2017 Annual Report

CONTENTSIntroduction 1BringingOurHeroesHome 2Research,ScienceandTechnology 4DigitalSitePreservation 6Missions PapuaNewGuinea-Spring 8Fiji 10SolomonIslands 12Palau 14Greece 16UnitedKingdom 18PapuaNewGuinea-Fall 20

StudentPerspectives 26SupportingActivities 28TheTeam 29LookingAhead 30FlagCeremonies 31

Project Recover is a collaborative effort to enlist 21st century science and technology in a quest to find the final underwater resting places of Americans missing in action since World War II, to

provide recognition and closure.

Project Recover is a partnership among researchersat the University of Delaware, Scripps Institution ofOceanography,andTheBentPropProject.

Theprojectblendshistoricaldatafrommanysourcesto optimize underwater search areas with scanningsonars,highdefinitioncameras,advanceddiving,andunmannedaerialandunderwaterrobotictechnologies.These newmethods are now being applied globallywhere servicemen are still missing. Information onfindsbyProjectRecoverarethentransmittedtotheU.S.Government Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency(DPAA), for formal identification, family notificationandultimatelyrepatriation.

In2012ProjectRecoverbeganasagrassrootsresearcheffort in Palau, with the team finding three aircraftmissing from World War II during field expeditionsin 2014 and 2015. Those two years set the stagefor Project Recover’s formalization with substantialfinancialsupportfromDanFriedkinattheendof2015,kickingoffathree-yeartest-bedconcept.

InitsfirstyearofformaloperationsasProjectRecoverin2016,theteamexpandeditsoperations,conductingmissions in eight countries in search of over 100servicemenmissing in action, spanning over 20 casefiles.Fivecasesassociatedwithatleast19MIAsweredocumentedandreportedtoDPAA.

Thisyear, in2017,ProjectRecoverexplored20casesspread throughout five countries, associated withnearly 100 MIAs. Those missions resulted in thediscovery and/or full documentation of nine aircraftcrashesassociatedwithatleast36MIAs.

Thepartnersnowlookto2018withmissionsplannedin the Pacific and European theaters, missions thatcontinue to use the best-available science andtechnology, combined with historic and archivalresearch to bring American service members home.This year will also launch Project Recover into itsplanning forthenextphaseofoperations, lookingat2019–2023.

Introduction

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Bringing Our Heroes HomeLt. Punnell, ARM2c Rybarczyk and AOM2c Sharninghouse

While the U.S. has made, and continues to make,extensiveefforts to recoverand returnhome itswardead, more than 82,000 Americans remain missinginaction(MIA)fromWorldWarII tothepresent.Anestimated 70,000 U.S. servicemen remain missingfromWorldWar II,with approximately two-thirdsofthoselossesinthePacificTheater.Manyofthemissingwerelostinthemaritimeenvironment.

Inadditiontothesheervolumeofindividualscontainedwithin, underwater sites often provide a greaterdegree of preservation in comparison to terrestriallosses. However, conventional water-based searcheshave historically been labor intensive, logisticallycumbersomeandtechnicallydifficult.

The ultimate goal of Project Recover is to provideclosureforthefamiliesofmissingU.S.servicemembers.To date, Project Recover’s efforts have successfullydiscoveredand/ordocumented14aircraftassociatedwith nearly 60 MIAs, solving decades old mysteriesofthefatesofU.S.servicemenfromWorldWarII.Ofthose,nineaircraftassociatedwithatleast36ofthoseMIAswerefoundduringoperationsin2017.

It is the custom of Project Recover to hold a flagceremonyatthesiteofallMIA-associatedaircraftcrashsites that arediscovered. The ceremony is recorded,andaflag is presentedandproperly folded for eachMIAassociatedwiththefind.TheprocessfromlocatingasitetofullaccountingbytheDepartmentofDefensecan be a lengthly process, so after the ceremony aProject Recover team member from that mission isdesignatedastheholderofthoseflagsandvideountilsuch time that they can be presented to the familyoncetheaccountinghasbeenannounced.

ThefirstProjectRecovercasestocomefullcircle—fromdiscovery to documentation to family notification—wereannouncedinthesummerof2017.

InMarch 2014, Project Recover had its first finds ofmissingaircraftandcrew,whileonamissiontoPalau.Duringthemission,theteamlocatedtheunderwaterwreckofanF6FHellcatassociatedwithmissingWorldWarIIpilot,NavyReserveLt.WilliamQ.Punnell.During

that same mission, the team also located theunderwaterwreckofaTBMAvengerassociatedwithmissing servicemen from World War II, includingNavy Reserve Aviation Radioman 2nd Class Albert P.Rybarczyk(oppositepage)andNavyReserveAviationOrdnanceman2ndClassOraH.Sharninghouse.

The discovery and relevant documentation for bothofthesecasesweresharedwiththeU.S.Departmentof Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) sothat the proper procedures for official identification,recoveryandrepatriationcouldbeinitiated.

OnJune30,2017DPAAannounced,“NavyReserveLt.WilliamQ.Punnell,killedduringWorldWarII,hasnowbeen accounted for,” and onAugust 16, 2017,DPAAmade two individual announcements, sharing thatARM2c Rybarczyk and AOM2c Sharninghouse havenowbeenaccountedfor.

ProjectRecoversentwrittencorrespondencetoeachofthefamiliesofthethreefallenservicemen,explainingthe discoveriesmadeby the team,with the offer topersonally deliver each flag to the respective family.To say the responsewasoverwhelmingwouldbe anunderstatement.

Bill Kelvie, great nephew of Lt. Punnell, shared thefollowingabouthisfamily’sexperience,“Sometimein2014, (my)Dadwas contactedby theNavy andwasrequestedtoprovideaDNAsampletoassistthemintheir analysis of remains thatwere being recovered.Wereallydidn’tthinkmuchof it,actually,andprettymuch forgot about it after some time. I rememberthe 60 Minutes episode on the (Project Recover)mission, andwasmovedby theeffortsofwhatyourteamandcolleagueshavebeendoing.Neverinmylifewould I,oranyone inour family,have imagined thatthemissionwouldrecoverGreatUncleBill.TheNavyliaison contacted Dad (in June)...and notified him ofthepositiveidentification.Needlesstosay,wearestillinabitofastateofshock.WearedeeplythankfultotheteamandallwhowereinvolvedindiscoveringtheHellcatandinbringingUncleBillhome.”

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OnDecember 10 and 11, sevenmembers of ProjectRecover traveled to Stevensville, Michigan, at theinvitation of the family of ARM2c Albert “Bud”Rybarczyktoparticipateintheceremonyandfuneralof this now repatriated MIA (below). The return oftheir ‘Uncle Bud’ turned out to be more than justa family affair; the community of this small town insouthwestern Michigan turned out to honor Bud’sreturn. Also in attendance at the Mass and burialwas a large contingent of familymembers of AOM2SharninghousefromthesameAvengercrew.

Incredibly, Bud’s sister Mary Ann, a retired Catholicnun, is still living, making the event all the morespecial.ThefamilymemberssaidthatwhileitcameasasurprisetohearfromDPAAabouthisrecovery,MaryAnn never gave up hope for her brother’s return. Infact,thefamilyboughtaburialplotforhimlongago.

The U.S. Navy had two active duty officers presentthroughout—fromBud’sreturnbyaircraftonDecember7 to Grand Rapids, through the military escort tohis home, to the visitation at the funeral home onDecember10andthefuneralMassonDecember11.

The Mass ended with one of Bud’s cousins singing“I’ll be Home for Christmas.” An active duty admiralattended themass and burial. A Navy Honor Guardstood in the faceof thecold,blowingwindsoffLakeMichigantogivehonortoBud’srepatriation.

AOM2cSharninghousewillreturntohishomeforhisceremony and burial in April 2018 in Findlay, Ohio.At the invitationof the family, Project Recover teammembersplantoattendtherepatriation.

The F6F-3 Hellcat aviator, Lt. William Punnell, alsofoundin2014,willbeburiedinthesecondhalfofApril2018atArlingtonNationalCemetery.

IthasbeentheprivilegeoftheentireProjectRecoverteamtolocatetheseaviatorsandgivehonortotheirultimatesacrifice.

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Research, Science and TechnologyProjectRecover integratesadiversesetofdisciplinesin itsquest to locateMIAs including,butnot limitedto marine science; ocean technology includingunmanned robotics, imaging and sonar; unmannedaerial systems; aeronautics; engineering sciences;physical andbiological sciences; computermodeling;data management and information technology;geospatial information systems; remote sensing;archaeology and anthropology; history; scientificdiving; intelligencegatheringandsynthesis;statistics,including Bayesian search strategies; global security;retrievable documentation systems; and rapidlyresponsiblelogistics.

Beforeanyfieldmission,extensivehistoricalresearchand analysis occur. During 2017, Project Recoverhistorians and researchers photographed, processed,and analyzed over 60,000 archival documents fromlibrariesandarchivesaroundtheworld.

While this process has aided Project Recover in thedevelopmentofhundredsofpotentialnewcases,itisalsopartofalargergoaltocreateadigitalcloud-basedarchive. With the digitized archive, Project Recoverscientists, volunteers and staff can conduct archivalanalysisfornewandexistingcasesfromanywhereintheworld.

Search missions utilize experienced team membersselectedtomanagetheintegrationofstate-of-the-art

sensorpackagesinAUVs,multispectralimaging,ROVs,and other robotic technologies, novel aerial imagingmethods, scuba teams with advanced low lightphotographicandvideoequipment,handheld sonarsystemsandallotheraspectsnecessarytosuccessfullycompleteeachmission.

ThetechnologyassetsthatareusedbyProjectRecovercanbegenerallydescribedas:• AutonomousUnderwaterVehicles(AUVs)• RemotelyOperatedVehicles(ROVs)• UnmannedAerialVehicles(UAVs)• Sidescansonars• Multi-beamsonars• Magnetometers• Opticalimagingandimageprocessing• Advanceddivertechnologies

Upon the return from a mission, image and dataprocessing technologies are used to create dataproducts that add to the full documentation andreporting to which Project Recover adheres, andprovides to DPAA. Inmany cases, those reports andproductsarealsosharedwiththehostcommunity.

Researcheffortsarealsobeingsharedwiththescientificcommunity through peer reviewed publications andpresentationstothescientificcommunity.

DeployinganAUVinPapuaNewGuineatomaptheseabed.

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Usingavessel-mountedsonarsysteminFiji.

Fiveroboticsystems(ROV,fourAUVs)allsetandreadyfordeploymentinPapuaNewGuinea.

AnROVdeployedinthewatersofPapuaNewGuineatosurveyacrashsiteat185’waterdepth.

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ProjectRecoverhasbeguninvestinginthescienceofmakingquantitativemeasurements fromunderwaterimagery for purposes of conserving historically-rich crash sites,manyofwhichhavebeenhidden inexcess of 75 years and in a constant state of decay.Thegenerationofhigh resolution, three-dimensionalmodels of the site captures a snapshot in time ofthe crash site, providing a rich data set for furtherassessmentandstudybya rangeofexperts. Virtualrealityrenderingsofthesehistoricsitesandthenearbyoceanicenvironmentandecosystemsmayalsoprovideapowerfulpublicoutreachplatforminthefuture.

The approach is with the photogrammetric mergerof digital image sequences for generation of 3Dtopographies andmosaics; the technology is rapidlymaturing due to now-available computationalhorsepower.Forexample,aerial imageryoverlaidonterrain that is now available in popular smartphonemappingprogramsisgeneratedusing“structurefrommotion”photogrammetricalgorithms.

The technique numerically solves for topography byperception of the camera motion through a scene,analogous to how humans perceive 3D structure ofan environmentbymoving through it. Virtual realitygraphicdesignersarenow leveraging the technologyfor construction of realistic textures and objectsfor use inHollywood special effects and video gamedesign. Transitioning these tools to the underwaterenvironment is a challenge due to inconsistentlighting conditions, changes of refractive index, poor

water visibility and color loss from light absorptionatdifferentwavelengths. ProjectRecoverremains intheexploratoryphaseofadaptingthesetools,andhasbegundigitallycapturingthecrashsitesthathavebeenfound by the team, in order to provide the highestresolutiondocumentationpossible.

Anotablebenefitofgeneratingavirtualrenderingofthecrashsiteistheabilitytovisualizearegionlargerthanwhatwouldbevisiblebyeyealoneasthepicturesspandistancesgreaterthanthewatervisibility.Untilnow, in marginal water visibility, divers have had torely on memory to reconstruct underwater scenes.Theapproach lends itself toarangeofconservation,archeological, engineering and scientific underwaterproblems.

To date, the convergence of technologies in useby Project Recover includes use of mirrorless Sonycameras with distortion-free dome lenses, externallightingwhennecessary,andcomputersinterfacedtoclustersofGraphicalProcessorUnits(GPUs)withsolidstatememorystorage.Thespeed improvements inarecently built computer cluster reduced the 20 daysrequired for processing a 1,000 image underwaterscenetooneday.Justasimportantasthetechnologiesisthedevelopmentofbestpracticesforcapturingtheunderwater images with use of appropriate F-stops,collection of images at regular intervals in space,and appropriate color enhancement. In the future,the teamwill beginautomatedprocessingof imagesobtainedfromroboticplatforms.

Crash Site Digital Preservation

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Anexamplescene, shownabove,developedthroughprocessing roughly 1,000 images of a TBM Avengercrash site (3MIA) thatwas found in2016 in85 feetof water inMalakal Harbor, Palau and subsequentlyimaged for 3D processing in July 2017. The insets(middle) show the camera location and orientationsthatweresolvedfor intheprocessingchain,andtheresultant 3D surfaces from the fused imagery. VRscenesofmanyof the recently foundcrash sitesarein development and will be published to an onlinerepository.

The images at left and bottom right are digitallypreserved scenes from a P-39 and a B-25, bothdiscovered in PapuaNewGuinea in 2017 by ProjectRecover.

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Papua New Guinea15 February to 7 March

Region: Madang Cases: 4 (B-25, B-25, B-25, B-17)Missing in Action: 21Team Size: 7Equipment:

Outland 1000 ROVREMUS 100T-50 Multi-beam SonarPing DSP Multi-beam/Side-scan SonarSharkMarine Navigator

Summary of ResultsFound and documented: B-25 (5 MIA)Documented: B-25 (1 MIA)

Area surveyed: ~22 km2

Return mission planned for Fall 2017

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In February, a Project Recover team embarked onitsfirstfieldmissionof2017, settingout tomap theseafloor in search ofmissingWWII aircraft; conductan official archaeological survey of a known B-25underwaterwreck;and interviewelders invillages intheimmediatearea.ThemissiontoPapuaNewGuineakicked off Project Recover’s second year of formaloperations.

In its search of nearly 10 square kilometers, ProjectRecover locatedthedebrisfield(leftandabove)ofaB-25bomberthathadbeenmissingforover70years,associatedwithacrewofsixMIAs.

Inadditiontosearchingfortwoothermissingaircraft,the team conducted an archaeological survey of thesiteofaB-25bomber(belowleft,backcover)thatwas

previously discovered in Madang Harbor. While theB-25waswellknownto localsandscubaenthusiastsforover30years,thisparticularB-25hadneverbeenofficiallysurveyed.Ofthesixcrewassociatedwiththeaircraft,fivesurvivedthecrash,butweretakenprisonerby the Japanese. Theremainingcrewmemberwentdownwiththeplaneandisstilllistedasmissing.

While speaking to village elders (below right) aboutthe two B-25 cases, Project Recover teammemberswere told about local, terrestrial burial sites and anadditionalaircraftthathadcrashedonland.

Withover30casesofinterestinPapauNewGuineaandtheadditional intelligencegatheredwhile incountry,this successful expedition laid the groundwork for areturninthefallof2017.

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Fiji17 to 30 April

Region: Beachcomber IslandCases: 2 (B-26, P-39)Missing in Action: 6Team Size: 8Equipment:

Ping DSP Multi-beam/Side-scan SonarSharkMarine Navigator

Summary of Results: Documented: B-26 (5 MIA)No target located: P-39 (1 MIA)

Surveyed: ~3 km2

Duringatrainingmissionon13October1943,aU.S.Army Air Force P-39 collided inmid-air with USAAFB-26,200yardssouthofItaiIsland,Fiji.Bothaircraftweretotal lossesandnotrecoverableatthetimeofthecrash.Afterthecrash,blacksmokewasobserved,andallthatwasseenonthesurfacewasanoilslick,some surfacewreckage and sharks in thewater.Noparachuteswereseen.

TheremainsoftwooftheB-26crewwererecoveredandburiedonFiji;post-wartheywereexhumedandtransportedtotheU.S.forpermanentburial.OneU.S.service member remains unaccounted for from theP-39 loss andfive remainunaccounted for from theB-26loss.

ThewreckoftheB-26isaknowndivesite.Duetothehighvelocityat thetimeof impactandaltitude, thewreckageisscatteredoveranareaapproximately200x20meters.Thescatteredwreckageisconnectedbydivelinesandconsistsofengines,mainlandinggear,tires,thefuselageandwingparts.

ProjectRecoverconductedamissioninApril2017toofficially survey the B-26 and attempt to locate thewreckageoftheP-39.

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The team conducted remote sensing survey (topright)usingsidescansonarovertheB-26toproducegeoreferencedimagesofthesite.Thiswasfollowedupwith archaeological and photo documentation ofthesiteinordertofileasitesurveywithDPAA(middleright). WhileexploringtheB-26wreck,theteamdidnotlocateanyartifactsfromtheP-39confirmingthatthetwowreckswerenotcomingled.

Oncemapping of the B-26 was complete, the teamexpanded remote sensing operations to attempt tolocatetheP-39.Threesquarekilometersweremappedaroundthecrashsite (bottomright).Theterrainwasdottedwithlarge(20to40metershigh)coralbommies(left)making fullvisualizationof theseafloordifficultbecause of the resulting sound shadows (same viewbelow).Afterreviewofthedata,theteamidentifiedapproximately40targetsofinterest.Ofthese,onlyahandfulwerevisuallyinspectedgiventimeconstraintsandconfirmedasnotbeingwreckageoftheP-39.

This is stillanopencase forProjectRecoverand thebathymetrydatasetobtained thisyearallows for thepossibility of using AUVs in a follow up mission tolocatetheP-39.

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Solomon Islands25 May to 7 June

Region: Guadalcanal, Koli Point Cases: 5 (B-25, B-24, PB4Y, PB4Y, F4U)Missing in Action: 15Team Size: 4Equipment:

Two REMUS 100 AUVsT50-P Multi-beam sonarSharkMarine Navigator

Summary of ResultsFound and documented: B-25 (4 MIA)Found: Unknown aviation targetSurveyed: ~14 km2

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As a result of the successful exploratory mission tothe Solomon Islands in late 2016, Project RecoverembarkedonaremotesensingmissiontoGuadalcanalin late spring 2017. For two weeks, a small teamoperatedoutofHoniara,conductingoperationsfromasmall,charteredvessel.

Using twoAUVs, the teamplanned to surveya largeareatoencompassmanypointsofinterestrelatedtoseveralcrashesintheareaassociatedwithMIAs.

Theteamwasabletosurvey14km2oversevendaysinthefield, identifying168potential targetsofaviationinterest. Ofthosetargets,theteamwasabletodiveon11andasaresult,locatedtwoaircraft.

Dive conditions in the area made ground-truthingof targets challenging, yet the teamwas still able topositivelyidentifyaB-25aircraft(left)associatedwithfourU.S.servicemenstillmissinginaction.

TheB-25thatwaslocatedhadbeenmissingsince1943when it crashed into theoceanafterclippingseveraltreesupontakeoff.Theaircraftrestsinvertedontheseafloor.ProjectRecovercompletedasitesurveyandturnedoveritsresultstoDPAA.Thesectionsofdebrispresentatthesitearenotedinthediagram(right)andphoto-mosaic(below).

A second aircraftwas discovered, but therewas notadequate time during themission to survey the sitetocorrelateaspecificaircrafttypeorassociatedMIA

case. Initialdatagatheredonsite lends to thewreckbeingthatofaPB4YorB-24.

Project Recover intends to return to the SolomonIslands in 2018 to continue documentation of thediscovered B-25, explore the uncorrelated aircraftand ground-truth targets from the 2017 spring fieldmissions.Inaddition,theteamwillexpandthesearchforadditionalcasesofinterestthatremain.Throughoutthe Solomon Islands there are presently 16 cases ofinterest,correlatedtomorethan65MIAs.

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Palau9 to 15 June24 November to 2 December

Region: Ngapang State (Police Hill)Missing in Action: 13-21Team Size: 4

Summary of ResultsReturn mission planned for 2018

Formore than 20 years,multiple efforts bymultipleparties have attempted to search for and locatethree or more grave sites of at least 21 reportedPOWs, including seven USAAF B-24 airmen, threeUSN members of Underwater Demolition Team-10(predecessors to SEALs), six Catholic priests and fivecivilians, tragically executed by occupying Japaneseforces in 1944 within Ngatpang State on BabeldaobIsland.Locatingsuchunmarkedgraveswithinjunglesisaspecialchallengebecause,unlikeaircraftcrashsites,such70+yearoldgravesprovideveryfewsearchablesignals. But the interest in locating these executionsiteshasbeensubstantial.

InitiatedbyProfessorDonShuster(UniversityofGuam),investigatedtwicebyJointPOW/MIACommand(JPAC,predecessortoDPAA),continuedbymembersofTheBentProp Project, and now considered an area ofinterestforProjectRecover,definitiveevidenceofthegravesitelocationshasbeenelusive.

In 2009, an extensive report by BentProp, based onarchival, oral history and field work, summarized indetail the executed POWs and concluded that theexecutions and burials occurred on at least threeseparate occasions possibly within two regions ofjungle in southern Ngatpang. Field work in 2009locatedoneL-shapedtrenchasapossibleburialsite.

Thesearchcontinuedandintensifiedduringthe2014–2016missions,which resulted in identifyingmultipleman-madedepressions andpits in the samegeneralarea as the L-shaped trench. Under appropriatepermitting from the Palau Historical PreservationOffice and in the presence of field archaeologists,investigation into these trenches and pits revealedthemtobeeitherstorageareasorairraidshelters.

During 2014–2015 missions, two BentProparchaeologists carefully dug test trenches in theidentifiedL-shapetrenchand locatedathin,uniformlayer of charred material along the long axis of thetrench and determined this layer to be unnatural.In 2015 and 2016, archaeological teams carefullyconductedagroundtransectinthisgeneralareawithnoadditionalrelevantfindings.

During2017,multiplemeetingswereheldtoreviewallavailablearchives(e.g.,WarCrimesTribunaltestimonyby Japaneseexecutioners, aswell asmapsdrawnby

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them), oral histories (e.g., multiple Palauan elders and two former Japanese Imperial Army officers), past and present photographic images and field work. One resulting hypothesis proposed that the execution and burial sites might be located in the jungles north and east of the L-shaped trench, more specifically above the Tabecheding River.

From 9 to 14 June, a Project Recover team conducted a series of searches in this area and beyond. After unexpectedly locating a Japanese jungle road system in the hypothesized search area on 9 June, they hiked northward along this abandoned road during 10 to 13 June. Their field searches led to a jungle plateau in northeast Ngatpang not previously investigated, but time did not permit additional field work.

A follow-up mission from 24 November to 2 December returned to this jungle plateau and examined seven

areas that could fit with descriptions of execution sites based on the Japanese war crimes testimonies. Four were eliminated as possibilities and three areas were determined to have characteristics warranting detailed archeological follow-up.

During this latest mission, the field team also interviewed a Palauan elder whose father had witnessed a separate execution of an American whose aircraft had crashed in the ocean nearby, along the west coast of Palau’s biggest island. The team took her by boat to the area described by her father and, after a detailed recollection of her father’s war time experience, she pointed to a rocky shoreline shown to her by her father as the execution site. This area is approachable by land. Planning is underway to return to Palau during 2018 to follow up on both sets of findings from the November/December mission.

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Greece6 to 23 June

Region: Corfu, Naxos Harbor, Elefsina Cases of Interest: 3 (B-24, B-25, B-25)Missing in Action: 22Team Size: 5Equipment:

Multi-beam sonars (various)Side-scan sonars (various)Sub-bottom profilerDrop camera

Summary of ResultsFound and documented: British Bomber Found: Unknown aviation target

Surveyed: ~22 km2

Project Recover leveraged academic connections between its member entities and Greek academic and scientific institutions to test capabilities in its first Mediterranean mission. Three cases of interest (left) were spread among three separate regions of Greece, each posing unique challenges.

The mission began off Corfu Island, where Project Recover was provided coordinates that were assumed to be correlated with the loss of a B-24, based on research by the Greek organization, Aviation Archaeology. The team conducted an initial remote sensing survey of the wreck and then, on its first dive (background), produced a mosaic of the primary wreck site (upper right).

On the second day of diving, it became evident that the aircraft present was not that of a B-24. Additional research strongly suggested

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that the wing debris was from a British Short Sterling Bomber. Discussions with locals provided additional information, but no intelligence shared was felt to be actionable by the team in regards to the case of interest.

Upon return to the U.S., a report was sent to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense for documentation of the British wreckage. A return mission for this case is not currently planned.

The Project Recover team then turned its attention to geophysical surveys of Naxos Harbor in search of a B-25 that was seen to crash after being hit by flak after a bombing mission in 1943. The survey in this area was dramatically reduced in scope because of significant and unusual winds, making the deployment of gear unfavorable; the intended survey was only 20 to 30 percent completed. Given the nature of the case

and new information provided by local contacts, this case will remain open and be considered for a future survey to complete the original area, though winds and ferry traffic will continue to be a challenge in this locale.

On the final day of the Greece mission, the team conducted geophysical surveys of the entirety of Elefsina Harbor near Athens, approximately 3.2 km2 (bottom left) in search of a B-25.

Four targets were identified by the sonar, with one in particular that was the approximate size and clutter to represent a good aviation target. However, there was no intention to dive on this mission given the potential for organic and industrial waste in the water column and sediments. This case will remain open as a possible re-visit with an ROV to confirm its association to the missing B-25.

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United Kingdom15 to 31 July

Region: English ChannelCases of Interest: 2 (B-17, Known/uncorrelated wreck)Missing in Action: 5+Team Size: 8 Equipment:

SeaBotix ROVDry Suit SCUBA gearOTS full face and Aquacom unitsSharkMarine Navigator

Summary of ResultsSite Survey Completed: B-17

In 1944, a B-17 suffered a direct hit from flak somewhere over Dunkirk, after a bombing mission over France. The aircrew reported that all engines were on fire. The bomb bay was locked in the open position which prevented a stable water landing. The pilot was able to fly over the English Channel and instructed the crew to bail out over minesweepers near the coast. Records indicate that three of the aircrew bailed out, two of whom survived. The aircraft was seen to crash into the water close to the Cliffs of Dover by personnel from a local Coast Guard station. The pilot died of his wounds, and the remaining five members of the crew were never located and are listed as MIA.

Some years ago, British divers located a four-engine aircraft crash site along the Cliffs of Dover and videoed their findings, which they concluded was the same B-17. Project Recover reviewed the underwater video with the wreck diver and, based on all the written and video evidence, agreed that the site deserved investigation as a B-17 possibly associated with MIAs. In addition, the team learned from this wreck diver of his finding a second crash site, possibly American, in the English Channel at Goodwin Sands, only a few miles away from the B-17 site.

In July, a Project Recover team set out to conduct an investigation and survey of the B-17 site off the Cliffs of Dover and to investigate Goodwin Sands for possible American aircraft wreckage. In addition, a team from the SPAWAR Reserve Program of the U.S. Navy volunteered as part of their field training to assist the Project Recover team in visualizing and documenting the two areas containing aircraft debris using their ROV set up on a separate boat.

With the assistance of the wreck diver, the two teams traveled from Ramsgate (south of London in Kent) to the location of the reported wreckage near Dover. The ROV team was successful in visualizing the crash site and, indeed, was able to image the characteristic shape of a B-17, using the ROV’s high definition camera (right).

Field review of these pre-dive videos indicated that this aircraft, with all four engines in place, rests almost intact but inverted on the sea floor. An exploratory first dive by Project Recover confirmed the ROV findings. The divers noted that much of the aircraft, including the rear fuselage, was covered by a fine pebble sediment blanketing this area of the English Channel.

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At this point, the two teams split into separateoperations consisting of Project Recover diverscontinuing to document the B-17 while the balanceofthetwoteamswiththeROVtravelingtoGoodwinSands to search for the possible second Americanaircraft site. Because this B-17 is almost intact,ProjectRecoverdiverswereabletorapidlyassessandcomplete documentation of the B-17. Interestingly,ourdivers found thecharacteristicaircraftaluminumand ironwreckage interspersedwithseveralwoodenbeams (not componentsofaB-17).Oneof the localhistorical divers recognized the shape of the largewoodenbeamsandcametotheconclusionthat thisB-17hadcrashedverynearapreviouslyunchartedandburiedVictorianeraship,nowsurfacingontheoceanfloorduetotidalactionwithintheEnglishChannel.

In themeantime, the ROV team began its search atGoodwinSands.Thestoryof thispossiblesitebeganwhenafishermanreportedsnaggingandrecoveringanaircraftlandinggearfromhisfishingnetsinthisarea.Not longafter thefisherman found the landinggear,the same wreck diver who videoed the Dover B-17dovewithapartneron this siteand told theProjectRecoverteamthatinthisareatheysawfourengines,oneofwhichboreaPratt&Whitney label.Althoughthe boat captain turned over the landing gear to alocalmuseumshortlyafterfindingit,ProjectRecoverinvestigatorshavenotyetlocatedit;thisisunfortunate

because the landinggearwouldbeanexcellent clueas to the typeof aircraft.Despite repeatedattemptsusingthewreckdiver’sGPScoordinates,theROVteamcouldnotrelocateanyaircraftdebrisbutfoundinsteadconsiderableamountsofshipwreckage,resultingfromthecombinationofseverestormstheEnglishChannelis famous for and the relatively shallow GoodwinSands.Noadditionalaircraftwerelocated.

Project Recover will present its documentation ofthe B-17 debris field toDPAA and is reviewingwhatadditional efforts are appropriate for the GoodwinSandsarea.

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Papua New Guinea24 September to 14 October

Region: Madang Province (Hansa Bay, Cape Kusseron, Bil Bil Island)Cases of Interest: 8 (B-25, P-39, B-24, B-25, B-25, B-24, A20, B-25)Missing in Action: 44Team Size: 9Equipment:

Four REMUS 100 AUVsOutland 1000 ROVShark Marine Barracuda 300m ROVHull-mounted T50 multi-beam sonarSharkMarine NavigatorPrototype Magnetometer for REMUS

Summary of ResultsFound and documented: B-25 (4 MIA)Found and documented: P-39 (1 MIA)Found and documented: B-24 (11 MIA)Found and documented: B-25 (5 MIA)Investigation: Awar Village burial Found and documented (other): Two Japanese Ki-61 aircraft and six ships

Surveyed: +27 km2

Based upon the success of the February/March2017mission toPapuaNewGuinea,ProjectRecoverreturnedtothecountryinearlyfall.ThismissionwasthemostintensivemissionofProjectRecoverthisyear,withasignificantinvestmentofresources.

The teambegan itsmissionwitha followup toMaliVillage (below left), followingupona lead regardingtheremainsofaU.S.soldierburiedinthevillagethathadbeenprovidedduringthespringmissiontoPapuaNewGuinea.Duringthisvisittheteamre-interviewedthevillageelderandgainedpermissionfromthevillagetocarryouttestexcavationsatthelocationwheretheelderclaimedtohavehelpedburytheAmericansoldier.Theteamplannedtoreturntothevillagethenextdaytoconduct testexcavations,butwasprevented fromdoing so because heavy rains made the roads fromMadangtothevillageimpassable.PrioritywasgiventotheunderwatersurveyofHansaBayandtheteamwasunabletorevisittheMalivillageduringthismission.

Whiletheteamwaswaitingtodepartontheliveaboardvessel and begin survey operations, a local residentcame forward about remains buried inAwarVillage.He recalled a scenario from his childhood that gaveProjectRecoveradesireto investigate,andtheteamwasgrantedpermissiontoconductfieldresearch.

The investigation resulted in several anomaliesdetected in the area, and test trenches were dug(belowright).OsseousremainsandmaterialevidencewereturnedovertotheDPAArepresentativewhowasaccompanying the team; an official documentationsurveywillbeprovidedtoDPAAandthePNGNationalMuseumatalaterdate.

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Theteamthenturneditsattentiontothewater,andspenttwoweeksconductingaremotesensingsurveyanddiver/ROVinterrogationoftargetsinHansaBay,focusingonfivehistoriclosses.

The extensive survey utilized four REMUS AUVseach equippedwith a variety of scanning sonars ofdifferentfrequencies,asmallboatmulti-beamsonar,andcountlessSCUBAhoursinvaryingconditions.Theteamwasabletosimultaneouslydeployandmonitorthe four AUVs from aboard a well-equipped liveaboard vessel anchored at a central location in thebay, allowing extensive, near complete coverage of

thearea(belowleftandright).TheteamalsotestedanexperimentalmagnetometerononeoftheREMUSAUVs.

The 25 km2 survey resulted in the discovery anddocumentationofthreeaircraftcrashsites,correlatingtoaB-25,aP-39andaB-24.Thesecases,onceverifiedby DPAA, will account for the losses of 16 MIAs.Documentationofeachsiteincludedmeasurements,photographs, video, and acoustic imaging for DPAAandthePNGNationalMuseum.

Continuedonpage22>>

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Papua New Guinea (continued)

The first confirmed target for the fall 2017 Papua New Guinea mission was a B-25 that had been missing for 74 years. The aircraft had gone down in the bay after being hit by the explosion of a bomb dropped by a preceding U.S. aircraft while making a bombing run on Japanese shipping in Hansa Bay. The destruction of the aircraft and crash location were captured in U.S. wartime photos (background) yet the plane and its crew of four remained missing, until located and documented by the Project Recover team (inset).

The located P-39 (cover image, right) was lost after making several passes on targets near Awar Point. The aircraft debris was clearly identifiable on the seafloor. The team was able to conduct a complete archaeological survey of the site.

Continued on page 24 >>

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The B-24 search and identification (left) posed thelargest number of technical challenges as it sits in180feetofwater, inaregionofhighcurrents,albeitwithclearwater. Aremotelyoperatedvehicle (ROV)equippedwithanimagingsonarandahighdefinitioncamerawereusedtodocumentthesiteaftertheteamwasabletoanchorthesupportvesselcloseenoughtopilotthetetheredvehicle.

Whileconductingtheremotesensingoperations,theteam also identified the underwater wrecks of twoJapanese KI-61 fighters and six shipwrecks. As timeand resources allowed, the team documented thesesites andwill report their results to the appropriategovernmentagencies.

WiththebulkofHansaBaysurveyed,theteammovedits remote sensing operation to the area of Bil BilIsland,insearchofasingleaircraftloss.Atthetimeoftheloss,theplanewasseentohitthewaterandsink,andwhileallmembersof thecrewwere lastseen ina liferaftmakingtheirwaytothe island,neithertheplane,northecrewhadeverbeenfound.

A2km2surveysuccessfullylocatedthesiteoftheB-25,resting nearly intact on the sea floor, and was fullydocumentedbytheteam(leftmiddle,leftbottom).

Theaircraft is intactwith somedamage to thenose,but not as much degradation as might be expectedafter remaininghiddenat115 feet for73years.Duetoasedimentrichsurfacelayerfromthenearbyrivers(muddywaterinthetop15feetofdepth),verylittlelightreachestheseabedresultinginlowcoralgrowth.

Unfortunately, sea surface conditions kept the teamfromconductingROVoperationsintheCapeKusseronarea.Thisareawasofinterestbasedonthespring2017remote sensing mission that generated a potentialtargetassociatedwithaB-25loss.

With over 35 cases of interst associated with morethan150MIAs,PapuaNewGuineacontinuestobeacountryofinterestforProjectRecover,thoughareturnmissionisnotplannedatpresent.

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Papua New Guinea (continued)

Student PerspectivesProject Recover provides formal and informal educational opportunities by including students and post-doctoral resesearchers in our effors, both in the field and in the laboratory.

Travis Shramek (SIO) is a Ph.D. candidate in applied ocean sciences who studies the physical oceanography associated with crash sites, with expertise in undersea surveys, search technologies and diving operations. He has been on missions to Palau in 2014, 2015, 2016; Saipan/Tinian 2016; Papua New Guinea 2017. “Project Recover integrates my passions for the ocean and history while pushing the frontiers of engineering and science. The impact and potential of the work we do have been brought to light for me by being a part of successful Project Recover missions. I feel fortunate and proud to have played a part in this team.”

Gannon Gesiriech (SIO) is a M.S. student in electrical engineering. Gannon has provided underwater photogrammetry for 3D processing of crash sites for all missions in 2016 and 2017. “Not only has Project Recover helped me develop my photogrammetry skills it has also been very fulfilling to know that I am helping bring closure to the families involved.”

Eric Gallimore (SIO) is a Ph.D. candidate in applied ocean sciences whose research focuses on unmanned underwater vehicle autonomy, sensors, and acoustic communications. As part of his thesis work he is developing a magnetic sensor system for finding and mapping undersea debris fields that saw extensive use in Papua New Guinea in 2017. Eric also accompanied the team to Palau in 2015 and 2016. “Project Recover has provided me the opportunity to develop new survey technologies and see them immediately used in a truly meaningful way.”

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CarterDuVal (UDEL) is aPh.D. candidate inoceanographywho studies seabed object detection and morphologicinteractions,withaspecificfocusonunexplodedordnancedetection using acoustic and non-acoustic sensors onautonomous underwater vehicles. He supported ProjectRecover’s mission in Greece in 2017. “With my researchfocusingonthedetectionofseabedobjects,myinvolvementhas allowedme to apply the skills and experience I haveacquiredtoworkbeyondmyownresearch.Icountthisasa unique and invaluable experience, being able tomergethe education I have had in both archaeology and oceansciencestoassistintheeffortsofProjectRecover.”

Dr. Megan Cimino (SIO) is a postdoctoral researcher inbiological oceanography, with expertise in unmannedunderwater vehicles.Meganbeganherworkwith ProjectRecoverasaPh.D.candidateattheUniversityofDelaware.She has supported missions to Palau in 2014, 2015 and2016, the Solomon Islands in 2017, and theU.S. in 2016.“Participating in the underwater vehicle piloting andoperationshasincreasedmyroboticsskillsetandbroadenedmyhorizonsonthenearlylimitlessapplicationsofrobotsintheoceans.Beingapartoftheteamhasgivenmeagreaterunderstandingofwhatsoldiersandtheirfamiliesexperienceduringwar, leavingmewithadeepercompassionforhowbothsidescanbeaffected,especiallywithinmyownfamilyasmygrandfather(whoIonlymetonce)wasaUDTdiver.”

Nolan Brandon is a Midshipman 1/C at the U.S. NavalAcademy inAnnapolis,Maryland.Afterhis freshmanyearat the Academy, he selected oceanography for hismajor,whichhas ledtomanyincredibleopportunities, includingwork with Project Recover. The connections betweenthe University of Delaware and the USNA Oceanographyallowed him to work on two Project Recover missions,the first to Guadalcanal and the second to Fiji. “On bothoccasions, I assisted the team in whatevermanner I wasable including diving, surveying, and side scan sonaroperation.Theseexperienceshavetrulybeenanhonor,andIhavelearnedsomuchfromProjectRecover’sdiversegroupofexperts infieldssuchasoceanography,militaryhistory,andinternationaloperations.IamextremelythankfulthatIhavehadthechancetobeapartofagroupwhichworkstohonorthememoryofourfallenwhomayotherwisehavebeenlost.Recently,IwasselectedtobecomeaNavalaviatorandwillentertheaviationtrainingpipelineupongraduationfromtheAcademy.However,IwishtocontinuebeingpartofProjectRecoverbecauseofitspositiveimpactonmeandonthefamiliesofthefallen.”

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History & HeritageThoughProjectRecoverconductsextensiveresearchattheNationalArchivesandvariousotherinstitutionsglobally, speaking to veterans and MIA families isa valuable effort. In 2017 alone, Project Recoverreceived over 100 inquiries from MIA families andthosewithapassionforlocatingourmissingservicemembers.Thiswasinadditiontocommunicatingwithfamilies fromthose individuals locatedby the team.Project Recover was invited to speak at numerousveteranorganizationmeetings,reunions,andscientificconferences.

STEM OutreachThe unique partnership with two major marinescienceacademic institutionsallowsProjectRecoverto advance STEM outreach beyond the public eye.Undergraduate and graduate students are involvedin all aspects of Project Recover, learning skills inrobotics, archaeology, archival research, missionoperationsandgovernmentrelations.ProjectRecoverisalsooftensoughtaftertoprovideadvancedtechnicalexpertise to U.S. and international agencies in theareaofunderwaterarcheologyandadvancedmarinesciencetechnology.

CommunicationsThe announcement of Project Recover’s successfulmission to Papua New Guinea was timedwith the2017Memorial Dayweekend. The news generatedover 50 media hits, including placements in majorprintandbroadcastoutlets,including,butnotlimitedtoAir&Space,WorldArchaeology,thePhiladelphiaInquirerandNationalGeographic.Inaddition,ProjectRecover maintained the website, and social mediaaccountsonFacebookandInstagram,andcompletedthefederaltrademarkregistrationapprovalprocess.

Supporting Activities

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ProjectRecoveroperationswereformalizedin2016throughthegeneroussupportofDanFriedkin.Thesubstantial gift allowed Project Recover to expandoperations globally, and increase its tempo ofoperations, funding missions and mission supportforthefirstthreeyearsofthepartnership.

Dan Friedkin (below) is Chairman and CEO of TheFriedkin Group, a privately held consortium ofbusinesses and investments in the automotive,hospitality, entertainment, golf and adventureindustries.

In addition to the leadership positions he holdswithinthebusinesscommunity,Danremainshighlyactiveinwildlifeconservationinitiativesandvariousaviationandeducationphilanthropies.

The TeamPRINCIPALS

Dr.MarkMolineSchoolofMarineScienceandPolicyCollegeofEarth,Ocean,andEnvironmentUniversityofDelaware

Dr.PatrickScannonTeamLeaderandFounder,TheBentPropProject

Dr.EricTerrillCoastalObservingResearchandDevelopmentCenterScrippsInstitutionofOceanographyUniversityofCaliforniaSanDiego

STAFF

KatyO’Connell,ExecutiveDirectorColinColbourn,HistorianAndrewPietruszka,ArchaeologistDanielO’Brien,Administrator

AFFILIATED SCIENTISTS & VOLUNTEERS

Derek Abbey, Bill Belcher, Blake Boteler, HeidiBatchelor, Dave Bavencoff, Nolan Brandon, CharlieBrown, Hunter Brown, Megan Cimino, Flip Colmer,Carter DuVal, Glenn Frano, Eric Gallimore, GannonGesiriech,BobHess,BruceHottum,MJJohnston,BrianKim, Jolie Liston, JoeMaldangesang,KyleMcBurnie,AndrewNager,SeanRichardson,TravisSchramek,ValThal-Slocum,ArthurTrembanis

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Looking AheadThe third year of formalized operations for ProjectRecover begins in January 2018. In addition to fieldactivities,ProjectRecover is actively conducting casefileresearch,bothtosupportthenextyear’smissionsandtoplan for2019–2023.Globally,ProjectRecoveriscurrentlytrackingnearly200casesassociatedwithover850MIAsfromWorldWarII.

Mission planning for the 2018 field calendar isunderwayforthefollowinglocations:• Bermuda• FederatedStatesofMicronesia• France• Guatemala• Italy• Palau• SolomonIslands• U.S.(Alaska).

The expansion of Project Recover’s historical andarchivalanalysishasgiventheteamsignificantdatatoconsidercasesinthesecountriesandtoalsoconsiderthe Marshall Islands and Indonesia, to continuemissions in other regions of PapuaNewGuinea andtheSolomonIslands,andtoconsiderreturnmissionstoNewCaledonia,Palau,FijiandGreece.

The success of Project Recover’s two years ofoperation has led to the leveraging of additionalpartnerships and grant opportunities beyond privatefunding.

Project Recover has been approached by theDepartmentofDefensePOW/MIAAccountingAgencyto partner on select missions with DPAA’s EuropeMediterraneanDirectorateand ispresentlyexploringoperations under a public-private partnership (P3)agreementformissionstoFrance,Latvia,and/orItaly.

In 2017, Project Recover had two federal grantsapproved for fieldwork in FY18 and FY19. TheDepartment of Defense approved a technologyinnovation grant with fieldwork in Palau, and theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationapproved a grant to conduct a survey in Alaska thatwillincorporatesearchesforAmericanMIAsknowntohavebeenlostinthatregion.

Year Three of Project Recover also will be a yearof strategic planning for the next phase of theorganization,movingfromthethree-yearpilottothenextfiveyearcycleofoperations.

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PapuaNewGuinea—Spring2017 PapuaNewGuinea—Fall2017

Fij—Spring2017 SolomonIslands—Spring2017

UnitedKingdom—Summer2017

“At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.”

~ Laurence Binyon

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Project Recover Office 700 Pilottown Road, Lewes, DE 19958www.projectrecover.org