The stories of heroism behind World War Two’s famous aircraft wreckages

According to the Dutch government around 5,500 aircraft were lost over the country during World War Two, giving just a small insight into the scale of destruction during the devastating conflict, which took place between 1939 and 1945.  

Some estimates have placed the number of total lost and damaged aircraft during the war at over 100,000, a gargantuan number when you consider that today the United States (US) Air Force, the largest in the world, operates a fleet of under 6,000.  

But the true horror of World War Two has never been defined by the number of aircraft or vehicles destroyed but by the individuals onboard that sadly never returned home.  

Countries such as the Netherlands are still dedicating time and resources to recovering aircraft from World War Two , with the government suggesting as many as 400 aircraft may still lie undiscovered containing human remains. 

And even after 80 years those families who lost loved ones in World War Two still hold out hope that they can finally lay their relatives to rest, with the aircraft wreckage offering the chance for closure.  

And therein lies the motivation to continue locating these majestic planes, the opportunity to bring some peace and tell the stories of those that made their final flights during World War Two.  

AeroTime looks at some of the most fascinating stories that show why the hunt for World War Two aircraft wreckages should never stop. 

The Maid Of Harlech

Calavision / Shutterstock.comDuring the Summer of 2007, the 65-year resting place of a downed Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft revealed itself on the beaches of north Wales in the United Kingdom (UK).  

Normally obscured by the tidal changes and buried beneath the sandy shores, the sudden appearance of the P-38 Lightning even took local residents by surprise and sparked a frenzy to discover the plane’s past.  

The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) helped to identify the P-38 Lightning and determined that the aircraft had been part of the 49th Fighter Squadron of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).  

In September 1942, the pilot, Second Lt. Robert F. Elliott, 24, of Rich Square, North Carolina, unexpectedly ran into trouble while flying out of Llanbedr, Wales on a gunnery practice mission. 

He was forced to ditch his plane after a problem with his engines arose, but the skilled pilot was able to bring the aircraft safely down on a beach in Gwynedd and escape with his life.  

It was later explained that after flying for nearly an hour both of Second Lt. Elliott’s engines failed.  

Affectionally known as the Maid of Harlech, the aircraft’s skeletal remains lay buried two meters beneath the sand and have reappeared three times in the last 50 years. First in the 1970s, then in 2007 and most recently in 2014. 

At the time of the discovery in 2007, TIGHAR described the find as one of the “most significant WWII-related archaeological discoveries in recent history” and the group committed to preserving the aircraft in recognition of the Lightning’s “historical significance as the oldest surviving Eighth Air Force combat veteran”. 

Concerns over the years that the aircraft would be looted were helped in 2019 when Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh government, officially recognized the wreckage in law.  

The legislation meant that it was the first legally designated military aircraft crash site protected for its historic and archaeological interest in the UK. 

The nephew of Second Lt. Robert F. Elliott only learned of his uncle’s crash after studying his war diaries and in 2016 he visited the wreckage site, which remains hidden from public record. 

“I am honored and delighted that Cadw has given official recognition of my uncle’s P38F as a scheduled Ancient Monument. My uncle was among those brave and expert fighter pilots who served with distinction during WWII. My visit to the site with my wife Cathy in 2016 was very moving and emotional,” the pilot’s nephew said.  

He added: “The 49th Fighter Squadron, to which this aircraft was assigned, has a rich and storied history dating back to 1941 and is still active today as the 49th Fighter Training Squadron.” 

In 2009, Elliott told the BBC his uncle was reported missing in action only three months later during fighting in Tunisia, North Africa. 

Lady Be Good

U.S. Air Force On November 9, 1958, a group of British geologists were flying over the Libyan Desert when they spotted a desolate aircraft around 400 miles south of Soluch.  

Around four months later in March 1959, a search team reached the site where they found an abandoned B-24D Liberator bomber and perhaps the answers to an almost 16-year mystery.  

On April 4, 1943, 25 B-24Ds of the 376th Bomb Group took off from their Army Air Force (AAF) base at Soluch, Libya, for a high-altitude bombing attack against harbor facilities at Naples, Italy, according to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. 

Later that night 24 B-24Ds safely returned, but concerns began to grow for the last aircraft known as Lady Be Good.  

Unbeknownst to the AAF base, when the missing B-24D was returning from Naples it had flown past its destination and southward over the desert.   

U.S. Air ForceRunning low on fuel, the nine men onboard took their chances and parachuted out but mistakenly set upon a path northward that would sadly end in at least eight of their deaths.  

Finally in 1960, following extensive searches, the bodies of eight servicemen were found to the north of where it was believed they had parachuted out.  

One body was found near to the wreckage. Five were found 78 miles across the desert while another man was found 109 miles away. The remains of one other were never found.  

“They had lived eight days rather than only two expected of men in this area with little or no water,” the National Museum said.  

According to the book ‘The Lady Be Good’ by Ralph Barker, parts of the men’s perilous journey were recorded in a diary by the co-pilot Robert Toner as they made their way across the desert.  

U.S. Air Force The diary indicated that none of the men were aware they were flying over land when they bailed out and it was speculated, they may have believed the desert was the Mediterranean Sea.  

Incredibly the diary suggested that the men had survived for eight days with just a single canteen of water between them.  

The men on board the aircraft were named as 1st Lieutenant William Joseph Hatton, pilot; 2nd Lieutenant Robert F. Toner, copilot; 2nd Lieutenant Dp Hays, navigator; 2nd Lieutenant John S. Woravka, bombardier.  

And Technical Sergeant Harold J. Ripslinger, engineer; Technical Sergeant Robert E. LaMotte, radio operator; Staff Sergeant Guy E. Shelly, gunner; Staff Sergeant Vernon L. Moore, gunner; and Staff Sergeant Samuel E. Adams, gunner.   

‘Marge’ – P-38 Lightning fighter plane

U.S. Air Forcet’s fair to say that no World War Two wreckage discovery has caused as much excitement as when America’s top Ace, Major Richard Bong’s P-38 Lightning fighter plane, “Marge,” was discovered in Papua New Guinea. 

On May 1, 2024, a search team from Pacific Wrecks set out on a journey to find one of the most famous aircraft in US history and 16 days later Justin Taylan, Steve Kleiman and Joel Caillet found the crash site hidden in the jungle and confirmed the plane’s identity as P-38J “Marge” 42-103993. 

Richard Bong had initially joined the war effort as a fighter pilot with the 9th Fighter Squadron of the 49th Fighter Group in Australia in 1942. 

According to the Air Force Historical Support Division, later that year he went on to join the 39th Squadron of the 35th Group where he destroyed five Japanese fighter planes before returning to the 9th Squadron in January 1943. 

By the end of 1943, he had continued combat missions in P-38s and increased his enemy aircraft kills to 28 and by September 1944 he had reached 40. 

Huge WWII History News Major Dick Bong’s P-38 “Marge” (named after his wife) was just found in the Pacific!Dick Bong is one of America’s highest scoring fighter aces with 40+ aerial victories. https://t.co/oE1QEdGRZI pic.twitter.com/UJfLXfmY6j— CJ (@CasualArtyFan) May 24, 2024 Richard Bong’s most famous aircraft “Marge” was named after his girlfriend Marjorie Vattendahl but another pilot was at the controls when the discovered P-38 fighter went down in Papua New Guinea.  

According to Pacific Wrecks, 2nd Lt. Thomas E. Malone with P-38 pilot Lt. Rolland Forrester set out on a weather reconnaissance mission on March 24, 1944, but encountered testing conditions and turbulence. 

The two aircraft lost radio contact with each other and one of Malone’s P-38 engines failed. After entering a spin, he was forced to bail, and Marge’s fate was sealed. 

After over 200 missions for a total of more than 500 combat hours Richard Bong was ordered to return to the US in December 1944, and was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, seven Distinguished Flying Crosses, 15 Air Medals and the Medal of Honor. 

Following his military service, Richard Bong became a Lockheed test pilot but on August 6, 1945, at the age of only 24, he sadly died while testing a P-80 Shooting Star jet fighter. 

Lancaster Bomber ED603

RAFShortly before midnight on June 12, 1943, a British Royal Air Force (RAF) Lancaster Bomber with seven servicemen onboard left RAF Wyton near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England, and set out on a bombing raid over Germany.  

The Pathfinder Force Lancaster Bomber ED603 was tasked with target marking and were among 12 Lancasters from No. 83 Squadron in a first wave. 

According to the Dutch website Geborgen Verleden, during the raid bombs rained down on the German city Bochum resulting in hundreds of deaths and devastating damage to buildings.  

RAFOn its return to RAF Wyton, Lancaster Bomber ED603 was spotted on radar and shortly after 02:00 the aircraft was shot down by a Messerschmitt Bf-110. 

The Lancaster Bomber crew were flying over the Netherlands at time and the plane crashed into lake Ijsselmeer. 

In 2023, after a fishing boat snagged its nets on a Merlin engine and propeller belonging to ED603 an extraordinary salvage mission was launched to uncover the wreckage and lay the crew to rest. 

While the bodies of Flight Lieutenant Eric Tilbury (Pilot), Pilot Officer Harold E. Howsam (Navigator), Pilot Officer Gordon Fletcher (Bomb Aimer) and Flying Officer Gordon R. Sugar (Air Gunner) were found on the lake shore weeks after the crash, there were still three missing.  

Working alongside the Dutch Air Force, the RAF’s Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transport Squadron (JARTS) set about constructing a square dam around the downed Lancaster. 

Ministerie van Defensie – NetherlandsThe Cofferdam exposed the Lancaster wreckage on the lakebed allowing for the delicate recovery of aircraft parts. 

The rescue was carried out closely with relatives of the servicemen and the human remains of Pilot Officer Arthur Smart (Flight Engineer), Pilot Officer Charles Sprack (Mid-Upper Gunner), and Flight Sergeant Raymond Moore (Wireless Operator) were eventually found. 

In addition to remains of flying gear and clothing, the recovery team found two silver-plated cigarette cases. On them were the initials of Arthur Smart and Edward Moore.   

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