- Feb 26, 2018 Dive Site: B-17F Black Jack Bomber Wreck, Papua New Guinea. By Don Silcock Feb 26, 2018. The fringing reef from the remote village of Boga Boga on the tip of Cape Vogel is one of the best aircraft wrecks in Papua New Guinea — and possibly the world. The wreck is the B-17F “Black Jack,” serial number 41-24521.
- A jack and an ace is a “blackjack hand” of 21 in the card game of Pontoon. Captain McCullar was a very skilled pilot, who was highly regarded and decorated for his bravery. Unfortunately McCullar died in April 1943 when another B17 he was commanding crashed during take-off from Port Moresby.
From Stephanie Oswald
CNN Travel Now
LOLOATA ISLAND, Papua New Guinea (CNN) -- Some of the fiercest air, land and sea battles of World War II took place around Papua New Guinea, leaving relics scattered throughout the area.
Now, Papua New Guinea -- PNG, for short -- in the southwestern Pacific is one of the top destinations in the world for wreck diving. About 5,000 aircraft were lost there during World War II, and divers have discovered a few dozen of them.
In Madang, a jumping-off point for diving adventures, reminders of the war are everywhere. On land, for example, there's a Japanese Mitsubishi bomber with bullet holes in it. But by far the most interesting relics lie under water.
'There is opportunity to see genuine wrecks, and that goes for right across the country, and there is a good deal of war debris left around in terms of planes and ships,' said Dik Knight, vice president of the PNG Divers Association.
B17 Black Jack Wreck in Boga Boga, Cape Vogel Black Jack's Tail-plane and Archie the Divemaster from Tufie Dive Lying undisturbed in the deep water just off the fringing reef from the remote village of Boga Boga on the tip of Cape Vogel, is what many consider to be the best aircraft wreck in Papua New Guinea and possibly the world.
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Flying Fortress
Blackjack B17 Papua New Guinea Pigs
Perhaps PNG's best-preserved and best-known wreck is the Blackjack, a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. The enormous plane crashed just off the coastline near the village of Boga Boga in 1943. The crewmembers from the United States bomber survived and were rescued by villagers, but their plane wasn't as fortunate.
Today the Blackjack sits in more than 150 feet of water. Eerily, it's in almost the same condition as when it went down more than 50 years ago.
Papua New Guinea Travel Warnings
'The Blackjack B-17 was just fabulous, it made you feel like it just glided down at the bottom of 155 feet and you were on it and just climbed out, guns and everything,' diver Sonja Gilkison said. 'It was, I'd say, one of the best experiences I have ever had and probably will have. It is just fantastic.'
Sights like that are a dream come true for divers visiting PNG.
'I would say if you like diving and you like unexplored places and you don't mind roughing it a bit, it is a fabulous, once-in-a-lifetime place to go to,' diver Adam Bates said, adding 'It is going to change in the future, so go now.'