B-24J "The Tulsamerican"- Crash site dive and documentation
Wed Sep 30, 2015 8:36 am
Hello all,
I thought some/most/all of you might like to know a little bit about a trip I'm on at the moment.
On December 17, 1944 the last B-24 built at the Douglas-Tulsa plant, also known as "The Tulsamerican" crashed off of the coast of Croatia near the island of Vis. Several years ago, a team of local divers managed to locate and identify the wreck site. It sits in about 130-150 feet of water. The wreck is sitting in two major chunks. The airplane broke just behind the wing; the forward half is in shallower water, and the rear half is in deeper water.
I am on the island of Vis with a group of divers who have spent a week and a half diving on the wreck, taking both still images and digital video. The goal of the video is twofold: first, to get a comprehensive image of the wreck and help in the identification of the major chunks; second, to put together a 3D digital model of it. Some of the images we have gained are fantastic!
One other goal of the project is to utilize the 3D digital model and the other imaging from the trip to expand the exhibit on the airplane at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum.
Here are a couple of samples, courtesy of Danijel Frka.
On the way down to the wreck, showing the forward part:
What's left of the forward part of the cockpit:
kevin
I thought some/most/all of you might like to know a little bit about a trip I'm on at the moment.
On December 17, 1944 the last B-24 built at the Douglas-Tulsa plant, also known as "The Tulsamerican" crashed off of the coast of Croatia near the island of Vis. Several years ago, a team of local divers managed to locate and identify the wreck site. It sits in about 130-150 feet of water. The wreck is sitting in two major chunks. The airplane broke just behind the wing; the forward half is in shallower water, and the rear half is in deeper water.
I am on the island of Vis with a group of divers who have spent a week and a half diving on the wreck, taking both still images and digital video. The goal of the video is twofold: first, to get a comprehensive image of the wreck and help in the identification of the major chunks; second, to put together a 3D digital model of it. Some of the images we have gained are fantastic!
One other goal of the project is to utilize the 3D digital model and the other imaging from the trip to expand the exhibit on the airplane at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum.
Here are a couple of samples, courtesy of Danijel Frka.
On the way down to the wreck, showing the forward part:
What's left of the forward part of the cockpit:
kevin
Re: B-24J "The Tulsamerican"- Crash site dive and documentat
Wed Sep 30, 2015 3:11 pm
Nice pics!! Was there any consideration recovering it or parts of it for some type of (wet or dry) display at the TASM?
Re: B-24J "The Tulsamerican"- Crash site dive and documentat
Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:45 am
CoastieJohn,
Yes, there has been some very good discussion about that question. The wreck sits in the waters of Croatia and so is governed by their laws and the Ministry of Culture here, but there is a good chance we will be able to work that out. What is left there is not usable for any flying aircraft, but there are several neat pieces that would make an excellent museum display to better tell the story of this aircraft. I am quite hopeful we will eventually be able to do just that. Part of this trip was about meeting folks and establishing good relationships, which I believe has been done.
One concern with any piece that comes up, as is always a concern, is that any piece or part would have to immediately start going through an in-depth conservation process that will take many months. We have no desire to retrieve pieces of the airplane only to see them deteriorate further.
kevin
Yes, there has been some very good discussion about that question. The wreck sits in the waters of Croatia and so is governed by their laws and the Ministry of Culture here, but there is a good chance we will be able to work that out. What is left there is not usable for any flying aircraft, but there are several neat pieces that would make an excellent museum display to better tell the story of this aircraft. I am quite hopeful we will eventually be able to do just that. Part of this trip was about meeting folks and establishing good relationships, which I believe has been done.
One concern with any piece that comes up, as is always a concern, is that any piece or part would have to immediately start going through an in-depth conservation process that will take many months. We have no desire to retrieve pieces of the airplane only to see them deteriorate further.
kevin
Re: B-24J "The Tulsamerican"- Crash site dive and documentat
Thu Oct 01, 2015 9:10 am
Another neat photo, courtesy of Danijel Frka. The large crumpled mass closest to the photographer is what is left of the cockpit. It is upside down, blown apart, and missing most of its skin. The greenhouse is gone, with some of the plexi scattered around the wreck. The nose turret is several yards away from the nose, between this section and the aft section of the fuselage.
In this photo, look very closely- you can see several interesting things. The orange suited diver is Andres, one of the divers from Sweden. The long cord is attached to the ROV on the project, courtesy of Video Ray and driven by Steve. Below Andres is the port side vertical that came off of the airplane and separated from it. Underneath the cord and towards the top center of the photo is the half-crushed aft section of the fuselage, with the horizontal running right underneath the cord to the ROV. Just above and slightly to the left of Andres' tanks is a thin stick pointing straight up. That is the top blade of one of the propellers, which is sitting leaned up against a large rock.
kevin
In this photo, look very closely- you can see several interesting things. The orange suited diver is Andres, one of the divers from Sweden. The long cord is attached to the ROV on the project, courtesy of Video Ray and driven by Steve. Below Andres is the port side vertical that came off of the airplane and separated from it. Underneath the cord and towards the top center of the photo is the half-crushed aft section of the fuselage, with the horizontal running right underneath the cord to the ROV. Just above and slightly to the left of Andres' tanks is a thin stick pointing straight up. That is the top blade of one of the propellers, which is sitting leaned up against a large rock.
kevin
Re: B-24J "The Tulsamerican"- Crash site dive and documentat
Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:47 am
As a fellow diver I am envious of your dive trip but, even more, appreciate your efforts to document the history and share it here on WIX.
Ken
Ken