Debris of US WWII Bomber Found in Southwest China

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, August 18, 2003

Debris of US WWII Bomber Found in Southwest China

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Plane debris recently unearthed at a construction site in the central part of Sichuan province, in southwest China, is believed to be have been a bomber flown by the United States airmen during the World War II.

In Tianwan village of Xinjin county which was within a near reach southwestern of the provincial capital, approximately 300 kilograms of debris, more than 10 bullets and some equipment like propeller hubs, fuel radiators and oxygen controls were found underground.

According to the English words and codes printed on the equipment, the plane was very likely made by Boeing Company during the years of the Second World War, and is either a B-29 bomber or a C-47 aircraft, said Chen Changjun, deputy director of the county cultural relics bureau.

Historical records show that in 1944, the United States officially established its first Air Force base in Xinjin county, which was the largest in China and the second largest in the Far East. The 40th US Air Force Group sent 27 bombers with 297 crew members and a batch of anti-aircraft artilleries to the base soon after it was founded.

The next year, P38 and P61 fighter planes were stationed at the base as well, which were said to be the most sophisticated fighter planes equipped with radar at the time.

"Meanwhile, the relevant records show that 21 American planes crashed in the county, but no debris had ever been found before," Chen said, "and there were no records about the crash of these plane."

A 71-year-old local named Zhang Shaoqing in Tianwan village, however, witnessed the crashing and still remember it very clearly.

"I saw the plane billowing with smoke while flying in the dusk on a cold winter day of 1944, when suddenly it crashed to the ground and exploded into fire balls," said Zhang, who was a 13 years old kid then.

The excavation of airplane debris drew high attention of the Sichuan cultural and relics departments, which immediately sent experts and competent personnel to give guidance and direct operation at the site, which has been well protected and further excavation is ongoing. More debris are expected to be found there, Chen said.

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