Warbird Information Exchange

some more information from the news reports listed on the Pacific wrecks website:

Post Courier [ May 27, 2006 ]
By Jessie Lapou

CUSTOMS officers in Lae are keeping a close eye on the American warplane bomber B-17 dubbed Swamp Ghost over the weekend. Internal Revenue Commission commissioner general David Sode had given instruction not to give any export permit pending the outcome of a Public Accounts Committee inquiry on the plane on July 1.

The plane was to be shipped to the United States of America but government had intervened and is sitting at the Lae Bismark Maritime Wharf. The plane was allowed to leave the country under an agreement signed in 1999 between the Military Aircraft Restoration Corporation in the United States of America and the custodian of the aircraft, the National Museum and Art Gallery.

This has permitted American Alfred Hagen and Robert Greinert to remove the plane early this month from the Agiambo Swamps in Oro Province where it had crash-landed 64 years ago.
But the plane had survived the crash and is fully intact. Former curator of the war museum brand of the national museum and current director of the Kokoda-Buna Historical Foundation Maclaren Jude Hiari said the plane was the world war two’s rarest bomber.

“The Swamp Ghost is highly-regarded as mostly priced war relic in the aircraft archaeology world particularly in Australia, New Zealand and USA…as according to my close consultation with former crew members of the aircraft, leading international aircraft archaeologists, aviation historians and aviation museums and organizations,” he said. However, that was contradicting to current acting direction of the museum Simon Poraituk saying the plane was worth only “K12,000”.

Mr Hiari said the swamp ghost was the oldest, intact, Boeing-built B-17 in existence and the only remaining example of a B-17E model flying fortresses remaining in the world- one is near Black Cat Gap on the Kuber Ranger new Wau in Morobe Province while the third is in Greenland covered with ice. He said the board of trustees of the museum to approve the salvaging and restoration of swamp ghost did not help the government to restore the existing war collections in the country.


The National [ June 7, 2006 ]

By Bonney Bonsella
THE controversy surrounding the removal of the American bomber would have been adequately addressed if only a National Executive Council decision in 1997 for the development of a K43 million Constitutional Park and the National Heritage Centre to house such priceless war relics was fully implemented.

Acting director of the National Museum and Art Gallery Simon Poraituk said yesterday that two months earlier, an American company, Portico Group, based in Seattle, Washington, did a feasibility study to develop the plan located at the front of the Parliament House and the museum for close to K30,000.
But the plan is now hanging on the walls of the museum as a furniture collecting dust while proponents have vehemently argued to retain the Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress onshore.

The plan will also cater for a Modern History and War Museum that would provide a decent home to thousands of airplanes like the Swamp Ghost and others that have already been legally taken abroad or smuggled. [ *** PacificWrecks.com coverage of The History of Aircraft Salvage in Papua New Guinea ]

Mr Poraituk said on Jan 15, 1997, NEC gave approval under the Chan government to develop the park but successive governments failed to provide funding. A museum of Natural Science and Art Gallery was included as part of the development. Mr Poraituk said the museum had no record of the number of airplanes taken abroad. He said he was aware that currently, three war planes were being restored in Australia. He said two were being restored separately in Sydney and Wangaratta (Victoria) while one has been fully restored by the Royal Australian Air Force and is ready to be shifted back to PNG but there is no decent home.

“When they are fully restored, they must find a decent home to come back to,” he said. He said PNG did not have the technical know-how to take care of war relics and the museum also lacked the manpower to conduct surveillance to deter illegal shipment of war planes. He estimated that more than 3,000 airplanes were still lying in the jungles waiting to be uncovered and restored. Mr Poraituk said a proposal to spend K13.5 million to restore the old House of Assembly was yet to be implemented.


PAC puts ban on museum war relics
Post Courier [ July 10, 2006 ]

The Public Accounts Committee has directed the National Museum not to recover, salvage, sell or export any war surplus material. This is one of 22 directives the committee gave the museum on Friday. The committee also directed for specific documentation and full details regarding the exporting and selling of the B17E American bomber, the Swamp Ghost, to be provided. The committee also directed that the Swamp Ghost will not be removed from the country until the committee has completed its inquiry and made a report to Parliament. In the meantime, the committee has directed for the Swamp Ghost to be placed in a securely located shelter at the cost of Aero Archaeology LLC. The museum has also been directed to produce an inventory of all items under the control, possession or power of the National Museum and Arts Gallery every year since Independence. National Museum acting director Simon Poraituk has been directed to produce all documentation that shows compliance with the guidelines and the approval of the board of trustees, a minister or the NEC in regards to the sale, recovery or export of each aircraft or parts that have left the country since January 1, 1996. The committee has given 14 days for the National Museum to produce all records and files relating to the cashing or payment of 69 cheques, and details of the reason of each payment. The National Museum is also directed to give full co-operation and assistance to the Auditor General.


PAC orders freeze on war relics
The National [July 10, 2006 ]

By ISAAC NICHOLAS
THERE would be no more salvage, removal, export or sale of any war relics or surplus material from Papua New Guinea until the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee completes its inquiry.
The PAC also directed that the former US bomber, Swamp Ghost not be removed from Papua New Guinea until the committee had completed its inquiry and made a report to Parliament.
PAC also directed that the Swamp Ghost should, at the cost to Aero Archeology LLC, be removed to a place of shelter and safety, possibly Nadzab airport or some other secure location, pending the completion of this inquiry.
These were among a total of 22 directives issued by the PAC to the National Museum and Art Gallery last Friday.
“The public accounts committee directs that no shipping agent, company or provider remove the Swamp Ghost from Papua New Guinea pending further inquiry and determination by the Government of Papua New Guinea,” acting chairman Chris Haiveta said in the statement outlining the directions issued last Friday.
“All parties will have 30 days from the date of this inquiry to respond or submit what they may wish.”
Mr Haiveta said the committee encouraged all parties and any other interested or knowledgeable person to make submissions or provide materials to the committee that may assist in the inquiry.
Other directives issued include:
*The acting director of the national museum will within 14 days, produce to the committee a complete copy of the proposal from the Military Aircraft Restoration Corporation sent to the National Museum and Art Gallery in January 1998 seeking a permit to recover the Swamp Ghost and all and every document that was before the board of trustees at any time relating to the decision to sell the Swamp Ghost;
*The acting director of the museum provide a copy of the directions, request to or retainer of Robert Greinert, or historical aircraft restoration society to supply a valuation of the Swamp Ghost to the National Museum and all records of payment made for that valuation;
*The acting director of museum produce full details of his travel to Aero Archaeology, MARC and March Field Flying Museum including details of payment for airfares, accommodation, per diems and travel allowances received and any other museum officer, who accompanied the director, dates of travel, purpose of travel, approvals sought and obtained under the Finance Instructions and all acquittal of monies received for that travel; and,
*Within 30 days, the acting director will produce an inventory of all items under the control, possession or power of the National Museum and Art Gallery for every year since independence, the current whereabouts of each item, full details of any sale, loan, exchange or other deals or arrangements in respect of any of those items in the last 30 years. This includes cultural artefacts, war surplus, art, sculpture, natural history collections, specimens and every other items or things held by or managed by the museum, wherever they maybe.

regards

Mark Pilkington

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20th Century - The Age of Manned Flight
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