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454th RESEARCH
Aircraft and airmen of 454th Bombardment Group in Italy during WW II
454th Research
Martin turret 250 part
B-24 42-78193 737th research
Lt. William Monson 'Bill' Armstrong
Trailer B-24 737th s.n. 42-78193 research
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Research team
VALERIO MUNGAI
Webmaster 454th and historical research
PHILIPPE AND NATHALIE CASTELLANO
Expert divers in wreck search
ROBERTO PRAIOLA
Freediving and sonar research
The last dives in the sea of Anzio
In search of aircraft wrecks from World War II.
The dilapidated remains of an old World War II plane, found in the depths of the Mediterranean, shed new light on the mysterious disappearance of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. But it took a fight for this plane, the one the writer and aviator was flying the day he died, to reveal its dark secret. Philippe Castellano, who identified the plane, returns to this case full of twists and turns.
The discovery of the 454th B-24 42-78213 shot down in the bay of Agay on May 27'1944.
The team that discovered the wreck (Philippe Castellano, Philippe Bres, Jean-Pierre Joncheray, his son Philippe, Bernard Mariller, Yves Moussou and Claude Pinaut ), were very impressed by this shapeless mass resting on the sandy bottom where anti-bullet vests lay, the parachute wrapped around a machine gun and boots... Incredible luck would also have played in our favor, because the plane's number was still engraved (printed on the left side of the cabin), the black paint had miraculously resisted 40 years of immersion...
Read the full story :
B-24 "G" 42-78213, "Miss I Hope". 454th BG
Crash on May 27'v1944, target : Montpellier German airfield. B-24 was hit by 88mm Anti-aircraft fire of Cape Roux, French Riviera, France. Ship fall in fire and brocken in the Mediterranean'sea (precisely at the center of the bay of Agay, located between Saint-Raphaël and Cannes)
S/Lt Robert T. Batz' crew of 10. 4 men bailled out safety (but all burned at divers points). 4 men still reported reported missing in action, 2 men killed body recovered and identified. Note : the four men safe were captured immediately and the Germans soldiers and officers were really kind, taking care and comprehensive with their prisoners.
On the left side the photo of S/Sgt Gene Vodopia, radio-operator gunner and prisoner of War.
B-24 "G" 42-78213, "Miss I Hope". commemorative plaque
B-24 "G" 42-78213, "Miss I Hope". The wreck
B-24 "G" 42-78213, "Miss I Hope". The wreck
B-24 "G" 42-78213, "Miss I Hope". 2 Lt George E. Erlewine
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