1942 B18 Bomber wreckage

Wicked_Dark

Hiked Mt. Waternomee yesterday in search of the wreckage of a crashed B18 bomber. The story goes that in January 1942 a bomber on recognizance mission over the Atlantic got way, way off course. The crew had never worked together before and weren't that familiar with the navigation system in the B18 and thought they were near Providence, RI. Low clouds and bad weather made visibility nearly nil. At the last minute the fog cleared and the pilot made a last ditch effort to pull up. It was too late and they crashed into Mt. Waternomee. Out of the 7 crew, 5 survived. The noise was heard in the nearby town and a frightened bunch of locals donned snowshoes and headed up, fearful of what they might find. Every year the survivors and family hike up to the site and clear the wreckage of accumulated leaves, branches and other forest debris. In 1992 a commemoration plaque was installed and a US flag always flies.

an engine (one of two) -


Landing gear -


1/2 a wing -


Wheel hub -


The debris is scattered over a couple of acres and difficult to photograph well, especially in the harsh light, but I did my best. All shot w/the Olympus E-30, ZD 12-60mm & a polarizer.

Thanks for checking it out. Comments welcome.

wendell

Nice shots man, and definitely worth your effort to get them. Thanks for the history.

Wicked_Dark

thanks much. it's funny that until the other day, I'd never heard of this event and I've lived a couple hours from the crash site all my life.

DaddyO

I recall seeing something about this crash in a television program covering
certain aircraft mishaps. Very interesting. From your photos it seems truly a
miracle that anybody even survived the impact event. Nice there was
though. So often that is simply and tragically not the case. If I were so fotunate
as to live through such an ordeal, I go back every year and re-thank my lucky stars too!
Michael

Wicked_Dark

Yes, it was a wonder anyone lived. It's a pretty humbling site.

cbbr

Great shots. Its amazing the history that is practically in our back yards sometimes.

Wicked_Dark

I know, huh? I felt kind of dumb for not knowing this. Supposedly there is another one even closer that has never been recovered, the forest is too dense.