Lost in Action, Navy's Missing Training and Experimental Aircraft: A NAS Pax River Case Study

Author(s): Agustin J Ortiz

Year: 2018

Summary

As part of NAS Pax Rivers heritage management responsibilities, Naval History and Heritage Command's Underwater Archaeology Branch (NHHC UAB) and partner entities have been conducting remote sensing surveys in the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding waters since 2015 in order to find its missing aircraft from the early 1940s and 1950s.  Several were lost at the advent of WWII as part of experimental testing, which lead to advancements in aircraft capabilities and flight safety. This paper will explore the contributions of NAS Pax River as an experimental aircraft training base and the need to find and manage the aircraft lost in its surrounding waters. The methodologies used to try and locate these historical naval assets  as well as inherent challenges will be discussed. NHHC UAB is responsible for the management, research, preservation, and interpretation of the US Navy's sunken military craft.  

Cite this Record

Lost in Action, Navy's Missing Training and Experimental Aircraft: A NAS Pax River Case Study. Agustin J Ortiz. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2018 ( tDAR id: 441252)

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Temporal Keywords
WWII, post-WWII

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 789