cross-country training flight." He was flying to Stewart Field in Newburgh, New York, and apparently was lost when he crashed. 30 April Just before midnight, the first production Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer (BuNo 59359) was being prepared on the ramp at Lindbergh Field in San Diego, California, for a flight to NAS Twin Cities in Minneapolis. A mechanic attempted to remove the port battery solenoid, below the cockpit floor, without disconnecting the battery. The mechanic's wrench accidentally punctured a hydraulic line three inches above the battery; the fluid ignited, setting the aircraft ablaze and severely burning him. Only the number-four (starboard outer) engine was deemed salvageable, and the cause was an unqualified mechanic attempting a task for a qualified electrician. 6 May 1st Lt. Vincent J. Rudnick, on a local training and acrobatics flight from King's Cliffe, Great Britain, in North American P-51D-5-NA Mustang 44-13720 coded "MC-X" and nicknamed "Mine 3 Express" of the 20th Fighter Group, lost control at the top of a loop at about 2:45 pm near Stoke Ferry. The aircraft went into an irrecoverable spin, the pilot bailed out, and the airframe crashed near a cottage in Springside. In June 1985, the crash site was excavated and some wreckage was found. 8 May The first prototype (of three) Curtiss XF15C-1, BuNo 01213, crashed on a landing approach to Buffalo, New York due to fuel starvation; test pilot Charles Cox was killed. Two other prototypes were modified with a T-tail to correct problems, but the last Curtiss design for the United States Navy never entered production. The second prototype was scrapped, but the third (and final) airframe is preserved at the New England Air Museum in Connecticut. 10 May Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Lewiston-based Howard GH-2 Nightingale ambulance (BuNo 32360), overloaded for runway length, crashed on takeoff from the Rangeley, Maine airstrip. Lt. Eugene B. Slocum, AMM3C Louis F. Ceurvorst, Pfc. James V. Haney of the United States Marine Corps, and an unidentified person were killed. 12 May Two Hawker Tempests from the RAF 3rd Squadron crashed in Denmark. The Tempests collided north of Rotenburg during wing-formation practice. Flight Sergeant Campbell was killed in SN166, and Flight Lieutenant Robertson bailed out of EJ588 (JF-N) too low. 15 May The crash of North American AT-6A-NT Texan 41-17011, of the 2143d Base Unit, Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama, killed Lt. James W. Alexander. Witnesses said that they saw the plane