TIGHAR (pronounced “tiger”) is the acronym for The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, a non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting responsible aviation archeology and historic preservation. TIGHAR’s activities include:
- Compiling and verifying reports of rare and historic aircraft surviving in remote areas.
- Conducting investigations and recovery expeditions in co-operation with museums and collections worldwide.
- Serving as a voice for integrity, responsiblity, and professionalism in the field of aviation historic preservation.
TIGHAR maintains no collection of its own, nor does it engage in the restoration or buying and selling of artifacts. The foundation devotes its resources to the saving of endangered historic aircraft wherever they may be found, and to the education of the international public in the need to preserve the relics of the history of flight.
Click HERE to make a donation to TIGHAR.
Richard B. Gifford, Aurora, Colorado
Richard E. Gillespie, Wilmington, Delaware
Thomas F. King, Ph.D., Silver Spring, Maryland
Peter Paul Luce, Englewood, Colorado
Russell E. Matthews, Redondo Beach, California
John Sawyer, Chairman, Cincinnati, Ohio
Patricia R. Thrasher, Wilmington, Delaware
Richard
E. Gillespie
Executive Director, TIGHAR
Born: 1947
Education: B.A. History, 1969, State University of New York,
Oswego
Military: 1970–1973, United States Army officer, 1st
Cavalry Div.
Aviation: Commercial Certificate with Instrument and
Multi-Engine Ratings
1973–1984. Aviation accident investigator and
risk manager for the aviation insurance industry.
January 1985. Founded The International Group for Historic
Aircraft Recovery.
January 1985 to present. Executive Director of TIGHAR.
Research management, fundraising, media relations, and principal
author of the foundation’s newsletter/journal TIGHAR
Tracks.
February 1985. Operation Barnstormer: the discovery of 12 rare aircraft in a barn in upstate New York.
November 1985. Developed recommended standards and criteria for U.S. Government management of downed World War II aircraft on U.S. Government land in Alaska which were largely incorporated in the final report entitled “World War II in Alaska: A History And Resources Management Plan” prepared by Envirosphere Company in partial fulfillment of National Park Service Contract CX9700-5-005 in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Alaska District).
1985 to present. Project
Midnight Ghost, an investigation into the
disappearance of the 1927 French transatlantic flight of Charles Nungesser
and Francois Coli. To date this investigation has comprised twenty-seven
field operations in the state of Maine and the province of Newfoundland.
April 1986. Lady
in Waiting: Evaluation of a World War II B-17 Flying
Fortress in the Agaiambo Swamp, Papua New Guinea.
March 1987. Seminar at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum which explored applications of remote sensing technology to aviation archæological investigations.
1986 to present. Operation
Sepulchre, an investigation into reports
that World War II German aircraft survive in underground shelters.
Archival research and on-site investigations in Germany have examined and
eliminated a number of sites.
1988 to present. The
Earhart Project, an investigation into the disappearance
of Amelia Earhart.
June 1988. Developed a special report on adaptive use of rare aircraft. Prepared in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, this two year study documented the alarming loss of rare aircraft in flying accidents.
October 1989. NIKU I, the first Earhart Project expedition to Nikumaroro, Phoenix Islands, Republic of Kiribati.
September 1990. “Aircraft To Artifact,” a seminar at
the Royal Air Force Museum in London, England. Attended by air museum directors
and representatives from eight countries, this first-of-its kind seminar
debated crucial issues in aviation historic preservation.
January 1991. The TIGHAR Guide to Aviation Historic Preservation Terminology.
October 1991. NIKU II, the second Earhart Project Expedition to Nikumaroro, Phoenix Islands.
April 1992. The Beast of Bombay Hook I: found, excavated, and evaluated the remains of a World War II P-47 fighter in the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware. Major components of the aircraft were recovered for the Dover Air Force Base Museum.
September 1992–September 1994. Five expeditions authorized by the Historic Resources Division of the Government of Newfoundland & Labrador to investigate aircraft wreckage reported to be in a pond in a remote area of the Avalon Peninsula. This on-going investigation has included the deployment of Electro-Magnetic (EM) remote sensing technology through the ice in the winter and from a boat at other times of the year.
April 1993. The Beast of Bombay Hook II: recovery of the remains of a World War II P-47 fighter from the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware. Artifacts are currently on exhibit at the Dover AFB Museum, Dover, Delaware.
April–November 1995. Consultation with National Park Service regarding draft review of National Register Bulletin No. 25: Guidelines For Evaluating And Documenting Historic Aviation Properties.
February 1996. NIKU IIIP (Preliminary), the third Earhart Project
Expedition to Nikumaroro, Phoenix Islands.
February–March 1997. NIKU III, the fourth Earhart Project Expedition to Nikumaroro, Phoenix Islands.
March 1998. The Kanton Mission investigation at Kanton Island, Phoenix Islands.
November 1998. Earhart Project research trip to England.
July 1999. NIKU IIIIP (Preliminary), the fifth Earhart Project Expedition to Nikumaroro, Phoenix Islands.
July 2000. Archæological survey of B-23 World War II bomber wreck in the Payette National Forest, Idaho.
March 2001. Earhart Project research trip to Tarawa, Republic of Kiribati.
June 2001. Archeological survey of B-17C World War II bomber wreck in Sierra Nevada mountains near Reno, NV.
September 2001. NIKU IIII, the sixth Earhart Project Expedition to
Nikumaroro, Phoenix Islands.
September 2001. Fiji Bone Search I in and around Suva, Fiji, for the castaway's bones recovered from Nikumaroro in 1940.
December 2002. Archeological survey for National Register of Historic Places Nomination of crash site of YB-49 Flying Wing near Edwards Air Force Base, CA under contract to Federal Bureau of Land Managment.
July 2003. NIKU Vp (Preliminary), the seventh Earhart Project expedition
to Nikumaroro, Phoenix Islands.
July 2003. Fiji Bone Search II, including archival research in New Zealand, for the castaway's bones recovered from Nikumaroro in 1940.
January 2004. Devastator
Project. Initial visit to Marshall Islands
in preparation for Jaluit Lagoon Survey.
February 2004. Investigation of Lockheed Electra crash, Mt. Richmond, New Zealand.
May 2004. Devastator Project, Jaluit Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Archeological survey of WWII aircraft wrecks, including two TBD Devastators, in Jaluit Lagoon.
July 2004. Investigation of Lockheed Electra crash, Kellogg, Idaho.
August 2004. Investigation of Lockheed Electra crash, Ketchikan, Alaska.
December 2004. Devastator Project. Followup visit to Marshall Islands; partnership and sponsorship of conservation research, Texas A&M University Conservation Research Laboratory.
[For more information about any of these items, see TIGHAR Tracks, downloadable PDFs.]
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