Near Massey in Kent County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Chance-Vought F4U-1 Corsair
Chance-Vought F4U Corsair
WWII - Korean War Fighter
Marked as flown in 1949 by
Alberto H. Santa Maria
Commander U.S. Navy
1924 - 2010
Kent County, MD Resident
Member of the Massey Air Museum
Naval Aviator (F6F "Hellcat", F4U-5 "Corsair" & helicopters)
Senior Test Pilot for Boeing-Vertol (First to fly 1000 experimental hours in CH-47 "Chinook").
Engineering Test Pilot for All American Engineering.
Member Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
Deck Strike accident aboard the USS Palau (CVE-122) in 1949. While on a cruise off Newfoundland with Flight Test Sqdn. VX-3 out of Atlantic City, NJ, (then) Lt. Santa Maria received an early cut command from the Landing Signal Officer (LSO) with the result seen here — however, the LSO, not Santa Maria was held responsible. While this could have been a fatal accident, it was not due to poor airmanship. It is a dramatic photo and Alberto liked to show the picture and recount this story and many others. After 11 years on active duty in the Navy, Alberto went on to have a distinguished career as a helicopter test pilot.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space
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Location. 39° 18.169′ N, 75° 48.034′ W. Marker is near Massey, Maryland, in Kent County. Marker is on Maryland Line Road (Route 330) 1.6 miles east of Galena Road (Maryland Route 313), on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 33541 Maryland Line Rd, Massey MD 21650, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. 1937 Douglas DC-3 (within shouting distance of this marker); Meet our AN-2 (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Antonov AN-2 (about 400 feet away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 3.8 miles away); Mason-Dixon Line Crownstone (approx. 3.9 miles away); Site of Blackiston Methodist Church (approx. 4.4 miles away in Delaware); Downs’ Cross Roads (approx. 4.9 miles away); Mistress Kitty Knight (approx. 5.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Massey.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 4, 2022. It was originally submitted on January 2, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 177 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 2, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
