Miloch
January 14th 19, 11:47 PM
more at
http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/glenn-miller%e2%80%99s-airplane-possibly-found-decades-after-famed-bandleader-vanished-during-wwii/ar-BBSffU9?li=BBnb7Kz
On Dec. 15, 1944, famed American bandleader Glenn Miller walked across Twinwood
Farm airfield in southeast England, climbed into the passenger seat of a UC-64A
Norseman light aircraft and set off for France.
With WWII still raging across Europe, Miller — the hottest recording artist of
his era — was preparing to play a concert for weary Allied troops, performing
his hits like “In the Mood” and “Moonlight Serenade.”
Tragically, it was a show he would never make. Somewhere between England and
Northern France, Miller and the Norseman vanished. To date, not a single trace
of the musician or the aircraft has ever been discovered. Alongside the
disappearance of Amelia Earhart, it remains one of the greatest mysteries in
aviation history.
However, the mystery may be solved thanks to a retired trawlerman from England
who is “utterly convinced” he pulled up the wreck of Miller’s aircraft in his
fishing nets 32 years ago.
What’s more, US-based historical aircraft researchers TIGHAR say his account is
“totally credible.”
“He’s doing his best to remember something that happened a long time ago,”
TIGHAR executive director Richard Gillespie tells PEOPLE, before adding a note
of caution. “We know human memory is fallible and can be easily influenced.”
According to TIGHAR, the trawlerman — identified only as Mr. Fisher — was
advised to drop his unusual catch back into the English Channel, where it has
remained ever since. Thankfully, Fisher had the presence of mind to record the
coordinates. It is this key piece of evidence that may lead to the site of
Miller’s final resting place.
Yet it’s going to be far from easy. After 74 years on the sea floor, the missing
Norseman aircraft will be largely deteriorated and likely unrecognizable to the
untrained eye.
“Whatever the fisherman pulled up in 1987 is not going to look like that
anymore,” explains Gillespie. “Miller’s airplane was not metal. It was a steel
tube frame covered with fabric and it had some aluminum panels on it, plus of
course, an engine and a propeller. By now all the fabric is almost certainly
gone. The wings were wooden too, so they’re going to be gone. So, what you have
got is a steel frame that very possibly has been encountered by other
fishermen.”
He continues, “You have this mangled steel frame and an engine that may or may
not be fully or partially buried in the sand. So, it’s not going to look like an
airplane. It’s just going to look a mess.”
But the TIGHAR team does have an ace card up their sleeve. Amazingly, in 1944
Miller’s Norseman was the only plane in England that combined a steel-tubed
fuselage with a very specific type of Pratt & Whitney engine, known as a Wasp.
So, if the team finds evidence of a steel-tubed fuselage — no matter how mangled
— and a Pratt & Whitney Wasp, they’ll know they’ve got a Norseman. More
crucially, they’ll know they’ve got Miller’s Norseman.
“The Miller aircraft is the only Norseman that’s unaccounted for,” adds
Gillespie. “So, if you find that, you’ve found the Miller aircraft.”
The investigation is still very much in its early stages, however. TIGHAR — who
are also searching for American aviator Amelia Earhart in the South Pacific —
have conducted preliminary investigations in England and are now reaching a
point where they’re able to decide if a physical search is warranted.
more at
http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/glenn-miller%e2%80%99s-airplane-possibly-found-decades-after-famed-bandleader-vanished-during-wwii/ar-BBSffU9?li=BBnb7Kz
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http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/glenn-miller%e2%80%99s-airplane-possibly-found-decades-after-famed-bandleader-vanished-during-wwii/ar-BBSffU9?li=BBnb7Kz
On Dec. 15, 1944, famed American bandleader Glenn Miller walked across Twinwood
Farm airfield in southeast England, climbed into the passenger seat of a UC-64A
Norseman light aircraft and set off for France.
With WWII still raging across Europe, Miller — the hottest recording artist of
his era — was preparing to play a concert for weary Allied troops, performing
his hits like “In the Mood” and “Moonlight Serenade.”
Tragically, it was a show he would never make. Somewhere between England and
Northern France, Miller and the Norseman vanished. To date, not a single trace
of the musician or the aircraft has ever been discovered. Alongside the
disappearance of Amelia Earhart, it remains one of the greatest mysteries in
aviation history.
However, the mystery may be solved thanks to a retired trawlerman from England
who is “utterly convinced” he pulled up the wreck of Miller’s aircraft in his
fishing nets 32 years ago.
What’s more, US-based historical aircraft researchers TIGHAR say his account is
“totally credible.”
“He’s doing his best to remember something that happened a long time ago,”
TIGHAR executive director Richard Gillespie tells PEOPLE, before adding a note
of caution. “We know human memory is fallible and can be easily influenced.”
According to TIGHAR, the trawlerman — identified only as Mr. Fisher — was
advised to drop his unusual catch back into the English Channel, where it has
remained ever since. Thankfully, Fisher had the presence of mind to record the
coordinates. It is this key piece of evidence that may lead to the site of
Miller’s final resting place.
Yet it’s going to be far from easy. After 74 years on the sea floor, the missing
Norseman aircraft will be largely deteriorated and likely unrecognizable to the
untrained eye.
“Whatever the fisherman pulled up in 1987 is not going to look like that
anymore,” explains Gillespie. “Miller’s airplane was not metal. It was a steel
tube frame covered with fabric and it had some aluminum panels on it, plus of
course, an engine and a propeller. By now all the fabric is almost certainly
gone. The wings were wooden too, so they’re going to be gone. So, what you have
got is a steel frame that very possibly has been encountered by other
fishermen.”
He continues, “You have this mangled steel frame and an engine that may or may
not be fully or partially buried in the sand. So, it’s not going to look like an
airplane. It’s just going to look a mess.”
But the TIGHAR team does have an ace card up their sleeve. Amazingly, in 1944
Miller’s Norseman was the only plane in England that combined a steel-tubed
fuselage with a very specific type of Pratt & Whitney engine, known as a Wasp.
So, if the team finds evidence of a steel-tubed fuselage — no matter how mangled
— and a Pratt & Whitney Wasp, they’ll know they’ve got a Norseman. More
crucially, they’ll know they’ve got Miller’s Norseman.
“The Miller aircraft is the only Norseman that’s unaccounted for,” adds
Gillespie. “So, if you find that, you’ve found the Miller aircraft.”
The investigation is still very much in its early stages, however. TIGHAR — who
are also searching for American aviator Amelia Earhart in the South Pacific —
have conducted preliminary investigations in England and are now reaching a
point where they’re able to decide if a physical search is warranted.
more at
http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/glenn-miller%e2%80%99s-airplane-possibly-found-decades-after-famed-bandleader-vanished-during-wwii/ar-BBSffU9?li=BBnb7Kz
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