Blackjack Horticulture works all over the states of Alabama, Mississippi, and other surrounding areas. Production crew at Tarakwaruru Mission, Papua New Guinea Return to Previous Page 'Black Jack's Last Mission' DVD available from.
| Swamp Ghost | |
|---|---|
| Swamp Ghost restoration at the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor, April 2014 | |
| Type | Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| Construction number | 2257 |
| Manufactured | 1941 |
| Serial | 41-2446 |
| First flight | 1941 |
| Owners and operators | Delivered new to the USAAF |
| In service | 1941-1942 |
| Fate | Ran out of fuel and crash-landed in Agaiambo swamp, Oro Province, Papua New Guinea |
| Preserved at | Currently (May 2013) un-restored at the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor. |
The ‘Holy Grail of Military Aviation’ – The B-17 Swamp Ghost – Found After 68 Years In the Jungle (Watch) The Agaimbo swamp is located in one of the most remote regions of Papua New Guinea. It is infested by malaria–carrying mosquitoes and huge crocodiles. The vegetation is dense and the intense heat is overpowering.
The Swamp Ghost is a BoeingB-17E Flying Fortress piloted by Captain Frederick 'Fred' C. Eaton, Jr, that ditched in a swamp on Papua New Guinea during the Second World War, after a raid on ships at Japanese-occupied New Britain on February 23, 1942. While flying over Rabaul, it was intercepted and eventually, having run out of fuel, had to force-land in a remote swamp near the north coast of New Guinea. All of the crew survived the crash landing and arduous trek out.[1]
Travel To Papua New Guinea
Discovery[edit]
The aircraft was rediscovered in 1972 in Agaiambo swamp, where it earned the nickname Swamp Ghost. In 1989, the Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center planned to recover it.[2] It was salvaged, though illegally, in 2006 and moved to Lae wharf where it lay waiting for permission to be transferred to the United States.[3] By February 2010, the wreck had been cleared for import to the United States.[4]
Display[edit]
In 2010, the aircraft was shipped to the United States, and on June 11, 2010, was shown to a public gathering in Long Beach, California, that included family members of the original crew. Plans were made to bring Swamp Ghost to the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson for restoration to static display. After arriving at Long Beach, the aircraft was on indefinite loan to the Planes of Fame Air Museum at Chino Airport.[5] The Swamp Ghost was received by the Pacific Aviation Museum in Pearl Harbor on April 10, 2013.[1] As of August 2013, the museum planned to restore the aircraft for static display in Hangar 79 on Ford Island. As of January 2019, the aircraft is on display in Hangar 79, undergoing restoration.[6]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
Papua New Guinea Travel Warnings
- ^ abMurata, A.; Koivunen, J. (2013-04-10). 'Legendary Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress a.k.a. 'Swamp Ghost' Arrived Today, April 10 At Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor'(PDF). press release. Pacific Aviation Museum. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2013-07-21. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
- ^Soberanes, Bill (11 June 1991). 'The Swamp Ghost'. Petaluma Argus-Courier. p. 11.
- ^Antczak, John (11 June 2010). 'World War II Bomber 'Swamp Ghost' Returns to US'. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
- ^'B-17E Bomber Rescued from Papua New Guinea Swamp, Now On Display in Hawaii'. War History Online. 6 February 2016. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
- ^'Swamp Ghost Fuselage On Display at Chino'(PDF). Retrieved 18 January 2013.
- ^Rivette, Thomas (January 28, 2019). 'Pacific Aviation Museum, Oahu 2019'. Retrieved October 2, 2019 – via Flickr.
External links[edit]
From Stephanie Oswald
CNN Travel Now
LOLOATA ISLAND, Papua New Guinea (CNN) -- Some of the fiercest air, land and sea battles of World War II took place around Papua New Guinea, leaving relics scattered throughout the area.
Now, Papua New Guinea -- PNG, for short -- in the southwestern Pacific is one of the top destinations in the world for wreck diving. About 5,000 aircraft were lost there during World War II, and divers have discovered a few dozen of them.
In Madang, a jumping-off point for diving adventures, reminders of the war are everywhere. On land, for example, there's a Japanese Mitsubishi bomber with bullet holes in it. But by far the most interesting relics lie under water.
'There is opportunity to see genuine wrecks, and that goes for right across the country, and there is a good deal of war debris left around in terms of planes and ships,' said Dik Knight, vice president of the PNG Divers Association.
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B17 New Guinea
Flying Fortress
Perhaps PNG's best-preserved and best-known wreck is the Blackjack, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. The enormous plane crashed just off the coastline near the village of Boga Boga in 1943. The crewmembers from the United States bomber survived and were rescued by villagers, but their plane wasn't as fortunate.
Today the Blackjack sits in more than 150 feet of water. Eerily, it's in almost the same condition as when it went down more than 50 years ago.
'The Blackjack B-17 was just fabulous, it made you feel like it just glided down at the bottom of 155 feet and you were on it and just climbed out, guns and everything,' diver Sonja Gilkison said. 'It was, I'd say, one of the best experiences I have ever had and probably will have. It is just fantastic.'
Sights like that are a dream come true for divers visiting PNG.
'I would say if you like diving and you like unexplored places and you don't mind roughing it a bit, it is a fabulous, once-in-a-lifetime place to go to,' diver Adam Bates said, adding 'It is going to change in the future, so go now.'
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