U.S. World War II Plane Possibly Found With Bodies

U.S. World War II Plane Possibly Found With Bodies

By Greg Quinn

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian park workers found what they presume is a U.S. World War II aircraft that sank off the coast of Quebec in 1942 with five people trapped inside.
Sonar scans show the plane is in “very good condition,” and divers and remote-controlled vehicles will make closer inspections, Parks Canada said in a statement today. “There is a possibility of finding human remains,” the statement said.

Canadian archaeologists presume the wreckage is an amphibious PBY 5A plane that sank in 1942 off the coast of the village of Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan. Four crew members of that plane escaped before it flooded and were rescued in rough seas by local fisherman who rowed out to save them.

U.S. and Canadian officials are cooperating to protect the site and see what can be recovered, the statement said.

“This plane is a testament to the collaboration between Canada and the U.S. during the Second World War,” Christian Paradis, Canada’s regional minister for Quebec, said today in the statement.

The plane that sank in 1942 was based in Maine and serviced an airfield in the Quebec village.
“The United States government was extremely interested to learn of the discovery of the wreckage, and we look forward to working with our Canadian friends to verify the identity of the aircraft,” David Fetter, Consul General of the United States, said in the statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Quinn in Ottawa at gquinn1@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: August 6, 2009 15:46 EDT

Dann und Jetzt, Dachau KZ Lager

Door to the fumigation chambers

Front gate to the prison area

SS Commandants House

Warehouses where inmates were made to work

Guard tower along perimeter

Front gate showing first bus load of prisoners in 1933

I love seeing how stuff looked then, and how things look now. It makes it easier for me to connect with the history of the place. Some comparative images.

Dachau KZ and Panzer Kaserne

The Reichsadler is on the right side. This shot shows the massive scale of the buildings.

Just after the trip to Aberdeen, I got sent to Stuttgart Germany for a four day conference.

As anyone who knows me will attest. I try to squeeze as much fun and sightseeing into any trip as humanly possible, almost to the point of exhaustion.

The conference was at Patch Barracks, but I got to look around Kelley Barracks and Panzer Kaserne. At Panzer Kaserne, former home of the 7th Panzer Regiment in it's former life. I found two former reichadlers on Panzer kaserne alone.

They were de-nazified (the swastika removed and sometimes not very well) and the rest left in place. I enjoy it when the detritus of history is left in place and not defaced. All three kasernes had numerous original buildings in use. German barracks buildings are large imposing buildings that still look impressive today.

Having the afternoon off after the last day of the conference. Three of us decided to take off to see something unique. We had a nice rental (a C Class Mercedes-Benz), and I have had previous "experience" driving in Germany. The three of us voted on seeing Dachau concentration camp. It was almost 200 kilometers away from Stuttgart, but we were eager to go.

Urban Unusual: Aberdeen Proving Grounds

Marder III Ausf.H, Sd.Kfz. 138. An anti-tank gun mounted on a Panzer 38t chassis.

Prototype Heuschrecke 10 "Grasshopper 10" was a self-propelled 105mm gun (Waffenträger or weapons carrier) that had a removable turret that could be set down as a pillbox or the gun towed behind a vehicle.

Jagdpanther IV L/70 tank hunter only 11 of these left worldwide. Nicknamed Guderian-Ente "Guderian's Duck".

Jagdpanther tank hunter, one of only 7 surviving examples. Three have been returned to running condition. This is another fave design of mine. It just looks aggressive.

Sturmpanzer 43 "Brummbar" one of only 4 surviving examples left in the world. This is another of my faves. These were nicknamed "Stupa" short for Sturm Panzer.Jagdtiger tank hunter, one of only 3 surviving examples.
Excerpt from Wikipedia : The Jagdtiger on display at the United States Army Ordnance Museum in Aberdeen, Maryland, USA was produced in October, 1944 (serial number 305020). The vehicle was attached to the s.Pz.Jg.Abt 653 and had the vehicle number 331. The vehicle was captured near Neustadt an der Weinstrasse , Germany in March 1945. Damage is still visible on the gun mantlet, glacis plate, and lower nose armor.

Glacis Plate Damage Panzer IV Ausf. D

French Somua S-35 "Cavalry Tank"

Two Panther tanks

Sturmgeschutz III Ausf. F/8

Panzer IV Ausf. D

US Made British M-3 "Honey" Light Tank

M-18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer

Panzer I

Panzer I

M22 Locust Light Tank, Airborne

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M22_Locust

M3A1 Lee Medium Tank

Voodoo lady and I decided to head east instead of west for this road trip. I have wanted to revisit Aberdeen proving Grounds for some time. It is not far at all from home base and seemed the perfect fit for spending the day. It was a little humid and the sun was out in force, but that did not stop us.






Highlights for me included seeing the Krupp K5 known as Anzio Annie to the allies, the railway gun that shelled the Anzio beachhead. In 2003 I got to see the craters left by this behemoth in the former beachhead area. It was extremely interesting for me to see the beast that made that mess. There are only two surviving guns. The one at Aberdeen was made from two "Robert" and "Leopold" that were captured in damaged (and boobytrapped) condition so firing tests could be conducted. "Leopold" was in better shape and was fixed using parts donated from "Robert".









http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzio_Annie











Also captured near Anzio, one of only two Elephant tank destroyers. The one at Aberdeen was actually restored to running condition, making it even more valuable and unique. It was immobilized by a shot to the left front drive sproket that jammed the tread and made the massive vehicle impossible to drive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_tank

The disabling shot hit here and jammed the tread.....

The armor collection runs from poorly maintained vehicles to ones newly restored to past glory. Well worth the visit before they move the whole kit to Fort Lee Virginia.

Listening to:
Ned's Atomic Dustbin "Saturday Night"
R.E.M. "Driver 8"