The Swamp Ghost
Papua New Guinea /
Oro /
Popondetta /
World
/ Papua New Guinea
/ Oro
/ Popondetta
World / Papua New Guinea / Central
Second World War 1939-1945, wreck, United States Air Force, United States Army
B-17E 41-2446 was part of a American WWII mission to bomb Japanese positions and shipping at Rabual on February 22nd, 1942. This would be her first and only mission.
After completing 2 bomb runs, she came under AA and air attack, but was able to fight off her attackers despite taking moderate damage - most notably a AA shell which passed through her wing. The B-17 limped back to the New Guinea coast where she began to run out of fuel and her engines began to cut out. Her pilot decided to ditch her in what looked like a open field with the wheels up, but the field turned out to be a large swamp and the plane skidded sideways for several hundred feet before getting stuck in the mud.
The crew walked away from the crash and were back in Port Moresby in 36 days with the help of local islanders.
The plane remained 'undiscovered' until the 1970s when she was located and since that time several salvage efforts have been mounted to return the plane to the US. Finally in 2006 the plane was legally dissasembled and brought to Lae where it was to be shipped to the US, however local authorities impounded the wreck on the docks and arrested several of the salvors.
After much legal wrangling, the B-17 was brought to the United States and is presently on limited display at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino CA, while a permanent home is researched.
www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-17/41-2446.html
www.theswampghost.com/
After completing 2 bomb runs, she came under AA and air attack, but was able to fight off her attackers despite taking moderate damage - most notably a AA shell which passed through her wing. The B-17 limped back to the New Guinea coast where she began to run out of fuel and her engines began to cut out. Her pilot decided to ditch her in what looked like a open field with the wheels up, but the field turned out to be a large swamp and the plane skidded sideways for several hundred feet before getting stuck in the mud.
The crew walked away from the crash and were back in Port Moresby in 36 days with the help of local islanders.
The plane remained 'undiscovered' until the 1970s when she was located and since that time several salvage efforts have been mounted to return the plane to the US. Finally in 2006 the plane was legally dissasembled and brought to Lae where it was to be shipped to the US, however local authorities impounded the wreck on the docks and arrested several of the salvors.
After much legal wrangling, the B-17 was brought to the United States and is presently on limited display at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino CA, while a permanent home is researched.
www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-17/41-2446.html
www.theswampghost.com/
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp_Ghost_(B-17E)
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 9°11'52"S 148°39'42"E
- Site of the Battle of Milne Bay (1942) 228 km
- Crash site of B26 40-1426 of 22nd Bomb Group USAAF, shot down 2 May 1942 269 km
- Tsili Tsili Airfield (Site) 367 km
- Munda 950 km
- Ironbottom Sound 1200 km
- Frans Kaisiepo Airport 1655 km
- Wreck of USS Hornet (CV-8) 1983 km
- Temora Airport (former WW2 RAAF Base) 2810 km
- Smirnoff Beach 2989 km
- Koo-wee-rup airfield (former WW2 RAAF airfield) 3244 km
- Mt. Sibium 36 km
- Managlase Plateau 39 km
- Mt. Victory Volcano, Papaua New Guinea 45 km
- Embi Lakes 54 km
- Mount Lamington 63 km
- Owen Stanley Range 74 km
- Goropu Mountains 79 km
- Eiwo 84 km
- Kokoda 108 km
- Milne Bay Province 174 km
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