Fri, Jun 11, 2010
B-17E Bomber Recovered From A Remote New Guinea Crash Site
After taking part in the first long-range U.S. bombing mission
of World War II following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, a B-17E
Flying Fortress crashed in one of the most remote locations on
Earth On Feb. 23, 1942, ... a primitive swamp on the north coast of
Papua New Guinea. The nine-member crew survived the ordeal, but the
Flying Fortress was not so lucky. Damage from enemy gunfire and
loss of fuel forced the pilot to crash-land the plane.
After a harrowing six-week escape to safety, the crew returned
to combat. However, for the next 64 years, the bomber, nicknamed
Swamp Ghost, languished beneath water and tall grass until it was
salvaged in 2006.
Now, nearly 70 years since she went down, the Swamp Ghost is
returning to the U.S. The "remarkably intact" front fuselage will
be unveiled at a ceremony in Long Beach, CA, Friday morning,
accompanied by a P-51 Mustang and P-40 Warhawk flyover above Long
Beach Harbor.
The event will be attended by members of the salvage team,
including John Tallichet, president and CEO of Specialty
Restaurants Corp., whose late father David Tallichet initiated
recovery efforts in the mid-1980s. The elder Talliecht was a
collector of World War II aircraft. Also attending will be Alfred
Hagen, Aero Archaeology founder and Swamp Ghost salvage team
leader, who has helped locate seven missing aircraft and returned
more than a dozen MIA airmen to the U.S., and Linda Oliver, a
California resident and widow of aircraft bombardier Col. Richard
Oliver, whose last wish was to see his warbird come home. Other
surviving relatives of Swamp Ghost air crew plan to attend as
well.
The event will begin at 1000 PDT Friday at The Reef restaurant
parking lot, 880 Harbor Scenic Drive in Long Beach, CA.
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