Shipwrecks - Time Capsules of Human Civilization

Guest Article from Michael Tuttle: John Paul Jones' Ship Serapis

For today's weblog ( blog ) article, we are in for a real treat. I have invited a friend, Michael Tuttle, cultural resource director on the Serapis project to provide an overview into his fantastic work on John Paul Jones' ship named HMS Serapis. The following is his synopsis:

The remains of the American Revolutionary War era ship HMS Serapis have been located off the coast of Madagascar.  The vessel was taken by John Paul Jones who uttered those immortal words, "I have not yet begun to fight!" when asked to surrender by the British captain. Jones in the Bonhomme Richard was finally successful in the epic Revolutionary War Battle off Flamborough Head.  The battle was so intense that the Bonhomme Richard later sank in the North Sea while leaving the British coast.  John Paul Jones and his crew had to remove to the Serapis and sailed on to the Netherlands.  The Serapis ended up in the French navy, as the Bonhomme Richard was a French vessel that Benjamin Franklin helped to secure for the American cause.  The Serapis was sent into the Indian Ocean in 1781, where it caught on fire and sank.  In 1999 a crew of American, French and Malagasy archaeologists and historians located the remains of the vessel.  Today, under the direction of Michael Tuttle, the Serapis Project continues to research the vessel remains in order to recover the history and expose the story Jones and the Serapis.  In association with the University of Antananarivo it is hoped that enough materials will be recovered to establish a permanent museum display on Isle St. Marie to illuminate the maritime heritage of Madagascar and John Paul Jones. Please examine our web site at serapisproject.org.

I have included a link to the Serapis Project web site that can be found on the far right hand column of our blog. This is truly a valuable and historical cultural treasure!

Bermuda Triangle Lost Mariner – Part VI Final Conclusions

Our scientific expedition team spent seven days scouring the Atlantic Ocean for the lost Mariner aircraft using side scan sonar and a magnetometer.  Initially, I had requested a two-week window for our search but constraints on the resourcing of the project limited our group to one week. As we established our search area using GPS and Hypack, the goal was to "mow the lawn" around the Naval coordinates. Because of our short window out on site, our entire search pattern and our resources were predicated on the Naval coordinates being somewhat accurate.

As we thoroughly examined over 5 square miles around the Navy's coordinates, over one hundred acoustical anomalies were detected by the side-scan sonar, about 5 magnetic anomalies were found by the magnetometer and several targets were examined by our divers. Mark Padover, our technical expert from Aqua Survey (as well as myself) have continued with examining all data collected and we will be putting together our findings for a final Naval Historical Center report by the spring of 2006. Although we did not find the huge, potentially intact engines and tail sections of the airplane, we do not have conclusive evidence that any of the supplemental targets might not be that of our Mariner. The last magnetic hit that we got about an hour before we ended our search was very interesting and would of been a good target for our divers to visit.

In conclusion, we found some very interesting acoustical and magnetic targets. We dove one major piece that we were not able to conclusively rule as a piece from the Mariner. That does not mean that we didn't find a piece of the Mariner, just that we could not identify it as such. In a project debrief, it was felt by all the scientists that we were extremely satisfied with all the search patterns and decisions based on establishing the location of the aircraft. We were all in agreement that had we done the project again, the exact same logic and methodologies would of been followed and applied.  I would like to send a personal thanks to NBC, namely Tim Beacham, Jon Schreiber and Lester Holt, for their support on this wonderful project.

Bermuda Triangle Lost Mariner – Part V Official US Navy Report and Statistics

It is very,very difficult to find an intact 500 foot shipwreck in the open ocean. Employing the latest acoustical and magnetometric instrumentation, imagine the difficulty involved in trying to find a 80 foot aircraft that has exploded into many pieces.  Therefore our entire search philosophy was predicated on the official United States naval records. The overall statistics of the Martin Mariner PBM-5 aircraft is:

Specification                           metrics                                     English
length                                    24.33 meters                            79 feet 10 inches
height                                       8.38 meters                           27 feet 6 inches
empty weight              15,050 kilograms                          33,175 pounds
max loaded weight   26,300 kilograms                          58,000 pounds
maximum speed               340 KPH                                     210 MPH / 185 KT
cruising speed                   275 KPH                                     170 MPH / 150 KT
service ceiling                 6,035 meters                                  19,800 feet
range                              3,605 kilometers                           2,240 MI / 1,950 NMI

The full trial depositions for the official accident report is very large; however, the final summary report regarding this missing Mariner is quite small and a segment of this report is included below:

35. That PBM-5 BuNo. 59225, Squadron Training No. 49, Engines No. P-54213 and 52187, departed at approximately 1927R on 5 December 1945, on an authorized Air Sea Rescue search from U.S. Naval Air Station, Banana River, Florida.

36. That an "out" report sent by radio was received by the U.S. Naval Air Station, Banana River, Florida, from PBM-5, BuNo. 59225, Squadron Training No. 49, at about 1930R, Squadron Training No. 49, at about 1930R, 5 December 1945, and no further communications were received from said airplane after that time.

37. That the authorized Air Sea Rescue mission assigned to PBM-5, BuNo. 59225, on 5 December 1945, was as follows: Depart U.S. Naval Air Station, Banana River,and proceed to 29 degrees north and the east coast of Florida, expanding square search.

38. That Walter G. Jeffrey, Lieutenant (junior grade), U.S. Navy, File No.329291, was the authorized patrol plane commander who signed for and accepted for flight PBM-5, BuNo. 59225, 5 December 1945.

52. That PBM-5 BuNo, 59225, Squadron No. 49, and the assigned personnel aboard are unaccounted for since about 1930R, 5 December 1945.

53. That the hourly position report due at 2030R from PBM-5, BuNo. 59225, was not received at U.S. Naval Air Station, Banana River, Florida, on 5 December 1945.

54. That at 2115R on 5 December 1945 the SS Gaines Mills reported as follows:
"At 0050 G. M. T. observed burst of flames, apparently explosion, leaping flames 100 feet high burning ten minutes. Position 28 degrees, XX minutes north, 80 degrees XX minutes west. At present, passing through big pool of oil at 0119 G. M. T. Stopped, circled area using search lights, looking for survivors. None found."

55. That USS Solomons CVE-67 dispatched at 06127 reported as follows: "Our air search radar showed plane after takeoff from Banana River last night joining with another plane, then separation and proceeding on course 045 degrees at exact time SS Gaines Mills sighted flames in exact spot the above plane disappeared from the radar screen and never reappeared".

56. That concentrated search operations from 6 December to 10 December 1945, inclusive, by surface and aircraft in the area of the reported explosion failed to reveal any debris of the missing PBM or evidence of its crew.

Bermuda Triangle Lost Mariner – Part IV The Reported Facts

On December 5, 1945, at 2:10 p.m. five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 took off from Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station on a routine training mission and headed into an area of the Atlantic Ocean known as the Bermuda Triangle. Flight 19 was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base. They were never seen again.

Later on the evening of the 5th, a search party was dispatched, which included the twin-engine Martin Mariner (Martin PBM-5 Mariner, Bureau No. 59225, Squadron Training No. 49), with its crew of 13 men (3 aviators aboard and a crew of 10), that many claim disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle along with Flight 19. At 1627, this Mariner aircraft search and rescue crew was sent out in search of the bombers. The PBM Mariner was specifically designed as a rescue plane with the ability to remain aloft for 24 hours.  At 1930, the aircraft radioed an "out" report to its home base and was not heard from again.

There is evidence to explain the disappearance of the Mariner flying boat- sometimes referred to as the "flying gas can". Some twenty-three minutes after the Mariner left the Banana River NAS, observers aboard the tanker SS Gaines Mills reported seeing a plane on fire. It crashed into the sea with a hellish explosion. The captain radioed the following report:

"Observed a burst of flames, apparently an explosion, leaping flames 100 feet high and burning for ten minutes.  At present, passing through a big pool of oil. Stopped, circled area using searchlights, looking for survivors. None found." 

The USS Solomons, which was in the area at the time, sent a report confirming the tanker's observations. "Our air search radar showed a plane after takeoff from Banana River last night joining with another plane, then separating and proceeding on course 045 degrees at the exact time SS Gaines Mills sighted flames and in exact spot the above plane disappeared from the radar screen and never reappeared."

When the ship investigated, it found a patch of oil and debris where the flying boat must have crashed. No wreckage was sighted and according to witnesses there was little likelihood that any could have been recovered due to a very rough sea. The next day, water samples, taken in the area, developed an oily film. The area was not buoyed due to the heavy seas nor were diving or salvage operations ever conducted. The depth of the water was 78 feet and the site was close to the Gulf Stream. During the Board's examination of the disappearance of the PBM, several witnesses were questioned concerning gas fumes and smoking regulations, which were reportedly well posted and rigidly enforced aboard all PBMs. Although the Board's report is not a verbatim record and no accusations were made, there seems to be enough inference present to cause one to suspect that the Board was aware of the PBM's nickname.

Bermuda Triangle Lost Mariner – Part III The Research of Disparate Information

One of the biggest difficulties in trying to gather research on an event that happened sixty years ago is the gathering of credible information. My initial search for this information was on the Internet; however, the amount of good and reliable information was not very good. There were many different web sites with the story of the missing Mariner and so many differing accounts of this ill-fated flight that contradicted each other. I needed to enlist a new team of Mariner experts that would be able to assist us in getting the most reliable and detailed information about this aircraft and its disappearance. Fortunately, I was able to assemble the best research team in the world for advice and guidance.

For getting the most accurate and thoroughly documented reports into the disappearance of the Mariner, I contacted Jack Green, a public relations specialist with the Naval Historical Center, based out of the United States Navy's Washington Shipyard. Through Jack and several correspondences with experts at the Naval Historical Center, I was invited to visit their archives for a first-hand look at all the Navy's documents pertaining to the Mariner. Many of these documents had not seen the light outside their boxes for fifty-nine years. I want to thank the head of the Naval Aviation History branch, Curtis Utz, for spending time with me and gathering all the official documentation that I needed for my search. Additionally, I want to thank Wendy Coble of the Nautical Archaeology branch for her guidance and assistance, even while we were down in Florida commencing with our search.

In order to get the most information about the flight and operation of the Mariner, I had a wonderful ally in Bruce Barth. Mr. Barth is the historian for the Mariner Marlin Association of actual officers, crew and tenders for other Mariner aircraft.  Several of the people that I had a chance to interview were crew-mates and were at the Banana River Naval Air Station during the time our Mariner was lost. They were able to corroborate almost all the information that I had retrieved from the Naval Historical Center. Before, during and after the Mariner discovery/exploration expedition, Mr. Barth was an extremely valuable asset who provided us much information about the aircraft through pictures, stories and personal experience.

Finally, we are indebted to Stan Piet and all the wonderful people at the Glenn L. Martin Aviation Museum. Through this wonderful resource, we had every single detailed specification of our Mariner from the smallest of Mariner pieces to actual delivery pictures of our Mariner to the Navy in early-1945. On further research, we were able to secure an original pilot's manual for this Mariner; as well as the Mariner's Operations manual. As a consequence, Nautical Research Group had the most extensive collection of information about the missing Mariner aircraft in the world going into the discovery/exploration expedition.

Bermuda Triangle Lost Mariner – Part II The Expedition Team

There were a large number of people that played a very strategic role in the discovery/exploration Mariner project that should receive special attention.  Because the Sci Fi /MsNBC special did not mention these wonderful professionals by name and area of expertise, it is imperative that you know exactly all the talented resources that were used in the conduct of this project. We utilized two large diving/research vessels while on the project- Sea Dog Diver out of New Smyrna Beach Florida and the Ketty Lund/Discoverer from Key West Florida.

The discovery /exploration team was headed by David Bright and I am a nautical/biological scientist with 35 years of deep diving and not a professional nautical archaeologist (that was mentioned on the show). The following professionals were part of the exploration team:

Mark Padover-AquaSurvey; technology expert; auxiliary captain; nautical archaeologist
Andrew Driver-Mad Dog Expeditions; technical diver; auxiliary captain
Warren Miller-Silent Diving Systems; technical diver
Peter Hess-Admiralty lawyer; technical diver
Larry Lyons-Lockheed Martin; environmental marine scientist; diver
Ken Hayes-President of AquaSurvey; aquatic scientist
Rick Coleman-Captain of diving vessel Sea Dog Diver
Bob Bigelow-Sea Dog Diver mate
Eric Smith-Captain of research vessel Ketty Lund/Discoverer; technical diver
Jason Bartlett-Ketty Lund/Discoverer mate
Ining Hsu-Environmental Engineer, CDM
Karen Schwartz-scientist Columbia University
Chris Cox-Gettysburg College intern
Garrett Hayes-Gettysburg College intern
Dr. Kelly Rankin- Aqua Survey, Inc; oceanographic scientist
Tim Beacham-NBC News Producer/Director
Dennis Dillon-Cameraman
Ed Jones-Soundman
John Schriber-NBC Senior Producer
Lester Holt-NBC News Anchorman

In addition to these wonderful professionals, we used the talents of several organizations and their individuals in providing the research necessary to conduct the project. These included:

Wendy Coble-Naval Historical Center; Nautical Archaeologist with aviation specialty
Jack Green-Naval Historical Center; Public Relations Officer
Curtis Utz-Naval Historical Center; Head of Naval Aviation Historical Branch
Stan Piet-Glenn Martin /Maryland Aviation Museum and his wonderful archive staff
and last, but certainly not least, a gentlemen who was invaluable throughout the entire project:
Bruce Barth-Mariner/Marlin Association Historian

As you can see this was a very scientific and highly professional unit of individuals who quickly became a top-notched discovery/exploration team. I am very proud of all these people and we did some wonderful work together!

Bermuda Triangle Lost Mariner – Part I Introduction to the Science

Last week ended the highly-successful The Triangle mini-series on the Sci-Fi Channel. Normally, I am not a big fan of this type of genre but I thoroughly enjoyed the three-part adventures about a diverse group of individuals teamed together in seeking to unravel the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle. As I have mentioned in our previous blog articles, I led a team of twenty scientists, divers and other underwater professionals on a discovery/exploration expedition to find one of the search & rescue aircraft that was sent out to find the five missing Avenger aircraft on December 5th, 1945 that also disappeared. In total, six Navy aircraft and 27 airmen were lost on that fateful day.

In early April of 2005, I was approached by NBC News Productions and asked if I would be interested in trying to find the Martin Mariner PBM-5 aircraft that went missing and disappeared off the coast of Florida. I was very aware of the famed Avenger TBM’s that formed one of the biggest mysteries of the Triangle lore but knew very little about this Mariner aircraft. Last year, I watched a documentary on the Discovery Channel about trying to find the lost Avengers with using submersibles from Harbor Branch (Johnson Sea-Link) and Graham Hawkes revolutionary designed Deep Flight Aviator. One of my friends, Dr. Captain (USN Ret) Alfred McLaren, a retired United States Navy nuclear submarine captain, is very close friend of Graham and is a certified pilot of Deep Flight Aviator. Captain McLaren told me about Graham finding five lost Avengers clustered together several miles away from Ft Lauderdale in the early 1990s. To everyone’s amazement, these 5 Navy Avengers were NOT the missing Avengers from the lost flight of December 5th, 1945. I asked NBC News to give me a week to do some preliminary research and I would then get back to them regarding my decision to take on this project.

Using Nautical Research Group’s vast array of informational resources, we were able to extract out some very pertinent information about the aircraft but needed much more work to do from other sources to put together an expedition proposal. In this section of the ocean where the United States Navy had provided their coordinates for the Mariner, many ships ply up and down the Atlantic. What was very apparent to me was that the aircraft was broken up in many small pieces otherwise others would have found this aircraft many years ago. Knowing how difficult it is to find huge shipwrecks using the latest technology, I accepted the project knowing that we had a do an extensive search for extremely small pieces of debris. My original proposal called for this expedition to be two weeks in duration. Once my initial proposal was submitted to NBC News, they called me up and said that they had good news and bad news. The good news is that the proposal was accepted by the NBC executives in Rockefeller Center; however, the bad news was that the duration of the expedition would be only one week. I decided to accept the project but only after I had completed my diving expeditions to the Empress of Ireland and Titanic.

This series will contain several parts that can be retrieved at any time using the category called Mariner Project on the far right column of the web log. I look forward to hearing your comments on this series!

Sixtieth Anniversary - Bermuda Triangle's Six Missing Aircraft

I am not an authority on the Bermuda Triangle and have never claimed to be. I find the different theories regarding the mysteries of this region of the Atlantic Ocean to be interesting in a very curious way. Being a scientist, I have always based my initial observations on the physical sciences that I have been trained over the years. There is no doubt that there are things that I can not answer through the physical sciences realm that can not be readily explained. The nature of science is to seek out the unknown and then try to understand all about this unknown.

The documentary that we did for the Sci Fi Channel has received huge viewer ratings. The show was so successful that they have been additionally showing the documentary on MsNBC. Our main reason for doing the underwater discovery/exploration project was to bring closure to the families of the Martin Mariner aircraft.  As today marks the 60th anniversary of these lost aircraft, I would like to recognize the 5 missing Naval Avenger aircraft; and most especially, the 13 missing airmen on the Martin Mariner. Please remember these Mariner airmen in your prayers!

                               Walter George Jeffery, Lt. jg - Pilot
                               Harrie Grimes Cone, Lt. jg - Co-pilot
                               Roger Murray Allen, Ensign - Training Co-Pilot
                               Lloyd Arlin Eliason, Ensign - Co-Pilot
                               Charles Donald Arceneaux, Ensign
                               Robert Charles Cameron, radioman 3rd class
                               Cargill, Wiley Davis Sr. , seaman 1st
                               James Frederick Jordan, Aviation radioman 3rd class
                               John Thomas Menendez, Aviation ordnanceman 3rd
                               Philip Bird Neeman, Seaman 1st
                               James Frederick Osterheld, Aviation ordnanceman 3rd
                               Donald Edward Peterson, Aviation machinist’s mate 1st
                               Alfred Joseph Zywicki, Seaman 1st class

Science Trumps Lore in Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle

The following excerpt is from the Sci Fi Wire that was posted today on their website. The link to the full article will be displayed below:

Nautical researcher David Bright, whose efforts to find an infamous missing plane in the Bermuda Triangle are chronicled in the upcoming SCI FI Channel investigative news special The Bermuda Triangle: Startling New Secrets, told SCI FI Wire that he did not go into the project with any preconceived notions about what he would or would not find. "Absolutely not," Bright said in an interview. "I think the beauty of what we were doing is because we all had varying backgrounds on the project. They all came into play. What we did is before we even went out we did a bit of what we call 'What if?' scenarios. So in order to get to that point, what we really needed to do was to essentially do an awful lot of research."

The special documents Bright's expedition—which included a team of more than 20 scientists and technological experts—as they searched for the truth behind the Bermuda Triangle's most famous incidents. In 1945, a squadron of bombers called Flight 19 was lost during a training mission off the coast of Florida. The rescue plane sent to find them a few hours later also disappeared. None of the planes has ever been found.

To see the remainder of this full-length story, please select this Sci Fi Wire website link.

Media Blitz - The Hunt for the Bermuda Triangle's Lost Mariner

There is a unusual fascination about the Bermuda Triangle that has been quite a curiosity to me. I spend a large amount of my time in the Triangle area and must admit that strange happenings within this area are usually chalked up as a brief anomaly without much fanfare. In putting together the underwater expedition, I have found the media to be equally fascinated by the Triangle phenomena. We had to keep the project under strict confidentiality for fear that we would be inundated by interested spectators while doing our discovery/exploration activities out in the ocean. One elderly gentlemen saw us unloading the side scan sonar at the dock and he thought that we had found a torpedo from a missing enemy submarine (actually the design is quite similar). Following our project, all 20 of our expedition members were sworn to secrecy about our project and I commend them for their discipline over the past few months in not divulging our exciting project. I have been giving interviews all month to various newspapers, magazines, internet, radio and television crews with various major networks. It is amazing how many different ways that the same question regarding our outcome was phrased. Fortunately, I am an old pro at this type of questioning and was able to deflect them to watch the show. The SciFi Channel is promoting this documentary as part of their efforts to promote their Triangle mini-series that premieres on December 5th. The following picture is taken from the SciFi Channel's internet home page and shows a picture of me (right) and NBC News anchor Lester Holt discussing the project while motoring out to our survey site.