Today’s Wednesday Wings harks back to WWII. On February 22, 1942, this Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress, ironically named “Swamp Ghost” was sent to Australia for the U.S. Army Air Corps’ first raid in the South Pacific: a bombing mission against Rabaul. During the raid, Swamp Ghost was hit by shrapnel and ended its first and only combat mission by disappearing into the swamps of Papua New Guinea.
The crew survived the crash landing and made it back to Australia after spending several weeks in the jungle. The plane was not recovered and had been lost until 1972 when an Australian Air Force crew spotted her in the swamp.
There’s a really cool documentary called “Broken Wings” that chronicles the recovery of the plane from the swamps of Papua New Guinea. Read more about the Swamp Ghost and her mission at Aeroarcheology and over at the Smithsonian Magazine.
They are planning to restore the aircraft, possibly to flying condition, but at least to museum display condition.
On a side note, this aircraft was a part of the Kangaroo squadron that was en route to Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. The radar operators at Oahu mistook the incoming Japanese airplanes as the expected arrival of the Kangaroo squadron. Swamp Ghost arrived on the island shortly after the attack had ended.
All pictures are copyright Aeroarcheology.
Swamp Ghost B-17 Nose View
Aerial View
Swam Ghost B-17 Aerial View
Radial engine
Swamp Ghost B-17 Radial Engine
