WW II Era Bomber Found Off Chappy

CCB MEDIA PHOTO
A close-up of the “Flying Fortress,” World War II bomber.

CHAPPAQUIDDICK – A WW II era bomber that crashed off Chappaquiddick during a training exercise in February of 1945 is in the process of being recovered, according to a report in the Vineyard Gazette.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers crews, along with a local barge owner, are working to raise the wreckage located off Cape Pogue.

The paper reports that researchers have discovered that the plane is likely a Curtis SB2C Helldiver on a training mission when it crashed, killing the pilot and radioman, the only two crewmen aboard at the time.

Their bodies were recovered shortly after the crash.

The plane will be brought up and studied over the next month.

The wreckage was discovered as the Corps of Engineers works to clear the area of unexploded ordinance from the era, the Vineyard and nearby Noman’s Island were popular training areas for bomber pilots at the time.

20 planes and at least 40 men were lost during the training missions during and after the war.