Colombian A.F. P-47s Salvage

[zorro9]

Gentlemen:

Good day!

There's lots to see S. of the border specifically Colombia, Cali & Medellin areas! The trip itself is worth the risk!!

p.s Would someone post/scan the article in AC to see exactly what it has to say?? Who is the source of the information??

[davidwomacks]

If the current is so stong wouldn't they have been ripped to pieces on the rocks by now?

[zorro9]

FAC P-47 Folks:

Good day!

Pictured below is a section c. 1940s of the Rio Coco/Segovia, place Ukn located between the Honduras & Nicaraguan border. Aircraft is unid for now. The picture was prob taken during the dry season of the area. The rivers are pretty wide with strong currents & do change in volume during monsoon season! Just to illustrate while some shots of Rio Magdalena area/Palanquero may surface.




p.s... perhaps we should concentrate on the poss P-47s & other aircraft buried near their military bases at Palanquero & the Bogota area.

[John Dupre]

The aircraft looks like a Junkers W-34 or K-43 single engine aircraft that saw a lot of use in undeveloped areas from Canada, to New Guinea to South America. I wonder what became of it as much as the P-47s.

[jbasar]

Looks like a Junkers W–34. The FAC museum in Bogota that I visited last year has a similar example.

[Flat 12x2]

The majority of all the P-47 used by the Colombian A.F. were dumped in a major river near the Palanquero Air Force base.

Well the 'major river' runs right by Palanquero air force base, in fact there is even a concrete ramp (for float planes ?) from the base staight into the river, so it would not have been much trouble to dispose of them that way.
Through the wonders of Google maps/street view you can see for yourself ,and pan further to the left and see how big the river is. Looking further down stream (it flows North) and you will see numerous sand bars, surely wreckage would have washed up on these over time ?

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=air+force&ll=5.471952,-74.653816&spn=0.006707,0.025728&sll=5.482557,-74.667485&sspn=0.007401,0.012864&near=Palanquero,+Caldas,+Colombia&geocode=CTre9z0nh1fJFUCoUwAdH6qM-ymRls-U3t5AjjHDMrZQR6W0aw&t=h&hq=air+force&z=16&layer=c&cbll=5.469536,-74.664642&panoid=XvFu3rFbs58Ftl35wvYdAw&cbp=11,35.63,,1,3.05

[Flat 12x2]

A slightly better view showing the huge ramp into the river.
http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=hxc3498sbg4w&lvl=17&dir=90&sty=b&eo=0&form=LMLTCC

[zorro9]

FAC P-47 Folks:

The Rio Segovia pic of c. 1940s is Reg NCXXXX for now. Poss the adventurer/Bush pilot Jimmy Angel during some mining/river bed exploration of that era.

We still do not know how this P-47 story originated some 9 yrs ago on Wix?

p.s While is seems easy to dispose of some 34 P-47s down a concrete ramp, I'm curious to know how exactly did they go about it?? How did they managed to save 1 sample poss 2 & then dump the rest?This story is similar to the big hangar somewhere in the former USSR full of brand new Bell P-39s & P-63s, near the so called secret USSR factory.

Last edited by zorro9 on Wed Feb 12, 2014 9:44 am, edited 2 times in total.

[jbasar]

After visiting 45-49102 last year I have since heard of a second airframe at another base in Colombia. I cannot confirm that as I have not seen it. Of the 34 (or 35) P-47’s reportedly delivered between 1947 and 1954, there were at least seven recorded crashes and reports of others being cannibalized for spare parts. It has been reported that 18 airframes remained at the time the FAC started receiving second-hand jet aircraft.

[davidwomacks]

FAC P-47 Folks:

The Rio Segovia pic of c. 1940s is Reg NCXXXX for now. Poss the adventurer Jimmy Angel during some mining/river bed exploration of that era.

We still do not know how this P-47 story originated some 9 yrs ago on Wix?

p.s While is seems easy to dispose of some 34 P-47s down a concrete ramp, I'm curious to know how exactly did they go about it?? How did they managed to save 1 sample poss 2 & then dump the rest?This story is similar to the big hangar somewhere in the former USSR full of brand new Bells P-39s & P-63s, near the so called secret USSR factory.

That USSR story reminds me of the the story about fully fueled/armed German fighters and bombers that were put in bunkers toward the end of the war and left there. Though both story's are pretty far fetched so is the one about 3 U-boats still in a bunker but that one is true!!!

[DH82EH]

Is it as true as the buried Spitfires in crates in Burma?

Andy

[zorro9]

DH:

Good day!

I do not have all the facts of those crates & Spitfires in Burma. They may or may not exist. One things it is clear either they are looking in the wrong place or simply the word of mouth about them wasn't enough evidence to begin looking in that particular area.

I did some preliminary research myself & at c.1955-1958 when the FAC P-47s partially stopped flying while other folks were training/flying jets (T-33s) the available P-47s at the ramp were only 18. 5 or 6 crashed at diff times & many others were used for cannibalization purposes. Yes!! there is another sample poss in the Bogota area sent there before the T-33s arrival. That will leave a poss "9" samples to dump into a river. Most likely done at PM time!! -)

During that time there was an aircraft broker in the Canal Zone area who dealt with the FAB P-47s & FAV P-47s. He may poss have the rest of the story.

[wreck chaser]

I have done some gold prospecting in South America and am familiar with the rivers. They can have extremely strong currents, sometimes rising 10 feet in one day.
Anything in that river would be crushed beyond recognition. The planes would probably be on bedrock which can be very deep. Many rivers have huge bolders on the bottom that roll around like crushers.

There is also the electric eels that can kill you. Malaria, Yellow fever, dengue fever, typhoid, and pissed off boyfriends.

Not to sound negative but I think it would be a complete waste of time.

I love South America and am headed to Ecuador and Peru in a few months for more prospecting.