Aero Vintage Books

Looks like the PNG government has ruled that the National Museum had no authority to sell or allow recovery of the B-17E and it appears that it will remain the property of the PNG. It looks like it will be stored until the government decides its fate.

See this link:

http://www.thenational.com.pg/091406/nation3.htm

It would appear "due process" has taken its course.

Not trying to start another flame war...but,

There are almost always more than one view on a subject like this.

At least one song says "You don't know what you got 'til its gone" and Swamp Ghost is just like that sentiment. By any measure, it certainly was on its way to "gone" (to an even smaller pile of junk metal) when it was recently recovered from the swamp and started its journey back to restoration after sitting for how many decades?

That the PHG Government only became interested enough in Swamp Ghost to intervene at this point is not that much different is it then when the US Navy only becomes interested in a "warbird wreck" once someone else tries to recover it? (Sorry for the tortured syntax here.)

I guess, in my mind anyway, the "ideal thing" would have been, years ago, once (non-PNG) people became interested in recovering Swamp Ghost, and other Warbirds, that the PNG government set a clear war relic recovery policy and/or recovered/restored at least some of these items themselves. I truly believe that, many years ago and perhaps more recently, a creative solution could have been found using private (non-PNG) and public monies to accomplish the "saving" of war relics in PNG and selling others for restoration purposes outside PNG.

What I see here in the current situation is a classic Non-Solution.

Believe you to be correct in your thinking regarding the government of PNG.
Now with the U.S.Navy "claiming" recoveries...whole different ball game there. Hmmmm 1945, you are a private citizen, had an airplane valued at around 80,000.oo with no insurance, and you dropped it in a deep lake, you wrote the plane off. 50 years later Scott Thompson comes along on a scuba diving trip and finds your old airplane and thinks...."hey look at that! Think I'll recover that bad boy, clean it up, sell it to a warbird trader and make a bundle o'cash.... The day comes when good ole Mr. Thompson has raised the aeroplane onto a barge. The press is there takin' pictures, Mr. Thompson is on television, etc etc, and takes his recovered aeroplane home. You are sitting at home with your chin on the floor, and say."Hey that's My Aeroplane!!!! And you set off to Mr. Thompson's to get your aeoplane back. Mr. Thompson says no. You go to court and the judge says No, Case dismissed.
Now, "Back in the day" when a military aircraft managed to make it's way into deep water or an area then considered unrealistic for recovery (see what you can find regarding DIK SHEPHERD'S story on recovering Martin B-26's in Canada), the aircraft were "STRICKEN FROM RECORDS" meaning " DROPPED FROM INVENTORY meaning NOBODY OWNS IT- up for grabs. Where in the hell was the frickin' NAVY for all those years while their former airplanes, the ones they don't own anymore, were lying on the bottom of a lake? Waiting for someone to recover them? Oh excuse us, that's ours! Thanks for finding what we LOST and Wrote OFF 60 Years ago.........don't think so. And they TAKE it. If you as a citizen were to do this to another citizen, you'd be in J A I L, Court, pay dome fines and do some time.............Man this so pisses me off! I remember the first time I heard about the "Navy" wanting their airplane back.... I... Arggggggggggggggh!!!!

Hey gang, going up against the federal govt(navy) is tough.They have unlimited resourses(OUR TAX MONEY) to tie a person up in the courts for years.Also they "know the judges"(JUDGE SHOPPING) who will find in their favor everytime.Just remember gang they also have the IRS to make your life a living hell anytime they feel like it.

Zackley, but when, "back then" a "lost" aircraft was stricken from the records, it was "dropped" from inventory thus the "navy" has no actual claim if the aircraft is "found" by John Q Public xteen number of years later