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 undergoing restoration at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum (as of 2022) |
The Swamp Ghost is a Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress piloted by Captain Frederick 'Fred' C. Eaton, Jr, that ditched in a swamp on Papua New Guinea during World War II, after an attack 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]
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 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]
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 February 2022 [update] , the aircraft is on display in Hangar 79, undergoing restoration. [6]
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater of Operations and dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during World War II. It is the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the American four-engined Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the German multirole, twin-engined Junkers Ju 88. It was also employed as a transport, antisubmarine aircraft, drone controller, and search-and-rescue aircraft.
The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, six miles (9.7 km) northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the oldest and largest military aviation museum in the world, with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display. The museum draws about a million visitors each year, making it one of the most frequently visited tourist attractions in Ohio.
The Pima Air & Space Museum is an aerospace museum in Tucson, Arizona, US. It features a display of nearly 400 aircraft spread out over 80 acres (32 ha) on a campus occupying 127 acres (51 ha). It has also been the home to the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame since 1991.
The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is an American biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known as the Stearman, Boeing Stearman, or Kaydet, it served as a primary trainer for the United States Army Air Forces, the United States Navy, and with the Royal Canadian Air Force as the Kaydet throughout World War II. After the conflict was over, thousands of surplus aircraft were sold on the civilian market. In the immediate postwar years, they became popular as crop dusters and sports planes, and for aerobatic and wing walking use in air shows.
Planes of Fame Air Museum is an aviation museum in Chino, California, The museum has many flying and static aircraft, along with several rare examples under restoration.
The Boeing C-108 Flying Fortress was an American transport aircraft used during World War II. Four were converted from B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers.
Agaiambo is a swamp in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea.
Liberty Belle was a popular name for United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) aircraft during World War II; over two dozen known individual Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators used the name.
Horn Island Airport is a minor international airport on Horn Island in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. The only International services are carried out by Torres Strait Air, with charter flights to Papua New Guinea.
The 64th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit that was last assigned to the 43rd Bombardment Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, where it was inactivated on 31 January 1970.
The 403d Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 43rd Bombardment Wing at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas, where it was inactivated on 1 January 1961.
The 435th Bombardment Squadron, also known as the "Kangaroo" Squadron, is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was formed in Australia in March 1942 as the 40th Reconnaissance Squadron and participated in combat in the Southwest Pacific Theater until November, when it was withdrawn from combat and returned to the United States, where it acted as a Replacement Training Unit until October 1943, when its personnel and equipment were withdrawn.
This is a list of United States Army Air Forces B-17 Flying Fortress units of the United States Army Air Forces, including variants and other historical information. Heavy bomber training organizations primarily under II Bomber Command in the United States and non-combat units are not included.
David Compton Tallichet Jr. was an American businessman who started, but did not originate, themed restaurants. He also owned scores of classic military aircraft.
RNZAF Station Te Pirita was a World War II airfield, located south of the inland mid-Canterbury town of Hororata in New Zealand. Designed to accommodate United States Army Air Forces heavy bombers, at the time of its construction, it was to be the largest airfield in New Zealand, but it was never officially used.
Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum is a non-profit founded in 1999 to develop an aviation museum in Hawaii. Part of Senator Daniel Inouye's vision for a rebirth of Ford Island, the museum hosts a variety of aviation exhibits with a majority relating directly to the attack on Pearl Harbor and World War II. The first section of the museum, hangar 37, opened with the museum on December 7, 2006, and features much of the museum's static exhibits. The museum's hangars show damage from the attacks on Pearl Harbor from December 7, 1941.
CAF Utah Wing Museum is one of many local detachments of the national Commemorative Air Force (CAF) non-profit aviation association dedicated to Honoring American Military Aviation through Flight, Exhibit and Remembrance.