Underwater Archaeological And Forensic Investigations Carried Out At Großer Glasowsee, Brandenburg/Germany

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Applying the Power of Partnerships to the Search for America's Missing in Action", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In spring 1945, upon returning from a bombing mission targeting SS-facilities in Oranienburg / Germany, a U.S. Army heavy bomber B17 aircraft was observed to crash into a small lake north of Berlin. Two crewmembers remain unaccounted for. After the detection of the tail section of the plane in the southern part of the lake in 2018, the 2020 field mission focused on the northern portion, where the airplane´s nose and the missed personnel is assumed to be located. The investigation included the deployment of side scan sonar, metal detection, and geomagnetic technology. The research area proved to be almost completely silted up with mud. In this terrain, the only possibility to achieve meaningful data was the use of a sledge with a geomagnetic device mounted. Distinct signals and observed objects indicate that the front section of the airplane has been actually detected below 5m of mud.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Applying the Power of Partnerships to the Search for America's Missing in Action   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow