n June 24, 2001 twelve TIGHARs gathered at rustic Strawberry Lodge in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Lake Tahoe for an Introductory Course in Aviation Archaeology and Historic Preservation. In two days of classroom work under the tutelage of archaeologist Tim Smith (TIGHAR 1142CE), Craig Fuller of Aviation Archaeological Investigation & Research (TIGHAR 1589CE) and TIGHAR’s Executive Director Ric Gillespie they earned their “C” certification and prepared to head into the mountains on an expedition to survey the remains of a rare Boeing B-17C Flying Fortress that broke up in mid-air during a storm in November 1941. Margot Still (TIGHAR 2332CE) prepared an excellent research summary on the loss and acquired an impressive collection of original photos from Boeing for reference purposes. |
|||||||||
Unlike the largely intact Douglas B-23 Dragon surveyed last year on the shores of Loon Lake, Idaho (see Loon Lake), the B-17 is scattered over several square miles of steep, forested terrain. The TIGHAR expedition team used handheld GPS units and the original Army Air Corps crash report and maps to locate several major components. As with many such sites, some pieces are missing. The largest intact component of B-17C Air Corps No. 40-2047 is the center section with starboard outer wing panel which lies inverted near a creek bed. The port outer wing panel is on a hillside about a quarter mile away across the creek. The bomb bay is easily identifiable although the doors and shackles have been removed. Photo courtesy Nancy Ballenger. |
|||||||||
The entire empennage (tail section of the airplane from the wing aft) lies on a steep hillside about half a mile from the center section. Although collapsed and torn apart from the impact, some distinct and extremely rare features of the B-17C are still very much identifiable. For example, the “bathtub” ventral gun position is crumpled but largely intact. This relatively primitive system of belly defense would in later versions of the Flying Fortress be replaced by a pair of remotely-operated, periscopically-aimed guns and, ultimately, by the famous ball turret. TIGHAR photo by R. Gillespie. |
|||||||||
|
|