Search Begins for Bomber in Badin Lake

STAFF REPORTS
SALISBURY POST

BADIN, N.C. – Archaeologists combing Badin Lake have located underwater targets that could be the remains of a World War II bomber that crashed in the lake nearly 55 years ago, the Associated Press reported today.

An archaeological team that specializes in finding airplane crash sites is trying to solve a Stanly County mystery that dates back to World War II.

On June 8, 1944, a bomber carrying Marine Corps pilot Charles McDaniel and copilot John E. Withrow crashed into Badin Lake.

But the cause of the crash and the exact location of the plane’s wreckage have been debated ever since, say aviation history buffs who are closely watching the search.

The search team from St. Augustine, Fla., used a magnetometer sensor, which detects metal, to search for wreckage from the plane. The sensor registered an intense signal on something that is consistent with eyewitness accounts of where and how the plane hit the water, the AP reported.

Archaeologists hope to solve the mystery by using a sonar and magnetometer sensors similar to the ones used to locate the wreckage of the Titanic. Coble’s team is out on the lake this week for a planned four days of searching.

There are many challenges to finding the site: water clarity is not the best, and portions of the proposed survey area exceed normal sports diving limits. Also, when the lake was created an underwater forest of trees was left standing on the lake floor. That only complicates the search for the plane wreckage.

According to the story, McDaniel’s plan was to circle the house of his in-laws, wave goodbye to his wife, then fly to the Marine Corps base at Cherry Point, where he was to deliver the new plane.

Navy investigators ruled the crash a case of pilot error and said McDaniel made an unauthorized detour to visit his family.

Through the years, many people have tried to find the plane. The Navy located the plane in 1944 but, with the technology available at that time, was unable to retrieve the plane or locate the remains of the pilot and copilot. The initial salvage report filed in 1944 included a map of the exact location of the wreckage, that map has since been lost. But those who follow the case believe they can pinpoint the general area of the crash for the survey.

Wendy Coble, a member of the team with ties to the area, studied maritime history and underwater archaeology at East Carolina University. While there, she was involved with the program’s only aviation site, a PBY-5 Catalina sunk during the Japanese attack on Oahu on Dec. 7, 1941. Coble realized there were very few archaeologists working with historic aviation crash sites and decided to make this area her specialty.

Meanwhile, local aviation historians hope they can recover and restore the plane for eventual display. If that proves impossible, they hope to at least erect a memorial for the fallen pilots. They also believe the retrieval effort could clear the pilot’s record.

The Carolina’s Historic Aviation Commission, based in Richfield, has been leading a campaign to locate and retrieve the crashed bomber.