Cities of the Underworld - History Channel

For those of you in Australia who have Foxtel or Austar or similar, there is a special Australian session of "Cities of the Underworld" on the History Channel on Monday 9 March at 8:30pm titled "Alcatraz Down Under". There is an encore screening on Saturday 15 March at 6:30pm.

You need to check the times as I am not aware if they are Eastern Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time. Probably the latter.

In addition to covering a 19th century prison that once housed Sydney's most threatening criminals, Host Don Wildman heads underground with surviving witnesses to uncover the location of a secret WWII chemical weapons stash and gets access to a sordid subterranean fort in Sydney where soldiers en route to the battlefields of Vietnam were trained to resist torture.

Presenter Don Wildman filmed segments for the episode in early November 2008, providing an interesting diversion for Sunday morning shoppers in Glenbrook village before interviewing two former RAAF armourers at the old Glenbrook railway tunnel.

The History Channel’s small Los Angeles crew also filmed segments at Cockatoo Island, Middle Head and the Abercrombie Caves during their Australian visit.

"Cities of the Underworld" is always a very interesting show to watch at any time.

Please click on the link above to see a History Channel web page about "Cities of the Underworld - Alcatraz Down Under".

WWII Bomb in Classroom

Two Japanese boys have brought a World War II bomb to class, flustering teachers on the island of Okinawa, which was the scene of the Pacific conflict's bloodiest battle.

Please click on the link above to see an ABC News web page about a WWII bomb in a Japanese classroom.

Gould Airfield

The Northern Territory's World War II Gould Airfield and Camp near Batchelor could soon become heritage listed.

Please click on the link above to see an ABC News web page about the Gould Airfield.

DVD - "Black Jack's Last Mission"

The chance discovery of a World War II bomber
off New Guinea leads to an amazing true adventure story ....

Explore the complete history of Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress #41-24521 known as "Black Jack" and "The Joker's Wild".

This fantastic DVD "Black Jack's Last Mission" was produced by acclaimed author Steve Birdsall. If you have an interest in adventure, aircraft wrecks, SCUBA diving or B-17's, you will enjoy this DVD.

Rod Pearce found #41-24521 lying deep in the waters off New Guinea in December 1986.

Please click on the link above to see a new web page about the DVD "Black Jack's Last Mission".

Crash of a B-17 in sea near Cairns 16 August 1942

I have just carried out an update on my web page on the above crash.

Using snippets of information already available, I have done some detective work on the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) web site, the Townsville US Cemetery records that I have and the Ipswich Cemetery records that I have, to determine who may have been on board this B-17 when it crashed killing all its occupants.

Please click on the links above to see my updated web page on the the crash of B-17 Flying Fortress #41-2434 and web pages on the Townsville US Cemetery and the Ipswich US Cemetery.

Vist to B-17 crash site by the son of a crash survivor

In January 1943 United States Air Force B-17E Flying Fortress #41-9234 was skilfully crash landed by pilot Lieutenant Ray Dau just out of Wau in New Guinea.

The wreckage of this B-17 has acquired the unofficial name of "The Ghost of Black Cat Pass".

Click here for an article on "Adventure Tourism in Papua New Guinea" which describes an emotional journey by the son of crewman Ted Fulton back to the crash site of this B-17.

Crash of an Avro Anson near Parham in South Australia

Avro Anson W-2556 of 6 Service Flying Training School (6 SFTS) at Mallala, SA crashed near Parham on the east coast of St. Vincent's Gulf, in South Australia on 14 July 1943.

Five RAAF Personnel were initially listed as missing and eventually as presumed dead.

Please click on the link above to see an new web page on the the crash of Avro Anson W-2556.