This Week
2010 Hurricane Season Ended Nov 30, 2010
The Bermuda Triangle:
Flight 19 Part 1
Overview of the Bermuda Triangle
Hundreds of stories have been told about the Bermuda Triangle, sometimes called The Devils Triangle. That area of strange happenings begins at Bermuda and runs south to Puerto Rico, east to South Florida and back to Bermuda. Some expand that area to include the Outer Banks off North Carolina and Virginia. Of course those strange happenings inside the triangle didn’t begin in the 20th Century. They go back to at least 1492 when Christopher Columbus and his three ships the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria sailed through that area. Words from Columbus’s journal were that his compass went haywire and his crew saw strange lights in the sky. Those few words written in the Christopher Columbus journal might have been the beginning of what has now become the mystique of the Bermuda Triangle.
There are tales about missing vessels, missing airplanes and ghost ships – enough to chill the souls of the faint hearted. And writings on the subject range from paranormal, voodoo and supernatural, UFO’s, a black hole somewhere in the Bahamas as well as
time warp and third dimension theories.
Of all the strange happenings within the Bermuda Triangle Flight 19 has probably drawn more notoriety to the area than any other tragedy. Flight 19’s 14 men and five planes coupled with the 13-man crew and the PBM Mariner sent out to search for the others were all lost without a trace.
Those tragic losses immediately led to speculation into the paranormal possibilities of that fateful day. And the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle grew in proportion to the unanswered questions produced by subsequent investigations and hearings.
There is no doubt in my mind that prior to the hurricane warning system, started in 1945, the Bermuda Triangle got its share of unannounced hurricanes, that ripped through the area with no warning to inhabitants of the islands or ships at sea. Sea captains and crews new to the area were not capable of reading signs of looming danger such as sea swells, wind changes, cloud formations or barometric pressures, whereas the old seafaring skipper could generally read those markers and steer his ship out of harms way.
Of course when the warning system went into effect land bases as well as ships at sea were given warning bulletins advising of dangerous hurricanes their locations and movement directions. The system, while not perfect, at least, gives everyone a fighting chance to take evasive action of some kind.
There are several physical elements that should be considered when looking into a strange happening or disappearance inside the Bermuda Triangle. Here are three and there are others: The Sargasso Sea, the Gulf Stream and other Atlantic currents as well as the variation in compass readings between true north and magnetic north. And while those three natural problems won’t answer all the questions, they should be considered as part of all investigations into happenings inside the Bermuda Triangle.
The Sargasso Sea is named for saragassum a type of seaweed that covers the whole area and floats on or near the surface. The saragassum covered area of the Atlantic remains placid while the Gulf Stream and other currents swirl around its edges. How this strange bed of seaweed adapted to this off shore area baffles oceanographers as well as other scientists and it remains a mystery to this day.
This quiet sea attracts surface vessels both manned and unmanned. Sailing vessels have been becalmed and could not move. Small powerboats have had their propellers caught up in the seaweed. Some boats were eventually abandoned when the owner could not extricate the boat from the tangled seaweed. Derelict ships have been spotted and boarded to find no sign of life. Salvage crews have boarded and gotten the ship under weigh only to disappear themselves before reaching safe harbor.
Countless theories explaining the many disappearances have been offered throughout history, but the most practical seems to be environmental or possible human error. The majority of strange happenings within the Bermuda Triangle can be attributed to the area’s unique environmental features. It is important to note that the Bermuda Triangle is one of two places on earth that a magnetic compass does point toward true north. Normally it points toward magnetic north and the difference between the two readings can be as much as 20 degrees. If that compass variation is not understood and compensated for, calculations could put the ship or plane many miles off course.
The unpredictable Caribbean Atlantic weather pattern also has a role. Sudden thunderstorms, water spouts and hurricanes often spell disaster for pilots and mariners alike. Then one must consider the topography of the ocean floor that varies from extensive shoals around the islands to some of the deepest marine trenches in any ocean. The Gulf Stream is extremely swift and turbulent and produces strong currents over the numerous reefs, which means the ocean floor is constantly changing and that factor alone makes it capable of moving or even erasing evidence of a disaster.
But at the end of the day questions relating to ghost ships, missing crews and strange lights -- still go unanswered.
Mission and Schedule for Flight 19
December 5, 1945
NAS Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Flight 19 was to be a routine navigation, bombing and strafing exercise as part of the student pilot’s and aircrew’s operational training schedule. The flight consisted of five planes and 14 navy and Marine Corps aviators, five pilots, and nine radiomen or gunners. The planes were TBM Avengers, large single-engine torpedo bombers. Four of the planes were piloted by student pilots and the fifth by the flight instructor and leader, Navy Lt. Charles Taylor.
Prior to the flight, each plane went through a full preflight inspection that included engine, aircraft, fuel, safety equipment and ordnance, which included live ammunition and bombs.
The student pilots and air crewmen stood around the operations office waiting for their flight instructor to show up. As the clock ticked past 1:10 pm and still no instructor the crews began to show anxiety, knowing that they were going to be late. Their takeoff time was set for 1:45 pm and they still hadn’t had their briefing. At 1:15 Lt. Charles Taylor arrived and immediately asked the aviation training duty officer to find another instructor to take his place. Taylor gave no particular reason; he just stated simply that he did not want to take the flight out. His request was denied; and he was told that no relief was available.
Taylor didn’t plead his case further and reluctantly accepted the duty officer’s decision. Then once it was settled that he would be leading the flight, the crews picked up their life jackets and parachutes and trooped over to the briefing room. As soon as they settled into their chairs the briefing officer told them that today’s training flight would include a bombing and strafing exercise. The weather reports in the area were favorable and the sea was moderate to rough. The briefing officer stood beside a chalkboard and drew as he explained the navigation problem. They would depart NAS Ft. Lauderdale and take an easterly heading of 091 degrees for a distance of 56 miles to Hens and Chickens Shoals where they would practice low level bombing and strafing. Once the bombing exercise was completed they would continue on course 091 for 67 miles. They would then turn north and take a course of 346 degrees and fly for 73 miles. The third leg of the course would take them on a west-southwest heading of 241 degrees for a distance of 120 miles, which would complete the triangle and bring them back to NAS Ft. Lauderdale.
(To be continued)
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Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
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