World War II plane Crashes and search efforts for the missing crews/MIAs.

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World War II US airmen remains found in Indian jungle flown home

It has become something of a cliche, but the US military prides itself on
never leaving anyone behind. Recently, tiny bone fragments that may
represent the last remains from one or two crew members of a B-24
bomber that crashed on a supply run from India to China over the
Himalayan Mountains 76 years ago, were put on a plane bound for the US.
While the Pentagon`s Prisoner of war/Missing in Action Accounting Agency
(DPAA), has recovered the remains of US soldiers from locations around
the world, this was the first time they had done so with remains found in
India.

Mystery of Three US Airmen Who Vanished in Malayan Jungle Finally

Solved after 70 Years
Just months after the end of the Second World War, three United States
airmen took off from Singapore in their military transport plane, bound for a
small aerodrome in Penang. They disappeared for no apparent reason and,
until recently, without a trace.

New study of almost 5,000 Second World War air crashes shows the
Nazis weren`t the only enemy
Almost 5,000 air crashes in Lincolnshire, which occurred during World War
Two, have been documented by a team of historians. Painstaking research
by historian Graham Platt and his friends has revealed the human stories
behind the 4,864 air accidents in the county during the war Eighty-three
aircrew died after their Lancasters crashed in fog in a single night after
bombing Berlin, and in separate tragedies, planes crashed into a pub and a
house, killing civilians. A German Junkers 88 bomber crashed on the
Butcher`s Arms, in Bourne, on May 4, 1941. These are just some of the
four-thousand plus incidents chronicled by historian Mr Platt, 46 and his
team in a new book.

Conflict-Series: A highly rated strategy game series for Android

If you love classic PC war games and legendary strategy board
games make sure to check out the highly rated Conflict-series for
Android. Some of the WWII Campaigns include D-Day 1944, Operation
Barbarossa, Invasion of Poland 1939, France 1940, Kursk 1943, Market
Garden, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Rommel's North African campaign, the Battle
of Bulge, and the Battle of Berlin 1945. In addition there are American Civil
War, First World War and American Revolutionary War scenarios available.

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WWII Catalina aircraft wreckage near Cairns, Australia, confirmed
Official confirmation issued by the Royal Australian Air Force confirms that
the wreckage discovered in the waters near Cairns belong to Number 11
Squadron`s Catalina A24-25. The aircraft was believed to have crashed on
28 February 1943 killing all 11 crewmen on board. Air Marshal Leo Davies
said on the occasion that it was a great shame that Australian recent war
history is littered with scores of missing personnel. According to official
statistics a total of 3124 men are still not accounted for from the Second
World War.

500 aircraft crashed in Malaya during World War II

Some 500 aircraft crashed in the country during World War II, says Armed
Forces Museum head analyst Kapt Muhammad Zuraiman Abdul Ghani. He
said these would be British, Japanese and American warplanes, with most
of them from the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Wreckage of Soviet fighter plane shot down during World War II

discovered after drought in Poland
A prolonged drought which has caused rivers in Poland to reach record low
levels has led to the discovery of important Second World War artefacts -
including a Soviet fighter plane and several Jewish tombstones. The Vistula
River is now at its lowest level since measurements started in the late 18th
century and has unveiled a number of treasures. The discoveries were
made just days after stone fragments from the early 20th-century
Poniatowski Bridge - which crossed the Vistula River in Warsaw, and which
the Germans blew up in 1944 as they crushed the Warsaw Uprising - were
found.

WWII wreckage of Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express recovered in

Tibet
The wreckage of a Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express air freighter that
crashed into a glacier in Tibet during World War II has been excavated and
moved to Sichuan province on Aug. 11. The pieces reached their final
destination at China`s largest private museum, Jianchuan Museum in
Chengdu, Sichuan. The remains will be displayed as an example of Sino-
US cooperation during World War II. The plane was lost while navigating
`the Hump,` a difficult, costly route over the eastern Himalayan Mountains
which was used to transport supplies from Allied forces further west into
China. About 1,500 American planes crashed in southwest China while
traveling along this route.

Wreck of U.S. WWII P47 Thunderbolt fighter unearthed in Germany

German history buffs unearthed the wreckage of a World War II US fighter
that crashed in February 1945 with the remains of a young French pilot

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inside. The single-engine P47 Thunderbolt went down on February 14
1945, just 10 weeks before the end of the war in Europe, at Ottersweier, in
the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Its wreckage was found
four metres (15 feet) below ground in an orchard by Uwe Benkel, an
amateur researcher in World War II crash sites. Its pilot was identified as
Antoine Allard, 25, from Paris.

Crash site of the plane carrying Japanese admiral Yamamoto opened

to tourists
The World War II crash site of a military plane carrying Japanese admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto, who masterminded the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour,
has been opened to visitors in Bougainville for the first time in more than
five years. Yamamoto`s plane was gunned down by allied forces in 1943,
sending the Mitsubishi G4M `Betty` crashing down into the thick jungle of
Papua New Guinea`s autonomous Bougainville region. Access to the site
at Kokopo village had been closed due to a land dispute between rival
clans. But the area recently reopened, with local tourism operators hoping
this year — the 70th anniversary of the end of the Pacific War — would
result an increase in the number of international visitors.

Remains of German WWII Junkers Ju 88 bomber recovered from

Thames Estuary
The remains of a WWII Junkers Ju 88 German aircraft have been
recovered from the outer Thames Estuary, 10 miles south east of Clacton.
Unearthed by a dredger in August 2011 as part of ongoing work on a
shipping channel for the new Thames Gateway, sonar investigations
undertaken by Wessex Archaeology revealed what appeared to be the
outline of twin engines. A diving search in February 2012 confirmed the
wreck site as being that of a Ju 88. More than 15,000 Junkers Ju 88s were
produced, but the presence of fragments from a large format camera
suggested that this discovery was a rare prototype T series, designed for
high speed reconnaissance missions.

UD researchers help locate downed World War II plane in Palau

During World War II, the western Pacific islands of Palau were a hotbed for
combat. The Japanese wanted to use the islands for battle preparation and
refueling grounds — and so did the Allies. Numerous aircraft were lost in
the waters of Palau, submerged for decades with little closure for the
families of fallen airmen. Mark Moline, director of the School of Marine
Science and Policy within UD`s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment,
and a colleague at Scripps Institution of Oceanography began working with
the non-profit BentProp Project in 2013 to apply underwater robotics
technologies in search of lost U.S. airmen. The collaboration led to the

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discovery of two long-lost planes.

Photos: World War II German Dornier Do-17 bomber raised from sea
A WWII German bomber, likely the last of its kind, has been raised from the
bottom of the English Channel and will be restored for display in a British
museum. The Royal Air Force shot down the Dornier Do-17 twin-engine
medium bomber of the German Luftwaffe on August 26, 1940, during the
Battle of Britain. It was one of 1,500 built by Germany and the last known to
be in existence. Germany employed more than 400 Dornier 17s during the
Battle of Britain, and 200 of those were lost. Most wrecks were melted
down and recycled into making planes and armaments for Britain.

WWII crash site of a North American O-47 found during wildfire

mission
Forest Service Capt. Tim Ritchey and his crew stumbled across the
wreckage on a fire-swept night. Ritchey and his crew were on a mission to
stop the Stafford wildland fire from consuming the community of Hayfork.
The dark, steep terrain, illuminated by flames, did not stop Ritchey from
scouting through the brush. There he saw an item that didn`t fit with the
landscape. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Ritchey recognized the items
as parts of an aircraft. There was a part bearing the serial number, which
narrowed the search to two military aircraft: the Bell P-39 and the North
American O-47. The vertical stabilizer and a .30-caliber machine gun
cemented the find it was the strange O-47.

Search crew finds amphibious Grumman Duck plane encased in a

glacier in Greenland
The Coast Guard said that a private team had located a WWII rescue plane
that crashed on the coast of Greenland 70 years ago with three service
members on board. The plane, a single-engine amphibious Grumman
Duck, disappeared near Koge Bay, Greenland, during a snowstorm in
November 1942. The Coast Guard said searchers had found the plane,
which was carrying Lt. John Pritchard, Petty Officer First Class Benjamin
Bottoms, both of the Coast Guard, and Cpl. Loren Howarth, of the Air
Force, encased in a glacier. The discovery caps a 2-year joint effort
between the Coast Guard and North South Polar Inc., which specializes in
glacier searches for the military, aimed at finding the plane before the
glacier moved out to sea.

Photos: FM-2 Wildcat fighter pulled from bottom of Lake Michigan

A WWII fighter plane was recovered from Lake Michigan after nearly 70
years with the hope that it will one day go on display. More than 100 people
watched as crews strapped cables to the FM-2 Wildcat fighter that was
submerged in some 200 feet of water and slowly pulled it out. The recovery

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was sponsored by the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation and paid for by
Charles Greenhill, a 78-year-old pilot: "It`s a pretty inspiring thing. You think
you get used to it, but you don`t." Now that it is out, the plane will be sent to
Greenhill`s hangar in Kenosha, Wisconsin, before being shipped off to the
National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida.

Michigan men unearth pieces of WWII-era P-38D Lightning downed in

1941
Four men have unearthed pieces of what they say is a WW2-era fighter
plane that crashed 71 years ago in a southeastern Michigan farm field. Jim
Clary, his brother, Ben - an 88-year-old WWII veteran - and two other men
used metal detectors to make the find in St. Clair County`s Casco
Township just east of Richmond. The recovered fragments are from a P-
38D Lightning that was piloted by 2nd Lt. Al Voss, a native of Elgin, Ill.,
assigned to the 94th Pursuit Squadron stationed at Selfridge air base in
Michigan. Voss was killed trying to parachute from the diving plane on Oct.
15, 1941.

WWII Lancaster bomber and its crewmen`s remains discovered in

German field
69 years after their burning plane plunged to the ground after being shot
down by the Germans, the remains of 7 Lancaster Bomber crewmen have
been recovered. They were discovered by a team of German historians
who spent hours digging a muddy field near Frankfurt looking for the RAF
crew after an eyewitness who saw the plane crash guided them to the site.
Lancaster ED427 was one of 327 bombers that took part in a raid on the
Skoda armaments works at Pilsen. On their return to their base at RAF
Fiskerton, Lincs, they came under fire from German anti-aircraft flak.

World War II Spitfire crash remains recovered in Berwickshire

Authorities have begun a search for human remains at the site of a World
War II Spitfire crash in the Borders. A group specialising in the excavation
and recovery of WWII aircraft found human bones at Westruther near
Greenlaw in Berwickshire. A Spitfire crashed in the area in 1943 and the
20-year-old pilot, Sgt Malcolm Robertson from the Royal New Zealand Air
Force, was killed.

Heinkel He-115 recovered from fjord 70 years after it sank in 1942

(photos, video)
This is the moment a rare WWII German plane was raised from its
saltwater grave virtually intact. The twin-engined Heinkel He-115 torpedo
bomber was hoisted out of the water in a recovery operation in a fjord near
Stavanger, Norway. Now there are hopes the plane will be restored to its
former glory and may one day fly again despite it sinking 120ft down to the

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silty sea floor in 1942 after it was damaged during a botched water landing.
The condition of the plane is considered to be remarkable, owing to it
having lain in low-oxygen silt in a part of the fjord where currents are
minimal.

Heinkel HE-219 night-fighter recovered in Denmark

Danish divers and the Aviation History Society (DFS) of Denmark have
recovered a rare WW2 German night-fighter off the northern Jutland
peninsula and are to restore the aircraft. The only known other full example
of the aircraft is said to be in the US, where it was taken following the war
after it was confiscated by US Army Intelligence Service. One of the more
advanced aircraft to be built during WWII, it was the first military aircraft in
the world to be equipped with ejection seats and was equipped with an
effective VHF intercept radar designed to seek out allied bombers. It is also
said to be one of the first operational aircraft with cockpit pressurization.

Il-2 Sturmovik aircraft salvaged from the bottom of a lake in Russia

(photos)
Il-2 Sturmovik aircraft salvaged from the bottom of lake Krivoye in Russia
(article includes photographs).

Mystery of missing U.S. WWII pilot downed over South Pacific island
jungle solved after 31 years of research
The mystery of how a U.S. WWII fighter pilot met his end after crashing in a
South Pacific island jungle has been revealed - after 31 years of research.
Lt Moszek Murray Zanger was believed to have been shot and killed
immediately after being captured by the Japanese after his 4,000ft
parachuting out of his Corsair over Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. But an
investigation has discovered he was in fact beaten, tried to flee in a dinghy
and was captured by a Japanese Navy patrol boat. He was then kept
chained inside a hut for 6 months, before being killed and buried near an
airstrip. Henry Sakaida, researching the air combat incident, became
fascinated with the case and persevered for 31 years to find the truth.

Well preserved Kittyhawk P-40 fighter found in Sahara, shedding light

on pilot`s fate
He was hundreds of miles from civilisation, lost in the desert. WWII Flight
Sergeant Dennis Copping took what little he could from the RAF Kittyhawk
he had crash-landed, then wandered into the emptiness. From that day in
June 1942 the mystery of what happened to him was lost in the sands of
time. But 70 years later, the remains of his battered but almost perfectly
preserved plane has been discovered. Now a search is to begin for the
airman`s remains - as aviation experts and historians begin an operation to
recover the P-40 aircraft. The chance find was made by an oil worker

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exploring a remote region of the Western Desert in Egypt - 200 miles from
the nearest town.

Germany and Poland try to salvage a WWII plane which dived into an
icy lake carrying 70 kids
One March day in the last weeks of World War II, more than 70 German
children squeezed into a plane designed for 14 hoping to be flown to safety
from the advancing Soviet tanks in north-eastern Nazi Germany. Minutes
after takeoff the plane dived into an icy lake, killing everyone on board.
Nearly 70 years later, former war foes Germany and Poland are joining
forces to try to raise the wreck from Resko Przymorskie in western Poland.
The water in the lake, close to the Baltic Sea, may have dissolved the
bodies but mud may have protected the plane and some DNA evidence
could be intact.

Malaysian jungle adventurers have located crash sites of 30 WWII

aircraft
They trek for days through crocodile-infested swamps and mountain
jungles, but the members of the Malaya Historical Group are not seeking
treasure or ancient artefacts. Instead, they`re after rusty wreckage. Over
the past decade, the six amateur Malaysian military historians have helped
locate the crash sites of 30 WWII aircraft. 70 years after the end of the war,
at least 100 British and American aircraft wrecks are scattered across the
jungles of India, Thailand and Malaysia. "What we do is to find whichever
wrecks are in Malaysia and help identify them so that relatives can get
closure," says the group`s leader Shaharom Ahmad.

Debris of crashed Wordl War II US C-47B plane found in Tripura, India

Fragments of a US military aircraft, used during the Second World War,
have been recovered in northern Tripura, India. "After more than 66 years
of being considered unrecoverable by many, the remnants of an American
aircraft, C-47B, which crashed during World War II, were recovered by a
team of 34th Battalion of the Assam Rifles last week in northern Tripura,"
an army official told. The remains of the aircraft were found at the remote
tribal village of Birmani Para in the Dhalai district in northern Tripura, 125
km north of state capital Agartala.

Mystery of downed WWII-era Curtiss SB2C Helldiver partially solved

The mystery surrounding a downed World War II-era plane found at the
bottom of the ocean has been partially solved. The aircraft, upside down
and mostly intact, is indeed a Curtiss SB2C Helldiver as originally
suspected, said Randy Jordan, the diver who discovered the plane while
diving at a depth of about 185 feet four miles off Jupiter. According to the
Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington, D.C., there were 3

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crashes off the coast of Florida in Sept. 1944 in which the planes were
either lost at sea or missing.

Spitfire to be raised from Glenshinney bog, Moneydarragh, on the

Inishowen peninsula
A Spitfire fighter aircraft that crashed in a Co Donegal bog during WWII is
to be excavated. The British fighter was piloted by an American who
parachuted from the aircraft before it ditched at Glenshinney bog,
Moneydarragh, on the Inishowen peninsula in 1941. The pilot, Roland Wolf,
was held for two years at the Curragh detention camp amid a diplomatic
row between the Irish and British governments. Locals are preparing
themselves for the operation - involving the Defence Forces, the Garda,
archaeologists and haulage lorries - which is being undertaken as part of a
BBC programme. The fighter was carrying up to 7 Browning machine guns
when it crashed.

Amateur historian paves way for POW/MIA Accounting Command

mission to Micronesia
Patrick Ranfranz has spent 20 years and $100,000 searching for the WW2
bomber that was carrying his uncle was shot down by the Japanese off the
coast of Yap, a tiny island in the western Pacific. Driven by his family
connection, Ranfranz began researching the ill-fated B-24 Coleman Crew
as an anthropology major in college in the 1980s. He`s made 5 trips to Yap
since 2005, but to no avail. However, his decades-long pursuit has gotten a
boost from the U.S. military: The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command
has now traveled to Yap for the first time.

WWII-era P-51D Mustang found buried in mud on the outskirts of

Bangkok in Thailand
Wreckage of a U.S. World War II combat aircraft, a P-51D Mustang, has
been discovered in Pathum Thani province on the outskirts of Bangkok,
Thailand. The plane was shot down during the Second World War as it was
dropping bombs at a military camp in Don Muang in then Japanese-allied
Thailand. The owner of the land discovered the wreckage and alerted Thai
Air Force officials who plan to display the remains in the Thai Air Force
museum in Bangkok.
Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most
Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II (Excerpt)
Several years ago, journalist Mitchell Zuckoff came across an article about
a WWII plane crash in New Guinea that had all the elements of a great
story: There was a crash in a harsh landscape, three survivors, a hidden
valley inhabited by up to 120,000 tribesmen living basically a Stone Age
existence, and a heroic rescue mission. After the crash the survivors -
Army lieutenant John McCollom, Cpl. Margaret Hastings of the Women`s
Army Corp and Sergeant Kenneth Decker - took on a trek in search of a
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clearing, only to encounter the residents of the valley - rumored to be
cannibals and headhunters.

A very rare WWII aircraft - Douglas TBD Devastator - located in the

waters off San Diego
A very rare WWII torpedo bomber - Douglas TBD Devastator - has been
located in the waters off San Diego. The National Naval Aviation Museum
in Pensacola, Florida, hopes to collect enough funds ($300,000) to raise
the plane, which crash landed during a training flight in 1941.

Douglas TBD Devastator was a torpedo bomber ordered by the U.S. Navy
in the 1930s. By the time the Second World War began, Devastator was an
outdated design: being too slow and too difficult to maneuver it was a
sitting duck for modern fighters. Nevertheless, Douglas TBD Devastators
saw action in the battle of Midway in 1942. Their attack against the
Japanese aircraft carriers did not yield any direct results - in fact most of
the Devastators were shot down - but the attack nonetheless disturbed the
Japanese plan of action. After the battle Devastators were removed from
the front-line service and none survive today.

History buffs campaigning to raise WWII flying boat - Sunderland

T9044 - in Pembroke Dock, Wales
The Pembroke Dock Flying Boat Centre - dedicated to preserving Wales`
"flying boat" tradition - is campaigning to salvage the Sunderland T9044
which sank during a gale when it was mooring at the Pembroke Dock (the
largest flying boat base in the world).

WWII Corsair fighter airplane recovered from Lake Michigan (photos,

video)
A specialized team salvaged an early model F4U-1 Corsair fighter airplane
from Lake Michigan, almost 70 years after Navy pilot Carl H. Johnson
missed a signal officer`s warning to slow down while landing aboard the
aircraft carrier USS Wolverine.

Rare German Dornier Do 17 bomber found in Kent seabed to be raised

for museum display
A German Dornier Do 17 bomber - found on a sandbank 70 years after it
was shot down during the Battle of Britain - is to be raised. The twin-
engined Dornier 17 first emerged from Goodwin Sands 2 years ago. Since
then, the RAF Museum has worked with Wessex Archaeology to do a full
survey of the wreck site before the plane is recovered and exhibited as part
of the Battle of Britain Beacon project. The aircraft - known as a Flying
Pencil because of its sleek design - was part of a Luftwaffe group which
planned to attack airfields in Essex on August 26, 1940 but was stopped by

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RAF fighters.

WWII SB2C Helldiver lifted from California reservoir (including photos

and video)
As the bent prop of the Helldiver bomber emerged from Lower Otay
Reservoir, two F-18 Navy jets flew over the lake. Coincidence or tribute?
No one was sure. The SB2C-4 Helldiver, which crashed into Lower Otay on
May 28, 1945, was being recovered in front of hundreds of people,
including TV crews and amateur photographers. "Oh man, look at that big
old engine and tail," said Richard Frazar. His father, E.D. Frazar, ditched
the Helldiver into Lower Otay after the engine on the plane - called "The
Beast" - failed. Frazar and Army Sgt. Joseph Metz survived the crash,
hitchhiking back to their base at Ream Field.

Gerald Landry found his cousin`s B24 wreckage in Adriatic Sea after a
27-year-search
Gerald Landry spent 27 years seeking the bomber pilot shot down by the
Luftwaffe in 1944. Now items from the wreckage in the Adriatic Sea near
Croatia could confirm the death of First Lt Russell Landry. His plane - the
Tulsamerican, identified by he control panel serial number - was part of an
800-strong Allied force sent to bomb oil refineries in Blechhammer and
Odertal in Nazi Germany. Unfortunately Luftwaffe fighters supporting the
Wehrmacht at the Battle of the Bulge staved off the attack, shooting down
22 planes in 10 minutes. The badly damaged Tulsamerican crashed into
the Adriatic while trying to return to Italy.

Remains of 7 US servicemen - crew of a C47A Skytrain - identified in

Burma
The remains of 7 WW2 servicemen has been identified by The Defense
POW/Missing Personnel Office. The cargo plane (C47A Skytrain) crashed
in Burma on May 23, 1944. The plane`s data plate was found in 2002 by a
missionary, and in 2003 and 2004 a team from the military dug up the
plane crash site. --- Air Force Tech. Sgt. Clarence Frantz of Tyrone, Pa. --
Capt. Joseph M. Olbinski of Chicago. -- 1st Lt. Joseph J. Auld of Floral
Park, N.Y. -- 1st Lt. Robert M. Anderson of Millen, Ga. -- Pfc. Richard M.
Dawson of Haynesville, Va. -- Pvt. Robert L. Crane of Sacramento, Calif. --
Pvt. Fred G. Fagan of Piedmont, Ala.)

Lockheed P38 Lightning emerges from sand in a Welsh beach

A rare World War II fighter plane has been hidden under the the sands
since it crashed off the coast of Wales in 1942. Described as "one of the
most important WWII finds in recent history", the location of the Lockheed
P38 Lightning has been kept a secret to keep the relic safe. Known as the
Maid of Harlech the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) fighter crashed

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on the Gwynedd coast during a training exercise. The International Group
for Historic Aircraft Recovery - planning to retrieve the wreckage - are
looking for support and a British museum who will showcase the American
machine.

German archaeology student discovered downed Lancaster bomber

with a metal detector
The remains of a WWII pilot and his Lancaster bomber which dived into
woodland have been discovered in a small German village. For John Tutt -
who served in an anti-tank unit from 1941-1946 - it is the end of decades of
searching for his brother, Sgt Bernard Frederick Tutt. 11 years ago he sent
a letter to the Burgermeister of Brandau, a small village 22 miles south east
of Frankfurt, never getting a reply until: "Then out of the blue... a young
German archaeology student called Felix Klingenbeck wrote to me...
[telling] how he had been out with his metal detector and found parts of the
plane."

A WWII-era wreck off South Maui identified as an SBC-2 Helldiver

(pictures)
A World War II-era wreck off South Maui - at first thought to be an SBD
Dauntless dive bomber - has been identified as an SBC-2 Helldiver. It was
ditched in Maalaea Bay on a training flight by U.S. Navy lieutenant William
E. Dill in 1944. Maritime archaeologist Hans Van Tilburg said the aircraft
was a rare find, not only because the wreck was well preserved, but also
because there are very few Helldivers left in existence. "I`m definitely
impressed. It`s remarkably intact. I`ve seen a number of aircraft like this,
and this one is very intact. That makes it very special."

Crash site of a WWII U.S. Navy Curtiss SB2C Helldiver discovered in a

forest along the Oregon Coast (photos)
A World War II-era U.S. Navy plane has been located in a forest along the
Oregon Coast. Loggers made the discovery - a wing, tail section, landing
gear and debris from the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver - near Rockaway Beach.
The debris field was scattered on over 200 yards. Investigators were
looking into whether the SB2C Helldiver - a dive bomber aircraft made for
the United States Navy - crashed on a military mission or was later bought
by someone prior to the crash. The Joint Prisoner of War / Missing in
Action Accounting Command (JPAC) is also investigating pending any
human remains are found.

Remains of a World War II Japanese plane and pilot discovered in

Bataan
The wreckage of a WWII Japanese bomber plane and the skeletal remains
of its pilot who engaged in a dogfight with an American aviator has been
found accidentally in Bataan. The remains of Sgt. Toshishada Kurusawa
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and the wreckage of his Tora-Tora plane were discovered by a team of
Stone/Kurusawa, a joint American and Japanese expedition led by Spike
Nasmyth who started the expedition project "Great Discovery" in 2006. The
group was seeking the remains of American pilot 2nd Lt. Earl Stone who
perished in the dogfight with the Japanese plane on February 9, 1942.

Maui scuba tour operator finds wreckage of a U.S. Navy dive bomber
(Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless)
The war plane sits on the ocean floor south of Maui in less than 100 feet
deep. Even covered by coral and rust it`s an amazing site. "A local
fisherman happened to come into the shop and mention that he was trying
to catch some fish under the wings of a plane. I`m like, `What plane?` ...
Right now all the indications are it leans to a plane that was lost in 1945,"
said Brad Varney, a Maui scuba tour operator and a history buff. He said
the plane seems to be a World War II U.S. Navy dive bomber - The
Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless. The plane is off the beaten path, that may
explain why it`s gone undiscovered.

World War II F6F3 Hellcat fighter recovered from Lake Michigan

[video]
A historic war plane was pulled from the Lake Michigan as the Navy
recovered a WW2 F6F3 Hellcat fighter plane. This is the latest in a series
of historic recoveries from the lake. For the first time in 60 years, the F6F3
Hellcat fighter is seeing the light of the day. Hunter Browley, whose
grandfather Lieutenant Walter Elcock piloted the plane in 1945 when it
sank, was given the honor of sitting in the cockpit. The fighter was at the
bottom of Lake Michigan in 250 feet but was still well preserved. Hundreds
of Hellcats crashed during WW2 training runs - this one will be put on
display at the National Aviation Museum.

P-47 remains, discovered by a fisherman, excite Italian aviation buffs

It doesn`t look like much: casual observers might be hard-pressed to figure
out it used to be a plane. But on closer inspection, the wings and cockpit
can be identified: P-47 Thunderbolt. Italian aviation enthusiasts hope to id
the aircraft and the pilot - and restore the aircraft. At least three P-47s are
known to have fallen into the northern Adriatic during the war. No human
remains were found with the wreckage.

Defense Department team seeks American bomber show down at the

start of the Battle of the Bulge
At the start of the Battle of the Bulge, an American bomber was shot down
by German fighters and crashed, nose-first, in a field. The pilot`s body was
never found. Recently a 10-member team from Joint POW/MIA Accounting
Command was in the same field, searching for a trace of the airman. The

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group had excavated shreds of a parachute and part of a leather glove
when one of the forensic anthropologists, Allysha Powanda Winburn, found
a clue: a small piece of human bone. The new focus on World War II
comes after years of focus to Vietnam War. Now time is running out in
Europe where many odler witnesses and local historians, crucial for
locating crash sites, are perishing.

American P-38 fighter plane found on beach in Wales

65 years after it crash-landed on a beach in Wales, a nearly intact
American P-38 fighter plane has emerged from the sand where it was
buried - a World War II relic long forgotten by the U.S. government and
unknown to the British public. Recently the P38 re-emerged due to unusual
conditions that caused the sands to shift. The Lockheed "Lightning" fighter,
with its twin-boom design, has raised interest in British aviation circles and
aircraft museums. "The fighter is arguably the oldest P-38 in existence. The
difficult part is to keep such a dramatic discovery secret. Looting of historic
wrecks... is a major problem," Ric Gillespie, of TIGHAR, said.

Who has right to World War II plane wrecks - Yukon vs salvager

brothers (Article no longer available from the original source)
At the height of WWII when an American bomber plane, en route to
defending Alaska, crashed in the Yukon. The nose of the B-26 Marauder
ended up at the bottom of Watson Lake, where it sat for over 60 years -
until two brothers from Alberta dragged it up. But the warbird is caught in a
power struggle between Brian and John Jasman who say they have
rightfully salvaged it, and the territorial government that says the plane is its
to keep (because the brothers excavated without a permit under the Yukon
Territory`s Historic Resources Act). The legal battle that follows could
decide if wrecks fall under federal shipping laws, or territorial heritage laws.

300 WWII military airplanes went to the bottom of Lake Michigan

About 300 military airplanes went to the bottom of Lake Michigan during the
Second World War in training accidents and mechanical malfunctions,
informs the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla. The U.S.
Navy`s underwater aircraft recovery program has salvaged 39 since 1990.
A Douglas SBD Dauntless, one of several types of aircraft the American
Navy used to defeat the Japanese navy at the Battle of Midway, was raised
recently from a depth of 300 feet. The lake`s conditions (a combination of
cold water and lack of sunlight) are great for preserving wrecks, and
officials knew even before they lifted it that the Dauntless would be in
"pristine" condition.

Recovered WWII B-25 bomber causing stir in Watson Lake

WWII artifacts, including a pile of vintage 500-pound bombs and the nose

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section of an American B-25 bomber, have surfaced in Watson Lake,
igniting a conflict between the Yukon government and the couple that
salvaged the wreck from a lake. The B-25 bomber, part of an Allied training
fleet, is thought to have rolled off an airport runway in 1944, ending up in
the lake. The Yukon`s Department of Tourism and Culture officials say the
couple had no right to go treasure hunting for the bomber plane, and it`s
not theirs to keep. "These assets are part of the Yukon`s heritage and we
manage them under the Historic Resources Act," said Jeff Hunston.

WW2 fighter pilot is reunited with the Spitfire he was downed in 1943
A fighter pilot downed over France in 1943 has been re-united with his
Spitfire. Piotr Kuryllowicz was serving with the RAF in 1943 when he bailed
out of his Spitfire Mk IX over the Somme after an attack by a Luftwaffe
fighter. The plane lay buried 6 metres deep until it was dug up in 2005 by
French enthusiasts. Some of its original skin was intact, like the squadron
insignia and markings, which helped to trace Kuryllowicz. "I looked over my
shoulder and could see someone firing at me, I think it was a Focke Wulf or
a Me-109. I thought they were too far away to do any damage, the next
thing I know I could hear someone on the radio saying Kuryllowicz is on
fire."

Robert Greinert finds and restores wrecked WWII airplanes for

collectors
To the US military, Carter Lutes, a pilot who disappeared in Papua New
Guinea in 1944, is one of the lost WWII heroes. The Pentagon still hopes to
recover him. Until then, it regards his crash site a sacred place - and the
last known clue. Yet while the military was making plans to search for
Lutes`s remains, other visitors arrived on the site seeking Lutes`s aircraft -
a P-47D Thunderbolt, a sought-after model in the booming market for
authentic World War II planes. Driven by US collectors, interest in such
warbirds has grown into a phenomenon that rivals the real estate boom,
according to interviews with collectors, aircraft restorers and museum
curators.

A WW2 RAF veteran reunites with the Hampden bomber he was shot
down in
George Shepherd had a close call when the Handley Page Hampden
torpedo bomber was shot down by Nazi fighters in 1942. 3 of his crew were
shot dead by aircraft fire, causing the plane to crash land before its
destination, Murmansk. He avoided injury and escaped - running for 32
hours before being caught by German forces. He was later forced on the
Nazi death march before being rescued by the allies in Nazi Germany. The
wreckage of the twin-engined plane was recovered by the Russians. Now
the plane, one of just 2 thought to have survived, is being restored at the

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RAF Museum in Cosford. "When I was invited to see it, it brought back so
many memories."

Identified World War II British bomber crewman to be laid to rest in

Berlin
A crewman of a British WW2 bomber shot down over Third Reich in 1944,
whose remains were id`ed with DNA testing, will be laid to rest in Berlin.
Sergeant John Bremner, one of 4 crewmen killed when Luftwaffe ace
Leopold Fellerer downed their Halifax bomber on Jan. 20, 1944, will be
buried with full military honours at the Berlin War Cemetery. Attending the
ceremony will be navigator Reg Wilson and rear gunner John Bushell, two
of the 4 other crewmembers of "Old Flo" who jumped to safety moments
before the aircraft crashed. The wreckage of the bomber and Bremner`s
remains were only discovered in 2006 after Wilson traveled back to
Germany to launch a search.

Military aviation took off in the days of WWII - Thousads died in

California (Article no longer available from the original source)
The coming of World War II ignited a push to churn out planes and pilots in
the early 1940s. Lured by vacant flat land and calm weather, the U.S.
military set up dozens of bases and fields around California. Would-be
aviators flooded the state to learn how to handle planes. But many never
made it overseas: they were lost to training missions across the rugged
Sierra Nevada. No one knows exactly how many World War II aviators
crashed and died in the Sierra`s 400-mile area. Anthony J. Mireles, author
of "Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States, 1941-
1945," reckons 2,200 fatalities in California.

P-51 fighter pilot`s Howard C. Enoch remains identified in Germany

The body of a Second World War fighter pilot who was shot down 63 years
ago have been found and identified in Germany. Second Lt. Howard C.
"Cliff" Enoch Jr. will be laid to rest with full military honors in Arlington
National Cemetery. Enoch, a P-51 fighter pilot with the Air Force`s 368th
Fighter Squadron, died on March 19, 1945, when he crashed after
engaging a German Messerschmitt Me-110 fighter. Evidently both planes
went down in flames. The crash site became part of the Soviet zone after
the war, preventing recovery of any remains by the U.S. military`s Joint
POW/MIA Accounting Command.

Seeking Cuban gold, divers find B-26 Marauder wreckage from 1942
Before fleeing Cuba on Jan. 1, 1959, the tales go, Cuban dictator Fulgencia
Batista looted the national treasury and loaded the gold onto 4 B-26s. Only
3 of them reached Tampa, the fourth crashed into the Gulf. So when Tim
Wicburg found the top-turret twin .50-caliber machine guns and the wing of

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a B-26 - he wasn`t thinking about WWII. His team spent a week looking for
Batista`s treasure. Finally finding the plane`s serial number, 117966. The
team sent it to Ted Darcy of WFI Research Group, whose databases have
records of lost World War II aircraft. Result: It was a B-26 lost on Nov. 16,
1942, on a training mission.

U.S. searches for missing World War II pilots

Allan Harrison - who in less than 2 years in uniform earned the
Distinguished Flying Cross - was tailing Japanese Zeros, when his fighter
began its dive into the jungles of New Guinea. Now all that is visible is
rusted Pratt & Whitney engine. Army Major George Eyster, head of a U.S.
recovery team, examines the site and makes an assessment of what might
have happened: the plane broke up, possibly exploded, before it hit the
ground. The 6-week search for the remains of Harrison and another pilot
Marion McCown, is part of an effort to locate some of the 78,000 WWII
service members still unaccounted.

Remains of doomed WWII B-24 aircrew found, identified

The remains of 9 U.S. airmen missing in action since a World War Two
mission over Nazi Germany, have been identified and will be returned for
burial. The B-24 crew took off from North Pickenham, England, on July 7,
1944, to bomb a German aircraft factory near Bernburg. The plane was last
seen by other crews in the target area. Captured records showed that it
crashed near Westeregeln. Paul Arnett, a historian and the son of a pilot for
the same bomber group, said the 492nd was known as the "hard-luck
group" and the 9 men were known as the "hard-luck crew" because they
often returned battered from their missions.

Workmen dig up WWII Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless Dive bomber

Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless wreckage found in a Pajaro farm field in July is
that of a Navy dive bomber that crashed on Jan. 14, 1944. The plane`s
wreckage was unearthed by workers digging a pipeline trench on farmland
along Trafton Road near the Pajaro River levee east of Highway 1.
Workmen discovered metal fragments, cartridge casings with headstamps
dated 1942, a scorched parachute and other items buried 6 feet deep.
Further excavation has turned up more plane parts and bone fragments. 1-
page accident report by the Navy states that Ens. Delbert Crammer
Goodspeed, with Aviation Radioman 2nd Class Robert Henry Paulson
aboard, took off at 7 a.m. that day.

Glacier hikers stumble upon remains believed to be WWII airman`s

Hikers have discovered the remains of a man believed to be a missing
World War II airman atop a Sierra Nevada glacier - a high alpine region of
Kings Canyon National Park. They were located about 100 feet from where

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climbers spotted the ice-entombed body of another WWII-era airman in
2005. Military anthropologists will analyze the body, which could
correspond to one of 3 men flying with Mustonen when AT-7 plane
disappeared after takeoff from a Sacramento airfield on Nov. 18th, 1942. A
blizzard may have caused the crash that killed Mustonen, pilot William
Gamber and aviation Cadets John Mortenson and Ernest Munn.

Remains of Bf 109 Flying Ace Sgt. Maximilian Volke Recovered

Researchers has located the remains and plane of a German ace Flight
Sgt. Maximilian Volke - a Munich-born pilot credited with shooting down 37
planes - shot down during World War II. They also discovered some
personal effects, including the dog tag and good luck charms the pilot
carried into combat. Searchers located the plane after narrowing their area
based on information from state archives and eyewitness accounts of the
ace`s final air battle in 1944, said Leo Venieri, president of Romagna Air
Finders, a group that scours for signs of missing WWII pilots. Volke`s
Messerschmitt Bf 109 was dug out of a farmer`s field north of Modena.

German farmer wants cash for bodies of Lancaster bomber crew

A German farmer Horst Bender is refusing to allow British families to
recover the remains of crew members of a Lancaster bomber shot down
during World War II unless they pay him 7,500 euros. The families of the
crew are furious at the farmer`s demands - and refusing to pay. They say
that the farmer must not be allowed to make a profit from allowing them to
give their dead relatives a proper burial with full military honours. One
described his demands as "shockingly greedy and insensitive". 4 British
airmen and 2 Canadians were in the Lancaster MK1 bomber shot down
over Nazi Germany. The bomber, marked EM-J with serial number PD216,
was part of 207 squadron.

World War II U.S. Airman`s Body Found in Hungary among B24 wreck
The remains of a U.S. Staff Sgt. Martin F. Troy, whose B-24H "Liberator"
bomber was shot down over Hungary in WWII, have been recovered from
wreckage left unexcavated in a rural area in Nemesvita for 63 years. The
recovery was carried out by the U.S. military`s Hawaii-based Joint
POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), which ids and recovers American
soldiers killed around the world. Tens of thousands of people from some
two dozen countries were killed in Hungary, invaded by Nazi Germany in
1944. The country was then under communist rule and would not have
allowed an American military team in to search the crash site.

Wreckage of Imperial Japanese Army fighter found on Luzon Island

The wreckage of a World War II Imperial Japanese Army fighter plane that
crashed was found by an American group in the Bataan Peninsula on

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Luzon Island in the Philippines. The group`s members include people with
connections to the pilot of a U.S. fighter plane that is believed to have
crashed nearby. Judging from the model of the aircraft engine, it is believed
that pilot was Toshisada Kurosawa, a sergeant in the 50th regiment of the
army`s aviation unit. War historian Kan Sugahara, who cooperated in the
examination of the wreckage, is searching for Kurosawa`s bereaved family.

WWII Mosquito fighter-bomber rises from the mud

Milton Keynes: The remains of a crashed de Havilland Mosquito World War
II fighter-bomber have been discovered. Among the wreckage was one of
the plane`s Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, guns and ammunition. The
wooden fuselage had rotted away. The RAF team identified the aircraft as
being from No 51 Operational Training Unit which had been based at RAF
Cranfield in Bedfordshire. It took off on its ill-fated night flight on 14 January
1945. Pilot Warrant Officer Gavin Harvie and navigator Sergeant Martin
Sydney Card discovered that some of the Mosquito`s equipment was
malfunctioning and radioed a distress call just minutes into the flight.

US explorers, armed with metal detectors, discover WW2 wreck in

Burma jungle (Article no longer available from the original source)
3 amateur explorers from the U.S. have uncovered the wreckage of a
downed American World War II plane in the jungles of northern Burma.
Brenda Davidson, Nancy Nenow and Don Morley heard rumours of the
aircraft from tribesmen on previous trips, and set off from the town of
Hkamti armed with metal detectors on Jan 13. They found the wreck, which
included parts of the plane`s pumps, generator and landing gear, after
trekking 13 days. "We didn`t find the fuselage, so we could not guess what
type of plane it was." Because the wreck was too heavy to carry away, they
photographed it and wrote down a brand name found on a pump.

Historians find Canadian Second World War Halifax bomber

Historians have recovered a Royal Air Force Halifax bomber from the
Second World War and some of the remains of its Canadian and British
crew, a find yielding treasures for a Warsaw museum. The badly-damaged
hull of the bomber from the 148 Squadron RAF, documents and some
human remains were found buried under a field near Dabrowa Tarnowska.
The Halifax JP-276A took off on its flight with a crew of five Canadians and
two Britons from Brindisi on Aug. 4, 1944. Canadian pilot Capt. Blynn was
leading the mission to drop weapons to the Polish underground as the
Warsaw ghetto uprising raged.

World War II B-24D bomber found in Mojave Desert (Article no longer

available from the original source)
An aviation archaeologist discovered the lost wreckage of a World War II

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bomber in the middle of the Mojave Desert. A military recovery mission is
underway with the discovery of decades-old bones. "It`s very, very... it`s an
emotional experience," said U.S. Marines Captain George Murphy. On April
09, 1944, a B-24D Bomber went down during a training mission just
southwest of the then Mojave Marine Corps Air Station. The command
setup shop over a month ago and has carefully unearthed personal
artifacts like zippers and dog tags.

The Search for World War II Planes Continues

World War II may have ended six decades ago, but leftovers from the
conflict can be found everywhere -- if you`re looking. One German group
does just that. As head of the Search Group for the Missing (Arbeitsgruppe
Vermisstenforschung), Uwe Benkel and his team of volunteers scour the
country to find and excavate the thousands of fighter planes which crashed
in Germany during WWII. They recover the remains of the pilots and
provide them a proper funeral. In the process, Benkel has healed many a
scar -- both within families and across continents.

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THE END

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