Historian Talk: Military Aircraft Wrecks, Cape Cod

Did you realize that in New England there are so many aircraft wrecks, both military and civilian, that on average there is one every 35 miles of land? That is because historians like Jim Ignasher of New England Aviation History and Larry Webster in Rhode Island have identified close to 2,000 air accidents, from losing a wheel to total destruction or missing in the oceans. In Massachusetts there are at least 375 military and 301 civilian airplane mishaps, with over 150 occurring on Cape Cod or surrounding seas and islands. Falmouth alone has five, Mashpee 2 (one of them recently found by the speaker), and over 40 in Otis Air Force Base or Camp Edwards. This talk will focus on trying to find evidence of the many air wrecks in and near Falmouth, and the need to learn, preserve and share the back-stories of the men and women who fell to earth while flying to keep us safe. Last year Eric spent many months finding a dozen and documenting nearly 200 other WWII aircraft in Bahamas. Now he shares his focus on women pilots, Cold War warriors, and lone fighter pilots who ditched in the cold Atlantic, or into ponds and marshes and road near us.

$20 Non-Member/$10 Members, or donation based ticket. Light Refreshments Served.

BIOGRAPHY

Based in East Boston, Eric Wiberg moved to New England at age 13 in the 1980s to attend boarding schools in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, then Boston College. He is from Bahamas, with US and Swedish passports, and have lived in Asia, Europe, the US, South Pacific and Caribbean in the course of working on over 150 yachts and traveling a million miles. Following degrees or certificates in law, marine policy and film, Eric has completed over 45 books, published 18 and 1,000 articles, and has given nearly 100 presentations internationally and on film & TV. His main focus is discovering and describing maritime mishap and airplane wrecks. The father of a teen son, he is a tutor who returns to Mashpee to see loved ones and has written at Cuttyhunk.

Host or Publisher Falmouth Museums on the Green