Patterns Of Preservation In WWII Aircraft And Their Importance

Author(s): Adrian Hunt

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.

The aircraft of World War II (WWII) provide the largest volume sample in aircraft archaeology with potential to investigate broad patterns. These aircraft represent both combat and training losses. Over 10,000 total planes were lost over the UK during this period and over 7,000 USAAF aircraft were lost in training over the USA. Preservational potential of aircraft of this vintage was elevated over earlier periods because of factors including construction materials and speed (of crashes). Aircraft were lost in a wide range of environmental settings from tundra to humid jungles and provide great potential for comparative studies: wrecks of US B-24 bombers occur in a wide range of environments from arid desert (Libya), to shallow marine environment (Malta) to humid jungles (Borneo). Some areas were foci of prolonged aerial engagements (e.g., England, Malta), others represent more transient battles with different patterns of aircraft losses.

Cite this Record

Patterns Of Preservation In WWII Aircraft And Their Importance. Adrian Hunt. 2020 ( tDAR id: 457533)

Keywords

General
aircraft Archaeology WWII

Geographic Keywords
United States of America

Temporal Keywords
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): 628