Two Missing World War II B-25 Bombers In Papua New Guinea Studied By Marine Scientists, Archaeologists

Two World War II B-25 bombers associated with American servicemen who went missing in action (MIA) were documented by a collaborative team of marine scientists, archaeologists, and volunteers in the waters off Papua New Guinea. The team's aim is to combine all efforts in locating and associated MIAs from the war.

The Project Recover, a collaborative team project of various marine scientists, archaeologists, and volunteers combined their efforts in order to locate lost and MIAs B-25 bombers and other aircraft that were used during World War II. Most of these warbirds were lost on the seas of Papua New Guinea.

In the study published in the University of California, the B-25 bombers are one of the most iconic airplanes during the World War II. It has nearly 10,000 of the famous warplanes conduction different missions like bombing to photo reconnaissance, to submarine patrols, and the raid in Tokyo. The current Papua New Guinea was the site of military action in the Pacific from January 1942 to August 1945, which is also the end of the war.

The Project Recover is teamed up with scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego and the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment at the University of Delaware, and volunteer members of BentProp, Limited. Last February, the team set out on a mission to map the seafloor in order to search for the missing B-25 bombers that are believed to have wrecked on the sea floor.

The team conducted an official archaeological survey of some known B-25 Bombers underwater wreck in order to know more of its location. In addition, they also interviewed some elders in the villages near in the area.

Fortunately for the team, they have located and recovered debris field of one of the B-25 bombers that were missing for over 70 years. According to an article published by Science Daily, the debris was found nearly 10 square kilometers from their point and it was associated with a crew of six MIAs.

"Our use of advanced technologies, which led to the discovery of the B-25, enables us to accelerate and enhance the discovery and eventual recovery of our missing servicemen." Katy O' Connel from University of Delaware College of Earth said. She also said that people might have the mental image of an airplane like the B-25 bombers already intact on the sea floor but it was already damaged before crashing.