an SBF-4E, "Helldiver", Plane # 6, Bu. # 31925.

On 27 October 1945, the USS Solomons is in Mobile, Alabama, along with Destroyer Escorts USS Pillsbury, and USS Pope and also the Submarines USS Flasher and USS Gabalin for Navy Day. It was estimated that over 80,000 people visited the USS Solomons CVE 67.

On 5 December 1945 "Flight 19" NAS Ft. Lauderdale, 5 TBM Avenger Torpedo Bombers were warming up to take their last training hop. The Navy and Marine Combat Air crewman needed one more flight to qualify for their wings. And the pilots, except for the flight leader, needed one more navigational training flight to finish. One Marine missed the flight. This was the famous "Flight 19", a composite training flight of both Navy and Marine Corps airmen, that would become the subject of every "Devils Triangle" story on TV and books for decades to come. After flying eastward and then northward for some hours, they became lost. They reported trouble with their compasses and couldn't orient directions correctly.

As nightfall approached they were almost out of gas. And then all of the Florida East coast bases lost radio contact with them. At NAS Banana River, Florida, two PBMs were alerted to take off on a Search and Rescue operation down to North of the Bahamas to fly a "box" pattern. Their long range meant that they could fly all night if necessary. They were fully gassed. They passed all pre-flight checks. The crew on PBM No. 59225 was made up of crew and other volunteers. Both PBMs took off and headed off in different directions. Radar had them both plotted. Suddenly, PBM 59225 disappeared from the radar. A merchant ship, the SS Gaines Mills, reported seeing a massive explosion high in the sky, which then gravitated down to the ocean and continued to burn with flames 100 feet high. A large search and rescue mission was already being formed by sea for the 5 TBMs. In the morning, the USS Solomons CVE 67 approached the approximate site of the crash and found only a small oil slick, no debris, no survivors. The plane and crew had apparently been vaporized. The other PBM and the search vessels and aircraft continued their search for the TBMs for several days with no results.

On this day, 5 December 1945, 6 aircraft and 27 men disappeared and the cause has never been established. On ? February 1946, Captain R. S. Moss, USN, was relieved as commanding officer by Captain Allen Smith Jr, USN. Captain Smith is the former Commander of the USS THETIS BAY CVE 90.

++++++++++

In February 1946, Captain Richard Stanley Moss was assigned as the COMMANDER of Naval Air Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; a position he held until his death.

++++++++++

The STINSON Sentinel OY-1

In March 1943, with the creation of the liaison category of light observation aircraft (previous examples came from Taylorcraft Aircraft as the L-2, and from Aeronca as their L-3, along with the numerous Piper L-4) the designation for Stinson's new purpose-built military design was changed to the L-5. The primary purpose as a liaison aircraft was courier and communication work, artillery spotting and casualty evacuation. The fuselage of later models was redesigned so the aircraft could also be used as an air ambulance, or for cargo work. With a wider and deeper rear fuselage section and a large rear door that folded downward, a litter patient or 250 pounds of cargo could be quickly loaded aboard.

The L-5 series was manufactured between December 1942 and September 1945, during which time 3,590 of the unarmed two-seaters were built for the United States armed forces, making it the second most widely used light observation aircraft of the war behind the Piper L-4 Cub.

The fuselage was constructed using chrome-moly steel tubing covered with doped cotton fabric and the wings and empennage were constructed of spruce and mahogany plywood box spars and plywood ribs and skins, also covered with fabric. The use of aluminum, which was in critically short supply and more urgently needed for other aircraft, was limited to the engine cowling, tail cone, framework for the ailerons, rudder and elevator and the landing gear fairings. The L-5 was powered by a six-cylinder 190 horsepower Lycoming O-435 engine.

Capable of operating from short unimproved airstrips, the L-5 "Sentinel" delivered personnel, critical intelligence and needed supplies to the front line troops. On return flights, wounded soldiers were often evacuated to rear area field hospitals for medical treatment, boosting the morale of combat troops fighting in remote areas. L-5s were also used for aerial photography, controlling vehicle convoys, para-dropping food, medical supplies and ammunition, laying communication wire, distributing propaganda leaflets, spraying pesticide, transporting prisoners, and directing fighter-bombers to ground targets. The L-5 was also popular with Generals and other high-ranking officers for fast, efficient short-range transportation.

During the Battle of Okinawa, L-5s operated from an LST using the Brodie landing system which allowed a light aircraft to take off and land without a flat surface by snagging a wire hung between two booms. One of the L-5s that used the Brodie system off Okinawa is now on display in the Boeing Aviation Hangar facility of the Smithsonian's NASM's Udvar-Hazy Center annex at Dulles Airport just west of Washington, DC.

UN liaison service in Greece during the Greek Civil War
The USAAF, US Marines, and US Navy used this aircraft in the European, Pacific, and Far East theaters during World War II, and in Korea during the Korean War

The Navy and Marine version of the L-5 through L-5E were designated OY-1, and all these aircraft has 12-volt electrical systems. The 24-volt L-5G became the OY-2.

OY-1
306 L-5 and L-5Bs transferred to the United States Marine Corps and United States Navy.

++++++++++

Citations for newspaper clippings I posted; as well as sources of PHOTOS

Norwalk Reflector Herald*
Norwalk, Ohio
Friday, September 10, 1920

Norwalk Reflector Herald*
Norwalk, Ohio
Saturday, July 16, 1921

Norwalk Reflector Herald*
Norwalk, Ohio
Saturday, May 10, 1924

Norwalk Reflector Herald*
Norwalk, Ohio
Saturday, April 18, 1925

Norwalk Reflector Herald*
Norwalk, Ohio
Saturday, August 6, 1927

Norwalk Reflector Herald*
Norwalk, Ohio
Friday, October 28, 1927

Norwalk Reflector Herald*
Norwalk, Ohio
Thursday, August 28, 1930

Norwalk Reflector Herald*
Norwalk, Ohio
Monday, August 29, 1932
2 Parts

Norwalk Reflector Herald*
Norwalk, Ohio
Friday, December 27, 1946

Corpus Christi Times*
Corpus Christi, Texas
Friday, December 27, 1946

++++++++++

U.S. Navy Cruise Books, 1918-2009
Name: Captain Richard S Moss
Ship Name: USS Block Island
Ship Classification: CVE-106
Year: 1945
PHOTO

U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925
Name: Richard S Moss
Birth Date: 6 May 1903
Birth Place: Baltimore, Maryland
Age: 17
Passport Issue Date: 8 Jun 1920
Passport Includes a Photo: Yes
Residence: Norwalk, Ohio
Father Name: James A Moss
Father's Birth Location: Oskaloosa, Kansas
Father's Residence: London, England
PHOTO

U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012
Name: Richard Stanley Moss
Birth Year: abt 1904
School: United States Naval Academy
School Location: Annapolis, Maryland
Year: 1924
Yearbook Title: Lucky Bag Yearbook
PHOTOS

U.S. National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962
Name: Richard Stanley Moss
Death Date: 26 Dec 1946
Cemetery: Arlington National Cemetery
Burial Location: Arlington, Virginia

U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006
Name: Richard Stanley Moss
Service Info.: CAPT USN
Birth Date: 6 May 1903
Death Date: 26 Dec 1946
Interment Date: 3 Jan 1947
Cemetery: Arlington National Cemetery
Cemetery Address: C/O Director Arlington, VA 22211
Buried At: Section 11 Site 308