Forum: Expedition Reports & Found Aircraft ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6349440 Sun, 19 May 2013 06:59:35 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/Crash-site-B25-AC-No.-4232466-Ellis-A-Ruppelt-6346088 We find in Pratola Serra the place where 27 august 1943 crashed B-25 A/C No. 42-32466 (MACR-638). The crew:

Ruppelt, Ellis A., 2Lt - MIA, RTD
DeLouche, Remi T., Jr., 2Lt - POW, RMC
Snyder, Nathan B., S/Sgt - MIA, POW, DNB
Grimm, James R., S/Sgt - MIA, RMC
Joseph, Edward Thomas, Sgt - POW, RMC

Some info about these men? I just find:

Interrogation Report: Ruppelt, Ellis A., 2Lt, pilot, 379th BS

Base Intelligence Office
MOODY FIELD, GEORGIA
Date ___19 October 1945___

REPORT OF INTERROGATION OF FORMER POW FOR CASUALTY INFORMATION

Casualty: NATHAN B. SNYDER, S/Sgt, bombardier
Circumstances of loss of aircraft: While on a bombing mission, German fighter aircraft attacked and set both engines and left wing of our B-25 aircraft afire. All five of us crew members escaped by parachute from our burning aircraft over Benevento, Italy.
Hearsay Information: An Italian priest, John Giordano, living at Pratola Serra (Province of Avellino), Italy, wrote me a letter stating that S/Sgt NATHAN B. SNYDER had been shot and killed by the Germans.
Sgt. Grimm, radio operator, and 2nd Lt. R.T. DeLouche, co-pilot, have returned to the United States. Neither one of those crew members has information concerning S/Sgt NATHAN B. SNYDER or Edward Josephs, gunner, the remaining member of our crew.

(S) ELLIS A. RUPPELT, 0-732580
1st Lt., Air Corps, Moody Field, Georgia

Some of fragments we find:

Forum: Wreckchasing - General Posts ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6346088 Thu, 16 May 2013 16:11:54 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/GEORGE-ONE-Recover-Them-Or-RIP-6345310
http://news.discovery.com/adventure/travel/antarctica-mia-navy-explorers-120626.htm

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675029553_George-1-search-rescue_PMB-5-Mariner_missing-crew_Captain-George-Dufek_Admiral-Richard-Byrd

Forum: Wreckchasing - General Posts ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6345310 Thu, 16 May 2013 03:21:03 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/Rich-Mountain-Hike-6340092 Dan Deloria, Rod Pendleton, and I hiked Rich Mountain in southeastern Oklahoma. We were searching an area where we believe the crash sites of an R4D (1945), an SNB (1950), and a T-6D (1951) are located.  We didn't find any of the three after several hours of searching, so we drove to where a Cessna 177RG crashed in 2010.

Photos of the hike.

Forum: Expedition Reports & Found Aircraft ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6340092 Sun, 12 May 2013 16:29:56 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/From-a-USA-B25-crash-site-6339339 These fragment came from a B-25 crash site (perhaps september 1943) near Volturara Irpina. Do you have some idea about aircraft, his crew and fragments??? Please note that this aircraft is NOT this our previous research: http://www.1943salerno.it/ritrovamenti/55-bombardiere-b25-mitchell.html

Forum: Wreckchasing - General Posts ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6339339 Sat, 11 May 2013 20:59:14 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/P38-crash-scene-mystery-photos-6333527 two photos of a P-38 crash scene most likely in the Aleutian Theater during WWII most likely from the 54th Fighter Squadron. The only discernible markings are the nose numbers, barely visible in the image, which appear to be "88" or “86”.

Anybody know the story behind the pictures?
DaveT

Forum: Wreckchasing - General Posts ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6333527 Wed, 08 May 2013 02:02:02 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/Mystery-H3-Wreck-picture-6333498  Anybody know the story behind this picture?

The pile shown is what's left of a Sikorsky H-3. But, I have no idea when or where, other than obviously, it's in the South Pacific or Southeast Asia.

the tail code, UP, indicates that this aircraft was flown by HC-1 (Helicopter Combat Support Squadron One; Fleet Angels, and they operated H-3s from 1970 to 1994. So, sometime in that 24-year period, this ship met with an untimely end.

There are a few things that can be discerned from a close look at the image, however. First, it wasn't running when it burned up...the tail rotor is undamaged, so it wasn't turning. Second, the two blades seen pointing towards the camera are right next to each other, while others aren't. This would tend to indicate that the blades were probably being folded, or unfolded, when the incident happened. And folded is more likely...the engines would still be hot, and leaking liquids could easily have ignited.

Forum: Wreckchasing - General Posts ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6333498 Wed, 08 May 2013 01:45:41 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/Air-Rescue-Reports-6332422
On http://www.airforcehistoryindex.org/ you search "Air Rescue Reports Western Aerospace".    I ordered the CD for Western Region covering some of 1967.    It's almost 1,400 pages.

Covers Air Force rescue assistance.   Lost aircraft (civil and military).   Some are quite lengthy and many give coordinates ---- see the examples attached.

Most of my reel (31073) is Alaska, including a couple civil aircraft that were never found with detailed search maps.

But it also has military aircraft of every type.   All western states.

You gotta sift through lost hikers, sinking ships, etc.

I was after a Lodestar crash here in Arizona and Luke AFB dispatched an HH-43 to the mountaintop crash.  The coord in the AF SAR report is the same as on the CAP list though ... HA!

I got the CD from AFHRA in two weeks.  (1371 pages, 424 MB)     The dates given in the description are somewhat arbitrary.  My file was 4/67 thru 6/67 but included many from 1/67 thru 9/67.   Most of the downed aircraft reports are telexes.

--> Chris B.
http://www.arizonawrecks.com

Forum: Resources ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6332422 Tue, 07 May 2013 12:40:44 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/Ghostly-Plane-Wrecks-Found-in-Remote-Exotic-Locations-6331812 one from the USA anther from Canada

from the link 
Ghostly Plane Wrecks Found in Remote, Exotic Locations
http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2013/04/finding-beauty-in-wrecked-and-rotting-airplanes/


Check out the first picture. It is South African Air Force Avro Shackleton 1716 crashed in 1994 near Agwanit
DaveT

Forum: Wreckchasing - General Posts ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6331812 Tue, 07 May 2013 00:06:31 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/Kingman-AZ...my-first-wrecks!!-6330537 Hello everyone, I am new to this hobby, my name is Cody! I thought it would be cool for my 1st post to be about my finds thus far... My 1st one was A P-38L, next was a C-46D, then it was a B-17G/P-39Q mid air, and finally it was an AT-6! Thank God all of these are located within a 30 mile span of my house. So anyways I enjoy reading all the posts and topics and learning more, so if anyone knows of anymore around Kingman AZ I would love to go see them.. It's funny, at first it was about just locating them but as time goes on I am finding that I am becoming more intrigued with the people and stories behind the wreck. I wish more people cared about our history, case and point, on that P-39 I saw where people had come out and shot some of the wreckage with a shotgun. It kind of bums me out, I would like to be able to take my kids there and let them see and learn about it... Anyways I am done blabbering....

God Bless...

Forum: Expedition Reports & Found Aircraft ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6330537 Mon, 06 May 2013 05:38:41 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/747-Crash-At-Bagram-6324021

Forum: Wreckchasing - General Posts ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6324021 Thu, 02 May 2013 06:57:29 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/Death-Valley-A7E-Cleanup-in-Process-6322484
Charlie is up to it AGAIN !!

http://ghosttownexplorers.org/aircraft/hunta7e/01.htm

Forum: Expedition Reports & Found Aircraft ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6322484 Wed, 01 May 2013 05:08:57 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/OKWC-Message-Board-Archives-6320092
As part of an overhaul of my web site (long overdue!), I've decided to retire the message board.  Although the messages are old, I think there is a lot of information that is still useful to research.  So I'm cleaning up the archives and saving the messages in .pdf format, and making them available for you to download.  The original index is first, with the messages following.  I've finished with the first set, covering the time of 2 April 2000 to 3 November 2001.  

As I complete other volumes (I suspect three or four altogether), I will update this post with the download link.

Vol 1 2Apr2000-3Nov2001

Vol 2 4Nov2001-25Nov2002 (added 6 May)

Vol 3 26Nov2002-12Aug2003 (added 18 May)

Forum: Resources ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6320092 Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:58:40 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/B29-Lowry-AFB-crash-site-6319866 After the conclusion of the 2013 Symposium a few wreck chasers decided to visit the site of one of the most famous crash sites in the local area. We did manage to get one crash site in during the Symposium.  

Just 1.5 miles from Lowry AFB, On Dec. 3, 1951 a disabled B-29 bomber trying to reach Lowry Air Force Base crashed into a row of "swank residential homes" killing eight airmen. Six airmen survived, including the pilot. Five houses were damaged; four of them demolished. The bomber "seemed to hit the treetops and just exploded," said Mrs. S.G. Brooks, who witnessed the accident from a knoll several miles away.The accident occurred near Eudora and Bayaud streets in a residential district made up of modernistic and ranch type homes.


The current owner of the house that was destroyed turned out to be  Eugene Schorsch, Vice President of Sun Shipyards & Ship building. He was very interested in the info and pictures that we had about the accident and he also had an interesting story to tell us about how he was involved in the USNS Glomar Explorer (T-AG-193), a deep-sea drillship platform initially built for the United States Central Intelligence Agency Special Activities Division secret operation Project Azorian to recover the sunken Soviet submarine, K-129, lost in April 1968.

We had a nice visit with him and his wife served us frozen drinks while we discussed wrecks.
"It was the nicest wreck site that we have ever visited"   
Who knows what is buried in his back yard?
DaveT
 

Forum: Expedition Reports & Found Aircraft ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6319866 Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:47:38 GMT http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post/Location-for-2014-Conference-6315283 I started this thread under the 2013 conference thread , but I decided it should be here instead.

I just had this OK'd by the Travis AFB Heritage Center/Museum Director and base Historian. 

I'm offering to host the 2014 Aviation Archaeology Conference at the Travis AFB Museum.

- Free use of all the museum facilities, includes meeting room
- I can sponsor any foreign guests on base as long as they have an ID
- Crash site on base (General Travis B-29) plus more sites off base and some good sites not too far away.
- Good accommodations both on base and off. 
- Travis Museum has a great collection of stuff plus the California Aerospace Museum in Sacramento is only an hour away. 
- lots of people in this area are very interested in Aviation Archaeology.
- Great weather in April
 
Lets bring the conference back to the Bay area. 

So what do you all want to do? Travis CA or Nellis NV or back to Colorado?

VOTE! 

Forum: Wreckchasing - General Posts ]]> http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=6315283 Fri, 26 Apr 2013 04:06:07 GMT