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PBS / Nova: Last B-24


gwb123
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I caught the last half of this program on NOVA this past week. It was the underwater exploration of the wreck of the B-24 "Tulsamerican", which crashed in the seas off of Croatia in 1944. It was an effort on the part of DoD and the Croatian Navy to locate the remains of three airmen who went down with the aircraft.

 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/last-b-24/

 

The title comes from the fact that this aircraft was the last B-24 to be manufactured in Tulsa.

 

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/history/extremely-heroic-last-stands.html

 

There is technical footage showing why B-24's did not do well ditching in water due to the high position of the wing.

 

The team also had a bonus dive on a nearly intact B-17.

 

And all filmed with the crystal clarity that you expect from NOVA.

 

More info here:

 

https://www.governmentvideo.com/sectors/nova-department-of-defense-team-for-the-last-b-24

Last B24.jpg

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tdogchristy90

I anxiously waited for and watched this with joy.

 

It's called the "last b-24" cause it's the last b-24 to come off the assembly line in Tulsa Oklahoma. It was paid for by the workers and was named "Tulsamerica"

 

You should be able to watch the full show here..

 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/last-b-24/

 

.

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Mighty fine show highlighting the process of various DOD agencies to locate and potentially identify remains of lost US service personnel worldwide.

 

Also, don't forget, part of the NOVA episode featured the story of a lost Tuskegee airmen.

Terry

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Watched this Nova episode start to finish; a very well produced show, as I had hoped for. I found the B-17 segment a testament to the strength of its air frame, and deserved reputation for bringing the crew home.

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tdogchristy90

Good show, to bad they weren't allow in the B-17

If I can remember correctly, I think they need "proof" of better than 50% that someone's in the plane to be able to investigate.

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I once had a photo album from the Tulsaamerican. I sold it to the head researcher for what I had paid for it. Such an awesome photo album!

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Luckily I saved HQ scans of some of the best photos from the album. Here's a great one that was used later in a newspaper article.

 

tulsa.jpg?w=700&h=

tulsa2.jpg?w=370&h=

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