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Tangie Hesus, a Palauan living on Peleliu,
is the local expert on the Peleliu battle areas. Tangie persuaded two
mangrove fishermen to take us to the wreck site of an unknown plane lying
in the swamps. We traveled by small boat from the northern dock on Peleliu,
south along the eastern coast and entered into a mangrove swamp area that
was quite large. We traveled about 40 minutes and, with the eastern face
of Bloody Nose Ridge (the site of one of the most devastating portions
of the battle) to our right, we suddenly turned into the swamp where we
could see a relatively intact aircraft, about 50 feet into the mangroves
lying in a northerly direction with landing gear up. [Note: This
aircraft has been identified as BuNo 45966, from VMTB-134. It was flown
by a Lt. Clark. It crashed on takeoff in the mangrove swamp. All crew
survived, and walked out of the swamp under their own power. Instruments
were salvaged.] |
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Page last modified 17 April 2005 |
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As
we approached, it became immediately apparent it was a TBF Avenger, a
three man torpedo bomber from World War II (Picture 25). There appeared
to be shrapnel hits all over the plane; the canopy was missing. The propeller,
though bent, was present, along with all other major components of the
plane, although the port wing was sheared off and behind the plane. The
cockpit was missing all its instruments and there was no evidence of human
remains. The "star and bar" emblem on the starboard fuselage was still
present. No machine guns were seen. The vertical stabilizer did have a
Bureau Number on it. This aircraft has not yet been identified but an
ongoing effort is in progress.