The Forgotten Libs of Angaur

[gary1954]

I'd sure like to visit and see if I could get that Ball Turret in my luggage and any other items that appear to be... ....abandoned

[daveymac82c]

Looking at a map of Angaur I'd figure finding those airframes would make for fairly easy work. The area that they are roughly located is quite small. As well, the logisitics of getting them out of there wouldn't be too hard. I wonder if a military transport C-17 or Herc could fit in there to have them loaded with Lib bits.

Maybe a black ops "Smash and grab" would work... haha.

Anyways, I'm quite curious to see what the airframes look like today.

Peace,

David

[george]

Thanks for those Lib pics, airmanual. Couple of questions for you:

Are those pics all of just one Lib, or do they include the three or four airframes?

If you don't mind saying, where do you find all these pics? (I haven't had much luck finding many of the boneyard).

One confusing factor with the pics is that the ones taken in 1987 from Pacific Wrecks appear to show the Libs in better condition than the pics taken in 1973. This seems particularly evident when you compare the cockpit greenhouse pics of the Lib laying on its side. Are you sure that yours were taken in 1973?

Thanks.

[bdk]

Looking at a map of Angaur I'd figure finding those airframes would make for fairly easy work. The area that they are roughly located is quite small. As well, the logisitics of getting them out of there wouldn't be too hard. I wonder if a military transport C-17 or Herc could fit in there to have them loaded with Lib bits.

Maybe a black ops "Smash and grab" would work... haha.

Maybe Brad can organize a "training mission"?

[17f]

Bump. Anybody heard anything new or have new pics? Even if they can`t be restored to like factory new, it would be nice to see them preserved in some way. Sad to see them dissolve away, forgotten.

[davidwomacks]

Any C-17 pilots wanna make a little detour and pick up some stuff not on the manifest tell you what there's a case of Jack in it for you lol

[jvenables]

I did some work on Angaur in January 2011 and I can report that very little (if any) of the wreckage there is worth recovering for restoration (or use in another restoration). I'm certainly no expert on warbird rebuilds nor metallurgy but I think the level of corrosion is far too great. There is almost nothing remaining of the C-47 or B-24s. The F4U is also very sad, but still recognisable as a Corsair. If it were to be recovered, it could possibly be placed in an "as found" diorama in a museum, but that would be about the extent of it.

That said, there are a few components laying around that might be useful for a static restoration. The B-24 turret is still in one piece, as are some superchargers, oil radiators(?) and other bits.

This "boneyard" is very easy to find, as it is located only about 50m off the road that circuits the island's foreshore. It is marked by a B-24(?) propeller that has been erected by someone as a memorial of sorts. It is also only 50m or so inland from the shoreline, so it is in an area where a high level of corrosion and rapid deterioration is assured.

There is another B-24 wreck on the southeastern side of the island, just off the shoreline but I have never seen any reference to this example in any literature or websites. Again, very little remains of this machine, as it is almost right on the shoreline. Badly corroded engines, engine components, undercarriage, wing spar components, wing ribs are still recognisable but little else remains. My guide told me that when he was a teenager (20-25 years ago) the aircraft was still quite complete aside from the obvious crash damage but that it had "melted" into the jungle floor since then. He also said that the aircraft had apparently crashed at some stage before the US landings and that the surviving crew had been executed by the Japanese. Can anyone confirm this story?

I have some photos from my trip there but I am unable to post them at this stage because the server restrictions at my location (I am on a gold mine in Sumatra) won't allow me access too photosharing sites. If someone would like to contact me, I can send pics by e-mail which could then be posted here on my behalf. My e-mail is jvenables@virginbroadband.com.au

[Cherrybomber13]

I am posting these for Mr. James Venables.
In an email from this afternoon he told me...

I have selected the best/most interesting photos and attached them here. There are more that I originally planned to send but I wanted to share as much as possible with other WIX readers.

I have also prepared a map showing the locations of the various items included in the photos. Photos 01 to 06 are of the B-24 wreck on the SE side of the island, whilst those from the “boneyard” are labelled such. There was a lot of other war debris on the island but I did not have my camera with me for the whole time because we were battling our way through the jungle regrowth and swamps taking soil samples along east-west traverses over the island and I carried only the bare minimum of equipment. We frequently came across old bunkers and dugouts, remains of the phosphate railway, corroded ammo boxes, etc. Whilst excavating pits for our soil samples, the most common items unearthed were pieces of Japanese crockery and bottles.

The ground surface of the island (particularly on the eastern side) is very disturbed, uneven and rubbly, which is probably a relic of artillery, naval and mortar bombardments. Whilst the jungle is quite thick in most places, much of it is obviously regrowth, so it is fair to assume the original vegetation was largely destroyed during the fighting.

The airstrip is in quite good condition, with the original crushed coral surface having naturally cemented into a hard duricrust. The hardstands and taxiways were obviously not built to the same standard and these have become overgrown but are still fairly obvious when traversing through the forest flanking the airstrip.

Best regards,
James Venables

24 Angaur map by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


16 Angaur 'boneyard' C-47 remains by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


17 Angaur 'boneyard' various parts by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


15 Angaur 'boneyard' C-47 remains by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


20 Angaur 'boneyard' Corsair remains by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


19 Angaur 'boneyard' Corsair remains by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


18 Angaur 'boneyard' Corsair remains by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


14 Angaur 'boneyard' B-24 wing by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


13 Angaur 'boneyard' B-24 wing by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


12 Angaur 'boneyard' B-24 turret by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


11 Angaur 'boneyard' B-24 parts by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


10 Angaur 'boneyard' B-24 parts by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


09 Angaur 'boneyard' B-24 parts by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


08 Angaur 'boneyard' marker by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


07 Angaur airstrip by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


06 B-24 engine by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


05 B-24 engine & wing remnants by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


04 B-24 engine cylinder in beach rocks by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


02 B-24 wing ribs by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


03 B-24 wheel by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


01 B-24 wing remains by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


23 Japanese memorial by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


22 Angaur LVT-A remains by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr


21 Angaur harbour Sherman tanks by Cherry Bomb Photography, on Flickr

[tom d. friedman]

fabulous pics!! many thanks to both of you for collaborating to get them posted!! that is wix spirit for sure!!

[Jim MacDonald]

In my opinion these photos should be mandatory viewing for the "leave them in place", "they're a benefit to tourism" crowd. How anyone could think that is still the best course after seeing these melt into the jungle is beyond me.

What a waste.

Mac

[peter]

That ball turret looks recoverable but what would be left after restoration of it??

[17f]

Oy vey those hurt to see

[Wildchild]

With the technology we have today, I say bring them home.