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In February, I had a few queries about the two
parachutes we found on Mt
Kenevi, so I thought I would add a little more to the tale.
Mt Kenevi is about 11,400 feet and being close to the equator,
it is much warmer at such altitudes than for more moderate climates,
so it is largely forest covered with some alpine shrubs and grasses
on the top. It is still bloody cold however,especially for the
unwary.
When we were exploring.we found a USAAF B-25
near the top in alpine forest. Nearer the top we also found a prop
blade and other debris. The two parachutes with human remains
were found,seperately, about 100-200 metres away from the B-25
wreck.The plane has been IDed and I have the crew list. We actually
found the pilots wallet at the wreck.The plane went missing on
a flight between Doboduru
and Port Moresby,and
reported being lost in bad weather, by radio.
I think the pilot hit the top of the mountain
in bad weather,and lost a prop. Two of the crew [at least] then
jumped, but in the short fall, their parachutes didn't have time
to open. The plane crashed at the same time, and there were apparently
no survivors. The plane was located in 1961 by an Australian RAAF
team looking for another aircraft, but the crew were never recovered
at that time,or since. The exact location has always been a bit
uncertain however,and it has taken a serious effort to relocate
it on this occasion. The RAAF did not find the parachutes or the
prop debris.
Early
War P-40
I have reported the finds to the
CILHI agent in PNG, and the results passed on to Hawaii for future
action.We also located a P-40 nearby with the early star with
a red centre. This plane has not yet been IDed, so we don't know
if the pilot is missing or not.
Sogeri
Plateau Explorations
With regard to other activities,Wilkie
has been exploring the Sogeri plateau,to the imediate East of
Port Moresby. Our work is not complete yet,but we did locate three
B-24s, two with remains, both IDed and reported to CILHI,while
the third has still to be IDed,and appears to have remains as
well. One of the three is known to officialdom,and some [but not
all] remains have been recovered in the past. Another was visited
at the time of the crash,but the remains were regarded as unrecoverable
at that time. The second B-24 is located three hours easy walk
from the roadhead. The third B-24 is a mystery bird at this time,
but with over 20 missing B-24s around Port Moresby,there are plenty
of candidates.We also have found perhaps 10-12 other wrecks, including
P-39s and P-40s.More to go. I also got photos of a P-47 just out
of Wewak, Which I've IDed but not had time to check the pilots
status.
Em Tasol
John Douglas
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