Aviation archaeology is a recognized sub-discipline within archaeology and underwater archaeology as a whole. It is an activity practiced by both enthusiasts and academics in pursuit of finding, documenting, recovering, and preserving sites important in
aviation history
The history of aviation extends for more than two thousand years, from the earliest forms of aviation such as kites and attempts at tower jumping to supersonic and hypersonic flight by powered, heavier-than-air jets.
Kite flying in China ...
. For the most part, these sites are aircraft wrecks and crash sites, but also include structures and facilities related to aviation. It is also known in some circles and depending on the perspective of those involved as aircraft archaeology or aerospace archaeology and has also been described variously as crash hunting, underwater aircraft recovery, wreck chasing, or wreckology.
History of aviation archaeology and current issues
![DakotaPlaneCrash-TailSection](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/DakotaPlaneCrash-TailSection.jpg)
The activity dates to post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
when, after the conflict, numerous aircraft wrecks studded the countryside. Many times, memorials to those involved in the crashes were put together by individuals, families, landholders, or communities.
![B17turbocharger](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/B17turbocharger.jpg)
Crash sites vary in size and content; some may have fuselages, engines, and thousands of parts and debris. Other sites, like in civilian/commercial crashes, the
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
and the
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
(NTSB) will have almost all of the aircraft and debris removed; which makes aviation archaeology more challenging. Remains of military aircraft crash sites may also be removed by various aircraft restoration groups, particularly if the aircraft was found largely intact. In general, most recent-day (since the 1980s) aircraft crashes are removed entirely, due to environmental regulations, leaving very little to indicate the existence of a wreck.
For example, military crashes in Arizona originate from numerous air bases, past and present. Because of the warm and sunny weather, much of the U.S. Army Air Forces flight training was located in the state, both during and after WWII. Numerous air bases dotted the states – creating conditions for numerous training accidents. Old abandoned US Army Air Corp auxiliary fields and those converted to city municipal airports provide archaeological sites to be researched and investigated.
![AircraftDebrisCloseup](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/AircraftDebrisCloseup.jpg)
Keeping a record of a crash site, such as photographs, maps, journals, logs, and all terrain and weather recordings are essential, e.g., the
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Glenwood Springs is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat of Garfield County, Colorado, Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 9,963 at the 2020 Uni ...
,
B-17
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
crash site or the
Tells Peak, CA, B-17 crash site.
![AircraftPartNumber](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/AircraftPartNumber.jpg)
The internet is an ideal media for sharing, recording, educating, and promoting aviation archaeology as a hobby, as well as research projects for local and state aviation historical groups. For identifying aircraft type and manufacturer by part numbers and manufacturing inspection stamps can be analysed. From detailed
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
data & maps, to researching accident reports information, numerous resources help create a complete picture of the historic event. Accident reports, such as the official US Air Force Accident Report Form 14 becomes the foundation of archaeology research. From there, newspaper articles, county clerk records, sheriff & coroner reports, and library records all aid an aviation archaeologist in their research.
Protection laws and regulations
United States
Legal protection of aircraft wreck sites is highly variable. In terms of protection by aircraft ownership, the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
retains indefinite ownership of all
Naval aircraft
Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases.
Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-base ...
, including terrestrial or submerged wreck sites. The
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
has no policies regarding disturbance of vintage aircraft wreck sites, unless human remains or weaponry remain unrecovered at the site.
For
vintage aircraft, including vintage
military aircraft
A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:
* Combat aircraft are designed to destroy enemy equipm ...
, that are usually considered abandoned when wrecked, the wreck site and all associated contents are subject to the protection laws of the land upon which it rests. The language of
cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...
protection laws are not aviation specific, so all protection laws pertaining to aviation sites are based on interpretation. Most federal and state laws are, however, explicit in describing cultural resources as either ‘objects, sites, or otherwise, of historic value’ or ‘military or social history’ and deem the time limit as over fifty years old.
If an aircraft wreck is over fifty years old, which includes all aviation wreck sites from WWII, and crashed on what is currently
federal lands
Federal lands are lands in the United States owned by the federal government. Pursuant to the Property Clause of the United States Constitution ( Article 4, section 3, clause 2), Congress has the power to retain, buy, sell, and regulate federal l ...
, the sites are automatically protected under National Park Service Law 36CFR2.1 against disturbance of any kind without a permit. Aviation sites, for example, a vintage
hangar
A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
on an airport or a wreck site on the path of a proposed highway, are also immediately subject to Section 106 review if they are to be disturbed by a project that either requires a federal permit or uses federal funds. In most cases, the
State Historic Preservation Officer
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is a state governmental function created by the United States federal government in 1966 under Section 101 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The purposes of a SHPO include surveying an ...
will determine whether or not an aviation site is eligible for the register.
The National Register deems aviation wreck sites as “any aircraft that has been crashed, ditched, damaged, stranded, or abandoned”. It designates the protection terms for aviation history sites as well, including abandoned
airfields
An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publi ...
or facilities sites, testing or experimental sites, land or water
air terminal
An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an aircraft.
Within the terminal, passengers purchase tickets, transfer th ...
s, or
airway beacon
An airway beacon (US) or aerial lighthouse (UK and Europe) was a rotating light assembly mounted atop a tower. These were once used extensively in the United States for visual navigation by airplane pilots along a specified airway corridor. ...
s and navigational aids.
State lands protection laws vary widely across the nation but the language describing a historical resource is the same as federal laws. Therefore, aviation properties and aircraft wrecks on
State lands can be protected under various environmental, public resource, and historical property laws as outlined per state for the protection of archaeological and historic resources.
Any
archaeological survey
In archaeology, survey or field survey is a type of field research by which archaeologists (often landscape archaeologists) search for archaeological sites and collect information about the location, distribution and organization of past human c ...
,
excavation, or activity that disturbs wither wreck or aviation property remains can, in some cases, be permitted on federal and state lands under a permitting process through the regulating entity.
If an aircraft wreck, or the remains of any aviation property, is located on private land it is not automatically protected by any federal, state, or local law and any survey or excavation work must be permitted by the land owner.
Under the 'Sunken Military Craft Act’ (SMCA) of 2004, it is illegal to disturb, remove, or injure the wreck sites or associated contents of
U.S. Naval or any submerged
military aircraft
A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:
* Combat aircraft are designed to destroy enemy equipm ...
. The act identifies military craft as including any sunken military aircraft or military spacecraft that was owned or operated by a government when it sank, and includes the associated contents. Because of the U.S. Navy's retaining of ownership of all military craft, the act applies to any U.S. Navy aircraft, even if in international or other country's territorial waters. The act also applies to any foreign military craft in U.S. territorial waters. Persons wishing to conduct archaeological or research exploration of any submerged military aircraft can apply to the
Naval History and Heritage Command
The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. ...
’s
Underwater Archaeology Branch
The Underwater Archaeology Branch (UAB) of the Naval History & Heritage Command (NHHC) is a unit of the United States Department of the Navy. It was formally founded in 1996 as a consequence of the emerging need to manage, study, conserve, and cu ...
for a permit. The U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard has similar policies and permitting requirements to the Navy.
The SMCA includes penalties associated with any unauthorized disturbances of sunken military craft as a fine and a liability for the reasonable costs incurred in recovery of archaeological or cultural information, storage, restoration, care, maintenance, and conservation.
As a part of federal air regulations, NTSB Part 830, protects any aircraft whose accident cause is under investigation. NTSB officials will routinely seize portions of wrecked aircraft for further analysis. Most of the time, after their study is complete, the sequestered debris is returned to the owners' representation – most often the aircraft's insurance company. However, examples like the reconstructed wreckage of
TWA Flight 800
Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (TWA800) was a Boeing 747-100 that exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 8:31pm. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff from John F. K ...
are held in perpetuity by the NTSB to educate the public and future investigators on the NTSB's role in transportation safety.
United Kingdom
The laws in the UK cover the remains of all aircraft which have crashed during military service (land or sea) are protected by the
Protection of Military Remains Act 1986
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
. This Act defines an offence of tampering with, damage to, moving, or unearthing the aircraft remains. Exceptions apply to those holding licences, which can be issued by the Secretary of State, authorising specific procedures to be performed.
For the wreck-chasing hobbyist there is a self-regulating body, the
British Aviation Archaeological Council
Aviation archaeology is a recognized sub-discipline within archaeology and underwater archaeology as a whole. It is an activity practiced by both enthusiasts and academics in pursuit of finding, documenting, recovering, and preserving sites import ...
(BAAC), which defines ethical standards of behaviour, coordinates activities and provides a forum for discussion for its member groups. Not all active groups in the UK are members of this organisation.
Types of aviation archaeology sites
Terrestrial sites
Aviation history sites on land that can be subject to archaeological survey or excavation can include airports (which can contain hangars, terminal, other facilities, etc.), crash sites, monuments, or even properties associated with important persons or events in aviation history.
Some examples of potential and current archaeological sites:
Aircraft crash sites
The Loon Lake B-23 Dragon crash site in Payette National Forest, Idaho is a remarkably intact example of an aircraft wreck. The crew survived and was rescued, and some avionics removed from the site, and it currently is the subject of a teaching aviation archaeology field school in various years.
Abandoned airfields
![ArlingtonAuxiliaryAirfieldColoNWview](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/ArlingtonAuxiliaryAirfieldColoNWview.jpg)
Abandoned airfields can yield much information of historic information about aviation and related industries. From civilian airfields to military airfields, aviation archaeologists can find, uncover, and recover a variety of artifacts, just to name a few: aircraft parts with serial numbers, equipment parts, asphalt or runway material, variety of contamination, structures and foundations, businesses and economics, to community and cultural changes. With the closure of a military airbase, the street system and runways become local expansion of city streets and business; one example is the community conversion of
Lowry Air Force Base
Lowry Air Force Base (Lowry Field in 1938–1948) is a former United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) training base during World War II and a United States Air Force (USAF) training base during the Cold War, serving as the initial 1955–1958 si ...
to a local residential, commercial, and educational environment. Other bases, like the
Arlington Auxiliary Army Airfield reverted to farming and ranching.
In 1990, 1994, and 1998, archaeologists investigated, using airborne remote sensing studies and limited excavation, a vintage hangar of the
Huffman Prairie Flying Field
Huffman Prairie, also known as Huffman Prairie Flying Field or Huffman Field is part of Ohio's Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. The 84-acre (34-hectare) patch of rough pasture, near Fairborn, northeast of Dayton, is the place w ...
Site at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The investigations were “designed to provide information needed for site management by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio that commemorates three important historical figures— Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright, and poet Paul Laurence Dunbar—and the ...
of the National Park Service. The geophysical and
remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...
investigations revealed magnetic, electromagnetic, and ground penetrating radar anomalies and infrared thermal images associated with the hangar structure. The archaeological excavations located an in situ wood post, posthole features, and artifacts which represent archaeological remains of the actual hangar”.
Huffman Prairie Flying Field
Huffman Prairie, also known as Huffman Prairie Flying Field or Huffman Field is part of Ohio's Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. The 84-acre (34-hectare) patch of rough pasture, near Fairborn, northeast of Dayton, is the place w ...
is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
Another example is
Hamilton Army Airfield
Hamilton Field (Hamilton AFB) was a United States Air Force base, which was inactivated in 1973, decommissioned in 1974, and put into a caretaker status with the Air Force Reserves until 1976. It was transferred to the United States Army in 1983 ...
in
Novato, California
Novato (Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225.
History
What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok ...
. It was in use from 1929 until 1976. It was eventually turned over to the city of Novato for development of housing. The runway is also part of tidal wetland restoration effort currently underway by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
,
California Coastal Conservancy
The California State Coastal Conservancy (CSCC, SCC) is a non-regulatory state agency in California established in 1976 to enhance coastal resources and public access to the coast. The CSCC is a department of the California Natural Resources Agenc ...
, and the
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.
Abandoned missile silos and sites
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
has
missile
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...
launch sites abandoned by the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
. Archaeological research includes these sites throughout the United States. Exploring and hiking around abandoned
silos and sites may constitute trespassing as well as being dangerous. Permission from current
land owner
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
s or caretakers is imperative. Research and formal site investigations adds to the historical record of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. One such site is the
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is an American national historic site established in 1999 near Wall, South Dakota to illustrate the history and significance of the Cold War, the arms race, and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
.
In the
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a U.S. National Recreation Area protecting of ecologically and historically significant landscapes surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the park is land formerly used by the United ...
is a decommissioned
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
era
Nike Missile
The United States Army's Nike Ajax was the world's first operational guided surface-to-air missile (SAM), entering service in 1954. Nike Ajax was designed to attack conventional bomber aircraft flying at high subsonic speeds and altitudes above ...
base,
Nike Missile Site SF-88
SF-88 is a former Nike Missile launch site at Fort Barry, in the Marin Headlands to the north of San Francisco, California, United States. Opened in 1954, the site was intended to protect the population and military installations of the San Francis ...
. In 1954, it was armed with
Nike Ajax
The United States Army's Nike Ajax was the world's first operational guided surface-to-air missile (SAM), entering service in 1954. Nike Ajax was designed to attack conventional bomber aircraft flying at high subsonic speeds and altitudes abov ...
missiles. In 1958, it was converted to
Nike Hercules
The Nike Hercules, initially designated SAM-A-25 and later MIM-14, was a surface-to-air missile (SAM) used by U.S. and NATO armed forces for medium- and high-altitude long-range air defense. It was normally armed with the W31 nuclear warhead, bu ...
nuclear missiles. After it was shut down in 1974, it was turned over to the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
, and it open for to the public regularly
Underwater crash sites
A
1948 Lake Mead Boeing B-29 crash, B-29 "Superfortress" Serial No. 45-21847 ditched in Lake Mead in 1949. This particular aircraft is listed in the National Register under Criterion C as an example of a significant type of aircraft construction and under Criterion D for it potential to yield important information.
The remains of the
USS Macon Airship and its associated
F9C Sparrowhawk
The Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk is a light 1930s biplane fighter aircraft that was carried by the United States Navy airships and . It is an example of a parasite fighter, a small airplane designed to be deployed from a larger aircraft such as ...
s are located at around 1500 feet in the
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) is a federally protected marine area offshore of California's Big Sur and central coast in the United States. It is the largest US national marine sanctuary and has a shoreline length of ...
. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
(NOAA) has run survey expeditions to the site, creating photomosaics to track deterioration. The wreck site is listed on the National Register.
Underwater surveying and recovery
Underwater search and recovery is a complex aspect of aviation archaeology. Dive and recovery team have to do extensive research and planning before any recovery is performed. The aircraft site may be left as a memorial and not recovered. Once an aircraft has been located, an
underwater survey
An underwater survey is a survey performed in an underwater environment or conducted remotely on an underwater object or region. Survey can have several meanings. The word originates in Medieval Latin with meanings of ''looking over'' and ''detail ...
is conducted before recovery operations begin. Many tasks are established and the research is a long process that requires the detailed review numerous and various sources of information. The complexities include a great deal of preparation, extensive training, precise planning, and very technical equipment and coordination. Conservation has often proved very difficult
Australia
The Australian focus has been on underwater aviation archaeology, partly as a result of the interest of the relatively large number of maritime archaeologists and shipwreck conservators in the field. This has resulted in numerous studies and reports, including some cross-fertilization or ideas, theory and techniques with practitioners in other parts of the world, with a strong emphasis on the involvement of conservators. Underwater aviation archaeology commenced in Australia at the wrecks of the Dornier, Catalina, and Sunderland Flying Boats destroyed by Japanese fighters at Broome in WWII. These lie, both in the intertidal zone, and in deeper water. The study continued in Darwin in the Northern Territory with research and fieldwork at its series of submerged PBY Catalina wrecks, Subsequently, the study has spread to other regions in Australia, partly as a result of the Interest of Flinders University and its postgraduate student body. While military aircraft remain the property of their respective governments unless delegated to a third party, submerged aircraft wrecks (such as the wrecks at Broome in Western Australia), have proven to be quite difficult to protect from unauthorized recoveries and looting. Those in Broome are now protected under the provisions of the 1990 Heritage of Western Australia Act.
As a profession
In America, aviation archaeologists, crosstrained in other areas of study, are found in the employ of
Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command
The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (often referred to as JPAC) was a joint task force within the United States Department of Defense (DoD) whose mission was to account for Americans who are listed as Prisoners of War (POW), or Missing in Act ...
(JPAC), traveling to former war zones throughout the world, to search for the remains of American servicemen and women that have been lost. Many of these losses involve aircraft mishaps in remote and difficult to reach areas. A group of volunteers, under the banner of "
The BentProp Project", have pursued American military wreck sites and remains without disturbing them; their findings are forwarded to JPAC. In Australia and in some other parts of the world, where there are human remains involved, a tendency has been for the armed forces to secure the services of forensic anthropologists and crash investigators.
Professional aviation archaeologists may also be involved in the recovery of near-complete examples of wrecked or abandoned aircraft for profit. The clients of these professionals range from private individuals and aviation museums, to government agencies. Often these aircraft are in remote areas, which aids wreckage preservation.
Examples include ''
Glacier Girl'', a
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...
that was successfully recovered from below the
Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
ice cap, and restored to
airworthy
In aviation, airworthiness is the measure of an aircraft's suitability for safe flight. Initial airworthiness is demonstrated by a certificate of airworthiness issued by the civil aviation authority in the state in which the aircraft is registe ...
condition, and ''
Kee Bird
The ''Kee Bird'' was a United States Army Air Forces Boeing B-29 Superfortress, serial ''45-21768'', of the 46th Reconnaissance Squadron, that became marooned after making an emergency landing in northwest Greenland during a secret Cold War sp ...
'', a
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fl ...
also abandoned on the Greenland ice cap, but severely damaged by recovery efforts.
See also
*
Aerial archaeology
Aerial archaeology is the study of archaeological remains by examining them from a higher altitude. In present day, this is usually achieved by satellite images or through the use of drones.
Details
Aerial Archaeology involves interpretation an ...
*
Aviation accidents and incidents
An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of f ...
*
Aviation safety
Aviation safety is the study and practice of managing risks in aviation. This includes preventing aviation accidents and incidents through research, educating air travel personnel, passengers and the general public, as well as the design of airc ...
*
Crash cover
A crash cover is a philatelic term for a type of cover (including the terms air accident cover, interrupted flight cover, wreck cover), meaning an envelope or package that has been recovered from an air crash, train wreck, shipwreck or other acci ...
*
Industrial archaeology
Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, sites, infrastructure, docu ...
*
List of aviation historical societies
*
Protection of Military Remains Act 1986
Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...
*
Wreck diving
Wreck diving is recreational diving where the wreckage of ships, aircraft and other artificial structures are explored. Although most wreck dive sites are at shipwrecks, there is an increasing trend to scuttle retired ships to create artificia ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
* Jung, Silvano (2001). Wings Beneath the Sea: the aviation archaeology of Catalina Flying Boats in Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory. Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University), Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
*
* Merlin, Peter W. & Moore, Tony (2008). X-Plane Crashes: Exploring Experimental, Rocket Plane, and Spycraft Incidents, Accidents and Crash Sites; Specialty Press, North Branch, Minnesota.
*
*
* Veronico, Nicholas A., Ed Davies, et al. ''Wreckchasing: A Guide to Finding Aircraft Crash Sites''; Pacific Aero Press, Castro Valley, Calif., 1993.
* Veronico, Nicholas A., Ed Davies, Michael B. McComb, Donald B. McComb. ''Wreckchasing 2: Commercial Aircraft Crashes and Crash Sites''; World Transport Press, Miami, Fla. 1996.
Pritzker Military Library Webcast Panelfrom December 4, 2012, on the ongoing efforts to recover and preserve aircraft lost in Lake Michigan during carrier qualifications in World War II
External links
;International sites
TIGHAR.org– The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery
Waymarking.com– coordinates for selected crash sites
;Australia
''Broken Wings'' Western Australian Maritime Museum;Canada
chaa-recovery.ca Canadian Underwater Recovery Teamharvards.com Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association;Germany
*
;UK sites
British Aviation Archaeological Council – official siteThameside Aviation Museum– aviation archaeology
Peak District plane wrecks;US sites
National Park Service's National Register Bulletin: Guidelines for evaluating and documenting historic aviation propertiesAircraftArchaeology.com– aircraft wrecks in Arizona and the Southwest
Check-Six.com– aviation archaeology, before & after photos
Wreckchasing.com– The on-line community for aircraft crash and crash site information.
The X-Hunters.com– Echoes of Thunder: Remembering the Lost Airmen and accident sites of Edwards AFB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aviation Archaeology
Aviation accidents and incidents
History of aviation
Aviation risks
Industrial archaeology