SakshiA Plane
The object was a huge plane. As the plane was found under the swamp it began to be called “swamp ghost.” The locals thought this plane to be a haunted one that remained concealed in the water of swamp for decades. Nobody had a clue regarding how this plane got its way down into the swamp and for how long was it there? Furthermore, the media coverage catapulted the region into a must visit place for war buff.
Mystery Continues
One major part of the mystery was still unsolved. The duo was yet to figure out how it reached down here. Well, they had no inkling that they were in for a big surprise. It was just the beginning of a tale that had many twist and turns. They were soon going to learn the surprising truth behind its presence under the swamp.
A Bomber
After inspecting a bit, they learned that it was a bomber plane. Amazingly, the plane in question belonged to WWII. Well, that did not come as a surprise to the finders as they were well aware of the involvement of this country in WWII. Papua New Guinea had turned up as a significant battle zone taking place between the Japanese Empire and allied forces.
A Battle
It was during that battle, this plane got crashed into the swamp. The day was February 22, 1942, when the plane accelerated to partake in the first bombing mission covering South Pacific by U.S. Army Air Force. The aircraft was wheeled by Captain Henry M. “Hotfoot” Harlow and Captain Fred C. Eaton, Jr. This was going to be the only combat mission by B-17.
Goal
The aircraft was flying with the aim of bombing Japanese shipping located in Simpson Harbor. At first, Eaton missed out on his target and so made a second pass. However, the second time turned out to be a success. Also, during the second pass, the right wing of the aircraft got hit by an anti-aircraft shell that ended up making a large hole in it.
Dodged Strikes But…..
After that, the plane dodged many strikes by the rival group but could not defeat its destiny. Ironically, the plane that successfully took on external threats crashed down because of its internal problem. The bomber while flying towards Australia ran out of fuel and nosedived towards the ground. It was then Eaton came up with a plan. As they were moving closer to the north coast of New Guinea he decided to pull the landing wheels up. He was expecting to land on dry ground but in contrary to that, they landed into the swamp.