A US Marine plane that crashed during World War II has been discovered in the South Pacific, 80 years after it went missing in action, DailyMail.com can confirm.
The twisted remains of a Douglass SBD Dauntless were found last month in the jungles of Papua New Guinea by locals who had heard stories of a near-miss for generations.
Photos of the plane’s serial number (35971) match a Dauntless that crashed on January 14, 1944 with Pilot Lt. Billy Ray Ramsey and Gunnery Sgt. Charlie J. Sciara on board.
The two Marines were officially declared dead a year after the crash, but their remains have not been recovered and both remain listed as Missing in Action (MIA).
US Department of Defense officials told DailyMail.com this week that they are aware of reports about the crash and are currently working to bring a team of investigators to the scene.
A US Marine plane that crashed during World War II has been discovered in the South Pacific, 80 years after it went missing in action.
Pilot Lt. Billy Ray Ramsey (left) died in the crash, while Gunnery Sgt. Charlie J. Sciara (right) is believed to have died shortly afterward in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.
Images from the crash site on the island of New Ireland show the downed plane’s engine, propeller and debris scattered across the jungle floor.
According to the locals who discovered the remains, human remains were also found next to the shipwreck, but their identity has not yet been confirmed.
“Some of our grandparents told us the story and passed it on to us: there was a plane crash in the mountainous part of the jungle, but they didn’t know exactly where it crashed,” said local Kilala Kindau, who led the team that made the finding.
Kindau said his team conducted a jungle search between December and January before locating the remains.
Kindau said his team found a serial number on the wreckage and sent it to the U.S. Embassy, which confirmed the plane was American.
“The plane crashed and broke into three pieces, leaving the pilot trapped inside and unable to escape,” he said.
That fits with accounts of the tragic final mission of Ramsey’s Dauntless, which was assigned to Marine Scout Bombardment Squadron 236, also known as the ‘Black Panthers.’
On January 14, 1944, the light bomber took off from Munda Airfield in New Georgia with Ramsey at the controls and Sciara manning the rear gunner position.
A group of U.S. Navy Douglas Dauntless dive bombers prepare to attack Japanese-held Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands, 1944.
The incident was recorded in the war diary of the 236th Bombardment Squadron of Marine Scouts, also known as the ‘Black Panthers’.
On January 14, 1944, the light bomber took off from Munda Airfield in New Georgia with Ramsey at the controls and Sciara in the rear gunner position.
Images from the crash site show the downed plane’s engine, propeller and shrapnel strewn across the jungle floor.
Parts of the plane are seen after they were found on the jungle floor in Papua New Guinea.
Kilala Kindau said his team conducted a jungle search between December and January before locating the remains.
The SBD Dauntless was found in early January deep in the jungles of Papua New Guinea.
The target was Japanese shipping in the vicinity of the port of Rabaul, and the strike force included 36 Dauntless aircraft and 18 TBF Avengers escorted by 73 fighters.
War records indicate that the mission encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire and was intercepted by multiple waves of enemy fighters.
‘Lieutenant. Billy R. Ramsey of this squadron had his tail shot off by anti-aircraft fire as the flight approached the target area, according to the squadron’s war diary.
The plane was last seen in a “flat turn,” according to the newspaper.
Initially, both Ramsey and Sciara were assumed to have died in the crash, but after the war ended, information came to light indicating that Sciara survived and was captured by Japanese forces.
“After the war, my parents received a letter from the Marine Corps indicating that Sergeant Charles Sciara did not die on January 14, 1944,” said Sciara’s brother, John Sciara, in a remembrance published in Pacific Shipwrecks.
“Somehow he survived the accident and was taken prisoner by the Japanese and died in an unknown prison camp,” he added.
‘They say he could have died on February 22, 1944 from malaria and beriberi. He was probably killed by the Japanese,” his brother said. “My family was very upset after the war and wasn’t sure what to believe.”
John was only 10 months old when his brother died and he never saw him alive. Sergeant. Sciara, originally from Brooklyn, was 20 years old at the time of his death in a prisoner-of-war camp.
“They and many others gave up their tomorrow for our today,” John said in the online tribute.
Ramsey, the pilot from Eastland, Texas, is believed to have died in the crash.
Kindau said his team found a serial number on the wreckage and sent it to the U.S. Embassy, which confirmed the plane was American.
‘Lieutenant. Billy R. Ramsey of this squadron had his tail shot off by anti-aircraft fire as the flight approached the target area, according to the squadron’s war diary.
Photos of the crashed plane’s serial number 35971 match those of a Dauntless that crashed on January 14, 1944.
Another fragment of the remains is seen above with identification marks and a transcript.
Ammunition and other items found at the crash site are seen above.
DailyMail.com was unable to locate Ramsey’s or Sciara’s surviving relatives.
The Dauntless was a versatile naval scout aircraft and dive bomber manufactured by Douglas Aircraft between 1940 and 1944, which flew from both aircraft carriers and landing strips.
The builder’s number on the wreck, 4610, matches information about Ramsey’s Dauntless available online.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, part of the U.S. Department of Defense, is charged with recovering U.S. military personnel who are prisoners of war or missing in action.
A spokesperson said on Wednesday: ‘DPAA has received multiple reports that remains potentially associated with missing personnel were recently discovered in New Ireland, Papua New Guinea.
“We are working to get a team of investigators to the scene as soon as possible.
“As the agency responsible for recovering the remains of Americans missing from past conflicts, the DPAA is committed to pursuing this path.”