Site Formation Processes of Sunken Aircraft: A Case Study of Four WWII Aircraft in Saipan’’s Tanapag Lagoon

Summary

From 2009 to 2012 a multidisciplinary team collected archaeological and conservation survey data on four sunken aircraft in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This data was analysed in an effort to better understand site formation processes of WWII aircraft lost in the Pacific. A site formation model was produced based on previously established shipwreck models as well as corrosion data collected and analysed to provide a detailed description of how these sites have been and continue to be affected by both natural and cultural factors. This paper will outline the results of this research and hopes to provide a starting point from which other WWII aircraft can be investigated.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Is the Pattern Really Full?: Asking Questions That Count In The Archaeology of Sunken Aircraft   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-60,06