US searches for WWII plane missing 80 years off Broome coast
The US searches for an American plane shot down near Broome in 1942, killing 20 servicemen who remain missing after 80 years.
A US-funded search team has completed an expedition to find a Liberator plane shot down by Japanese fighters near Broome in 1942. Maritime archaeologist Jane Mitchell led the search.
The team ruled out about 15 square kilometres but did not find the wreck. The US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency oversees more than 80,000 unrecovered personnel globally; about 280 are believed to have died in Australian territory.
Volunteer wreck-hunters are planning another search next month.
- 20
- Servicemen killed in crash
- 15 square kilometres
- Area ruled out
- 11,000 plus
- Wrecks in Australian waters
- 80,000 plus
- Missing personnel globally
Why it mattersFamilies of the 20 servicemen still want answers about their relatives' fate after 80 years; recovering remains is an act of respect and closure.
AustraliaAustralia's northern waters hold thousands of undiscovered wrecks from both world wars; as search technology improves, discoveries are expected to increase.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 5 d ago
