The only footage in situ prior to salvage Explore the complete history of Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress 41-2446 known as 'The Swamp Ghost'. Currently, there are about six million people that live in Papua New Guinea, most of whom live in remote and secluded areas. The cost of restoring the plane is going to be very expensive. Eleven days later, the bomber departed California for Hickam Field in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. History lesson with Historian Peter Dunn of Australia @ War. Captain Fred Eaton thought he was setting down the bomber in a wheat field; however, they actually landed wheels-up in the middle of Agaiambo swamp. Nothing quite went as planned on that day for the flying fortress. Now that the plane has been returned and is safely stored in a museum in Hawaii, the owners of the B-17 bomber plan to fully restore the plane back to its former glory. What the pilot thought was a wheat field ended up being a swamp. The area also had a deep history. First Name: Brooks TX Panhandle ... Stormtrooper_08 said: ↑ I switched to 315/12.50/17 Toyo MT’s back in 2018. For more than seven decades, that lucky Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress, serial 41-2446, lay intact and virtually undisturbed, all but forgotten. They contacted some locals to help them acquire the equipment they needed to put their project into fruition. Surprisingly, many of the people in attendance were friends and family of the original crew of the bomber. Needless to say, reaching it on foot was no easy task. Get the latest updates on new products and upcoming sales. Fortunately, it didn't detonate. The B-17 was a new generation of bombers that could carry a much more sizable payload and serve remote bases around the world. Even though it was deemed impossible to salvage the plane, the two kept at it and weren’t going to be deterred by anything. But by that time they had already drawn in anti-aircraft fire from the Japanese troops. They could have just left it alone, but curiosity got the better of them. At first, it didn’t gain much attention and only the locals came and went.         } Friend's Email Address. The entire crew devastatingly all caught malaria while attempting to traverse the dangerous swamps. The planes were stationed in Hawaii, Panama, and Alaska. Locals had been calling it the Swamp Ghost because it was so well hidden deep in the jungle. According to Hagen, the restoration of the plane was their greatest dream. The plane never received an honorary name or piece of nose art (that usually happened after a few missions). It took two days of hacking their way through the razor-sharp kunai grass until they reached dry land. Dunn is an expert on the B-17 "Kangaroo Squadron." “Because for some reason it captured the imagination of people from around the world…” he told South California Public Radio. Thankfully, the crew was unscathed, except for one with minor cuts and scrapes. Stream ad-free or purchase CD's and MP3s now on Amazon.com. Mostly because of being partially submerged in water and the difficult to get to the location. It was thought lost until 1972, when it was spotted by a Royal Australian Air Force helicopter, completely intact, resting in a swamp. The team was about to find out. Papua New Guinea, because of its strategic location, it became the site of many clashes between the Australians, Japanese and Americans, all of which had set up military bases in different areas. Upon further inspection of the aircraft, it was quickly discovered that the type of plane stuck in the swamp of Papua New Guinea was one of the exact same type of planes that Taliichet himself had piloted during the Second World War. But these two men had no idea what they would be dealing with when they got there. Copyright © 2020 Duke Digital Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved, They Called It A Swamp Ghost, But It Became A Treasured Find. Whenever these missions would take him over the crash site, he would circle it and tell his new crewmembers the story of what happened.         if ($(this).text() =='$0.00') { However, the passion for exploring something that had apparently been untouched for decades overpowered any uncertainty. Creatures by Slimy Swamp Ghost/Trevor Henderson [trevorhenderson.format.com] Includes: VioletQueen\Joelias_N1\trevor_henderson\cartoon_cat.mdl VioletQueen\Joelias_N1\trevor_henderson\cartoon_dog_p1.mdl VioletQueen\Joelias_N1\trevor_henderson\cartoon_dog_p2.mdl The Swamp Ghost: Documentary of Philadelphia Builder Fred Hagen and his Epic Quest to Honor and Preserve the Memory of Those Who Fought the … The crew was welcomed back as heroes but their celebration didn’t last long. In response, 41-2446 was ordered to Garbutt Field, Townsville, in Queensland, Australia. But Fred, David, and their team were determined to journey through the unforgiving landscape to see it up close. 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