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Post by fireball on May 8, 2015 8:14:54 GMT 8
Allied Geographical Section Southwest Pacific Area WWII Terrain Studies: Monash University Library has digitized their whole collection of these studies and while it means the Philippines are not part of this digital resource it is still an incredibly useful addition as maps and all are in very high quality. arrow.monash.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Collection/monash:152600AND as Beirutvet has discovered, it now INCLUDES the Philippines
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Post by beirutvet on May 23, 2015 1:14:35 GMT 8
Fireball
NICE FIND! How did you happen to come across this?
Though I don't understand what you mean by the Philippines not being included. I did a search on the site for Philippines and got 476 results. Still having fun going through them. Perhaps they added them since your post.
Kudos to you for this gem
Regards
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Post by fireball on May 23, 2015 6:56:52 GMT 8
Hi Beirutvet
Thanks for the update - yes, Philippines added since my post which is great for all of us!
I found them (luckily as they had only just been put online a day or two before) as part of my route preparation for some multiday walks I take through PNG (that's why good quality maps excited me so much). One of them is a planned re-tracing of the original Bulldog end of the WW2 route from the Papuan coast / lowlands to Wau - due to river changes part of this route ivo Bulldog is no longer used by trekers but as it includes a section (maybe) of rail line i'm interested to try follow it.
Fireball
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Post by chadhill on Jun 3, 2015 4:01:21 GMT 8
Great find!
I've been wading thru the P.I. charts, looking for Bataan in general, and Abucay and Balanga in particular. Am researching where several KIA American officers were buried in January, 1942. US government files cite map sheets number 3254 and 3255. So far I have had no luck locating these maps. Has anyone come across them? Thanks, Chad
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Post by beirutvet on Jun 3, 2015 5:01:56 GMT 8
Hey Fireball
What is that new avatar you have there? It almost looks like a propeller hub with part of a blade still attached, but not sure.
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Post by fireball on Jun 3, 2015 6:55:58 GMT 8
It is, resting on a bomb, from a US B24 (42-40352) that crashed in Eastern Highlands, PNG.
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Post by beirutvet on Jun 3, 2015 7:21:44 GMT 8
Wow!
How big is the bomb?
The hub looks too small to be that of a B24 but it is difficult to get perspective from that picture. Do you have other pictures of that crash site? I would love to see them. Do you have other details of this particular aircraft and who flew it?
Also, what is PNG?
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Post by Karl Welteke on Jun 3, 2015 8:07:28 GMT 8
Chad The numbering system or numbers change. I know for a fact the numbers of the 1: 50000 maps about the Philippines are changing. Ever the area covered is changing in some cases. But here is what is presently available from the Philippine Government and I have downloaded some I need and put them on my hard drive. This is the URL: www.namria.gov.ph/topo50Index.aspx
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Post by fireball on Jun 3, 2015 10:19:46 GMT 8
Re. B24: www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/b-24/42-40352.htmlThere was not much left aside from two bombs, the one propellor part and some bits of wings and / or fuselage. I was told that a landslide about 10 years ago had covered the really big bits which seemed reasonable as most of the body parts were stretched along a stream BUT the wreckage was also straddling the boundary with the neighboring village and there was a fair bit of angry shouting from the 'other side' and it was (a) clear from my guides that we couldn't stay more than a few minutes and (b) from the talking or discussions they had amongst themselves it seemed likely to me that in fact more of the wreckage did still exist but it was in the other village land. Tribal fighting is common and so discretion and retreat seemed the best option. Of course I'm only assuming it was the Pacific Wrecks B24 (so could have been a different type of aircraft) but I'm pretty sure I'm right. Re. maps: Karl I thought you had downloaded some US Army maps at one time ? Certainly I have some (although not with me at the moment) but they might be these 1956 ones also available on mapstor.com/map-sets/country-maps/philippines.html
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Post by chadhill on Jun 3, 2015 11:53:06 GMT 8
Hello Karl and fireball,
The maps I am looking for are war-era US military maps. The old burial documents I have give grid coordinates as well as lats & longs for the grave sites. When I plot these lats & longs on current day Bataan maps the location can be a mile or more off from the location described in the old document. For example, the lats & longs given for a church in Abucay in 1945 do not correspond with where the church is depicted on current day maps. If I had access to an actual 1942-1945 map I could plot the point and see exactly the physical location of the graves as they were recorded in 1945.
Thanks for your helpful suggestions and if you should come across any such maps please let me know. All I would need is for a very small section to be scanned, if it is not available online. Best, Chad
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