FORT LAUDERDALE — 1945 · Missing Person
The Disappearance of Flight 19
On the afternoon of 5 December 1945, five US Navy TBM Avenger torpedo bombers took off from Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on a routine training flight over the Bahamas, with 14 men aboard. Radio traffic showed that the flight leader believed his compasses had failed and that he had become disoriented; in deteriorating weather and with fuel running out, the planes ditched or crashed at sea. That evening a PBM Mariner flying boat with a crew of 13, sent out to search, also vanished shortly after take-off and is believed to have exploded. Twenty-seven men died and no wreckage was ever found. The loss became central to the legend of the 'Bermuda Triangle'.
- Date
- 1945
- Place
- Florida, USA, Fort Lauderdale, US
- Category
- Missing Person
- Case Status
- Unsolved
- Coordinates
- 26.0700, -80.1500 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 5 December 1945, afternoonFive Avengers took off from Fort Lauderdale on a training flight.
- 5 December 1945, eveningRadio traffic showed the flight was lost; contact ended.
- 5 December 1945, nightA PBM Mariner sent to search also disappeared.
- 1946A Navy inquiry attributed the loss to causes unknown.
Sources
- Naval History and Heritage Command — The Loss of Flight 19 history.navy.mil ↗
- U.S. Naval Institute — The Mysterious Disappearance of Flight 19 usni.org ↗
- Wikipedia — Flight 19 en.wikipedia.org ↗
- Naval History and Heritage Command
- U.S. Naval Institute
- Wikipedia
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.