WWII Helldiver wreck found in Oregon

[Bob Hudson]

From http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100326/ap_on_...avy_plane_crash

 

 

 

This is what the SBC Helldiver looked like in one piece:

 

[vicjoy1945]

Whoa...thats quite a story !!

 

It will be fascinating to hear what they uncover in the investigation !!

 

Vic

[Greg Robinson]

I spent the night at a state park in that area back in 1996. A remote area of Oregon....but not that remote.....I wonder how it went this long undiscovered.

 

There was old rusted barb wire on the beach in that state park......put there in WW2?

greg

[6armyAS]

I'd like to see the missing aircraft report on that flight after the plane went missing... At least the boys will get the burial they deserve.

[Steindaddie]

I was reading up on the crash this morning and it seems the mystery is unraveling: the plane wasn't "missing" as much as it had simply been forgotten. The plane crashed 31 March 1948 after takeoff from NAS Tillamook, the pilot's body was recovered (Chief Aviation Pilot R.W. Smedley), and the crash just faded from memory. Here's a 1948 newspaper report.

[6armyAS]

Steindaddie, good job on finding the newspaper article from 1948.