The Tanapag PBM Mariner: Aircraft Identification through Site Formation Processes

Author(s): Jack A. Adamson

Year: 2020

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Strides Towards Standard Methodologies in Aeronautical Archaeology" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

During the Second World War, flying boats were crucial in the roles of reconnaissance, patrol, rescue, and transportation. This was especially true in the Pacific Theater. One such flying boat, a United States Navy (USN) PBM Mariner, has rested on the bottom of Tanapag Harbor, Saipan since the waning days of that war. While the site has been impacted by wartime and post-war salvage, archaeologists were able to identify the aircraft’s make and model following a survey in 2011. Building on this, field work was conducted in July of 2019 to identify both the aircraft’s model variant and its individual identity. This paper will outline the process of historical and archaeological work on the PBM Mariner and present results related to the above research aims.

Cite this Record

The Tanapag PBM Mariner: Aircraft Identification through Site Formation Processes. Jack A. Adamson. 2020 ( tDAR id: 457530)

Keywords

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): 221