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Macha: The public needs to be reminded of the 38
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who gave their lives on behalf of this nation.
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Are we the only two people in the world
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who know this thing is sitting here right now?
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I mean, it's remarkable.
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She flies?
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Hell yeah, she flies.
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Whoo!
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Aye-aye-aye.
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Right there, look. Right by those rocks.
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That's a wreck.
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That's almost a smoking gun.
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Oh, my god.
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♪
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I'd like to introduce you to daring
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world war ii pilot tommy tompkins.
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Tommy was everything you might expect from a young hero
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who made the ultimate sacrifice --
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skilled, brave, patriotic.
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But considering the era,
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there is one thing about tommy that might surprise you.
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She was a woman.
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Gertrude "tommy" tompkins, she was part of an elite group
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of women air force service pilots, codenamed the wasps.
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Formed at the height of world war ii,
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america's only all-female squadron tested
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and transported planes,
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carried cargo and ran simulated missions.
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On October 26, 1944, tompkins took off from los angeles
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in a legendary p-51 mustang.
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Soon after, she flew into a fogbank
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and has been missing ever since.
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All told, 38 wasp air force pilots died in service.
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Tommy is the only one still unaccounted for.
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Now, at the 75th anniversary of her disappearance,
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one of the nation's leading aircraft archaeologists
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has retraced her flight path
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and found a startling new search zone in the mountains,
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and a team of ocean explorers
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is using the latest scanning technology
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to pinpoint an entirely different search zone
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beneath the waves.
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I'm shipping out for operation downed wasp.
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My mission -- join the search for the missing aircraft
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on land and sea
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and help piece together the extraordinary final chapter
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of one of america's barrier-breaking heroes.
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My name is josh gates...
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Look! [ laughs ]
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...Explorer, adventurer...
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That is it!
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...And a guy who ends up in some very strange situations.
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Ah, ah, aah, haa!
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With a degree in archaeology
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and a passion for the unexplained,
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I travel to the ends of the earth,
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investigating the greatest legends in history.
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Okay, let's punch it.
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This is "expedition unknown."
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-- captions by vitac -- www.Vitac.Com
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captions paid for by discovery communications
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my hunt for missing world war ii pilot
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gertrude "tommy" tompkins
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starts at los angeles international airport.
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Today, lax is the world's fifth-busiest airport.
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More than 85 million passengers travel through here each year.
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The 11,000-foot river of concrete behind me
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is runway 25 left here at lax, but 75 years ago,
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it was just a 2,000-foot-long airstrip
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at what was then mines field.
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At the turn of the 20th century,
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this area was nothing but wheat fields and lima beans,
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but in 1928, the city built a dirt airstrip
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and a single building known as hangar 1.
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Today, it still sits in a quiet corner of the airfield,
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the last remnant of l.A.'s original airport...
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...And the former staging ground for warplanes
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being shipped out in world war ii.
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This is the exact area where gertrude tompkins took off,
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never to be seen again.
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♪
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to reconstruct the events on the day tompkins disappeared,
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I head just south of lax to meet pat macha
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and david lane from project remembrance,
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a group dedicated to finding aircraft wrecks.
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Great to meet you. This is like...
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This looks like a war room.
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Macha: It is, in a way.
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We're looking at aviation accidents, so...
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All of these?
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...All of these are crash sites,
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and that's only a fraction of what's really there.
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How many aircraft wrecks have you now cataloged?
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I have been to or flown over 800 sites.
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But one cold case has dogged pat for decades --
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gertrude tompkins.
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Let's talk about the wasps.
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I think a lot of people, sadly,
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don't really know their story.
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So the women's air force service pilots
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were designed to free up
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army pilots for combat duties
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and for the women pilots
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to ferry aircraft from factory or base to base.
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♪
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wasps were the first women to fly for the u.S. Military,
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stepping up to serve their country in a time of dire need.
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Narrator: Graduation day means that they've grown up.
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They're army fliers.
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As they know, their experience here
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has been no interlude for romantic adventure
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but a period of intensive training
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for a highly important job.
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♪
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gates: Over the course of the war,
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wasps logged more than 60 million miles in the air,
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delivering more than 12,000 planes.
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But not all of them made it back.
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What should we remember about gertrude,
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about all the wasps?
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The public needs to be reminded
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of the good service
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of the women's air force service pilots
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and the 38 who gave their lives
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on behalf of this nation.
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This is the 75th anniversary of her disappearance,
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and if this case could be solved
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or closed in some way,
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I think that would be huge,
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both for the surviving wasps
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and for the public to be reminded
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of what people did back then...
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-Right. -...How they stood up.
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Well, that's why I'm here today...
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Yes, exactly.
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...To talk about this woman right here.
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Right.
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So let's talk about her disappearance.
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Yes.
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She was gonna fly all the way across the country
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to newark, new jersey.
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Gertrude is one of 40 wasps
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set to take off from los angeles.
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From the runway, their flight plan
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will take them over the pacific,
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where they turn back over land to phoenix, arizona,
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before heading across the country.
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But the canopy on tommy's plane won't latch correctly,
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forcing a delay while it's repaired on the field.
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By the time the canopy is fixed,
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it's too late in the day for her to continue to arizona,
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so tommy and two other pilots are rerouted
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to palm springs for the night.
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She's number three to take off.
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Number one takes off.
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Number two takes off,
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and she's the last one to go.
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When the two pilots land at palm springs
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and gertrude isn't there, they assume her canopy
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was still giving her trouble,
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and she landed back at lax.
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What would their flight path have been?
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Do we know that? Yes, we do.
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They would fly green airway 4
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right through the san gorgonio pass.
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You drop into palm springs.
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But she never landed there.
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She never landed there.
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Airways are imaginary highways in the sky.
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Green airway number 4's boundaries are 20 miles wide
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with a center lane divider for oncoming traffic.
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You can fly anywhere 10 miles either side of the center lane,
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so she, technically, could have been
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anywhere between here and here.
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Dave, from a pilot's perspective,
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is there anything that's particularly challenging
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about this route?
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Yes, there is. Some of the highest terrain
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in southern california is right here,
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with mt. San jacinto and san gorgonio.
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All the desert air sucks in the coastal air
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right through here.
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I take it all these other pins are clustered
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in this area for a reason.
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It's a dangerous spot.
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They're all crash sites.
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And has a search been carried out here?
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Not to my knowledge.
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I would be very interested to see
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what we might see out there.
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Hopefully, something that looks like this.
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Exactly.
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Gates: Based on tompkins' flight path,
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one distinct possibility is that she went down
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somewhere along the treacherous mountain pass,
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so pat, dave and I drive 100 miles east
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toward the san jacinto mountains.
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On the way, pat shares new intel that may help our search.
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This photo was given to me by a man
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who snapped it from a fire tower.
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We can see that there are two shines that appear.
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So whatever that is, it's probably not natural.
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I'd say this is man-made material.
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Of course, the p-51 was not camouflaged.
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It was all natural aluminum.
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No more pavement.
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It's gonna be a rough ride from here.
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♪
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oh, you weren't kidding.
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Hope you boys have a good chiropractor back at home.
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[ laughs ]
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after an hour of having our spines
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turned into a jenga set, we finally reach the trailhead.
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This is it. We're here.
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Okay. All right. We walk from here.
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Here we go.
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While david and I make the grueling 2 1/2-mile ascent
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to investigate the mysterious gleams,
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pat drives to the fire tower where the photo was taken.
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He'll be in radio contact in case we need help
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pinpointing the exact location of our target.
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Hike up. Hike down. Hike back up.
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The terrain grows increasingly rugged as we approach the peak.
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I mean, it is just hand-to-hand combat in here.
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♪
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oh, what a view.
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Unbelievable. So what do you think?
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Well, from what I can tell, the lookout tower
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is on the top of that knoll out there to the west,
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so it should be right down below us here, not too far.
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Let's go down. Go do it.
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See what's down here. Come on.
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♪
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the crazy thing is this wreck could be 15 feet from us.
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I don't think we'd see it.
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All these dead pine needles everywhere,
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I mean, it just acts like camouflage.
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It's a little slick here. Watch out.
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Real slippery, yeah.
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♪
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after an hour of endless switchbacks,
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we're nearing our target.
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Lane: Hey, I've got something right here.
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-You see something? -Right there. Right there.
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Right there. Look.
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-Ha. -Right by those rocks.
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That looks like metal.
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Oh, ow. All right. Thorns be damned.
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Dave, that is metal for sure.
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Yep, it is. Oh, wow.
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It's aluminum. This is fantastic.
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That's a wreck.
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Gates: I'm with aircraft wreck hunter david lane
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searching for missing world war ii wasp gertrude tompkins,
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who vanished while transporting a p-51 mustang 75 years ago.
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Dave, that is metal for sure.
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One of her possible flight paths would have taken her
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into this mountainous corridor near palm springs.
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We've followed the metallic gleam
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in a photo to aircraft wreckage.
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Lane: Oh, wow.
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Gates: I think that's a plane wreck.
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Oh, my word.
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Hey. Good job.
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Unbelievable. Yeah.
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I'm speechless.
267
00:12:19,130 --> 00:12:21,870
I cannot believe this is actually an aircraft.
268
00:12:21,870 --> 00:12:23,370
Something really intriguing about this,
269
00:12:23,370 --> 00:12:26,070
dave, that I don't see, is a lot of paint.
270
00:12:26,070 --> 00:12:27,940
Her plane was unpainted, right?
271
00:12:27,940 --> 00:12:29,540
Unpainted, yep.
272
00:12:29,540 --> 00:12:31,850
What do we need to say that this is gertrude's plane?
273
00:12:31,850 --> 00:12:33,750
Well, the best way to be identified would be
274
00:12:33,750 --> 00:12:36,750
to try to find the engine, which is a merlin v-12.
275
00:12:38,820 --> 00:12:42,060
The p-51 mustang was fast and powerful,
276
00:12:42,060 --> 00:12:45,330
with a top speed of 437 miles per hour.
277
00:12:45,330 --> 00:12:47,760
It could fly above 15,000 feet
278
00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,200
to take on german luftwaffe fighters.
279
00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,370
Its performance was due in part to its powerful engine.
280
00:12:53,370 --> 00:12:56,300
The 12-cylinder merlin, designed by rolls-royce
281
00:12:56,300 --> 00:12:58,340
and manufactured in the usa,
282
00:12:58,340 --> 00:13:02,340
could produce a staggering 1,600 horsepower.
283
00:13:02,340 --> 00:13:03,940
More wreckage.
284
00:13:03,950 --> 00:13:05,880
We continue combing the debris field,
285
00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:07,810
looking for a smoking gun.
286
00:13:07,820 --> 00:13:10,450
[ birds chirping ]
287
00:13:10,450 --> 00:13:13,250
up. We got more.
288
00:13:13,260 --> 00:13:15,660
That's the prop. That's the engine.
289
00:13:15,660 --> 00:13:22,800
♪
290
00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:24,530
look at that.
291
00:13:27,170 --> 00:13:29,940
Yeah, if we can count the number of cylinders
292
00:13:29,940 --> 00:13:31,000
that go around,
293
00:13:31,010 --> 00:13:35,310
that would help identify what type it is.
294
00:13:35,310 --> 00:13:36,410
We'll start here. Yes.
295
00:13:36,410 --> 00:13:40,010
So one, two, three, four.
296
00:13:40,020 --> 00:13:42,680
Four, five, six.
297
00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:45,190
-Six, seven. -Seven cylinders.
298
00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:52,490
The p-51 had a much larger 12-cylinder v-shaped engine.
299
00:13:52,490 --> 00:13:54,160
So we could say, to a surety,
300
00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:55,800
not gertrude's missing plane.
301
00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:56,800
Unfortunately not, due to the...
302
00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:58,000
We have the wrong engine type,
303
00:13:58,000 --> 00:13:59,770
and we got a two-bladed propeller here,
304
00:13:59,770 --> 00:14:01,370
and the mustang had four, right?
305
00:14:01,370 --> 00:14:02,570
Exactly.
306
00:14:02,570 --> 00:14:04,100
A downed aircraft, nonetheless,
307
00:14:04,110 --> 00:14:05,140
sitting out here in the wilderness.
308
00:14:05,140 --> 00:14:07,410
Yeah. It's a sobering thought.
309
00:14:07,410 --> 00:14:09,740
You know, you really need to pay respect
310
00:14:09,740 --> 00:14:10,980
to any site like this
311
00:14:10,980 --> 00:14:13,250
because it probably involved a fatality.
312
00:14:15,550 --> 00:14:18,080
I'm standing here thinking, you know,
313
00:14:18,090 --> 00:14:19,320
"are we the only two people in the world
314
00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:20,690
who know this thing is sitting here right now?"
315
00:14:20,690 --> 00:14:21,960
I mean, it's remarkable.
316
00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:23,420
This is one of those reminders, too,
317
00:14:23,430 --> 00:14:25,290
that gertrude's not alone, you know what I mean?
318
00:14:25,290 --> 00:14:28,390
There are aircraft like this all over the world
319
00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:29,500
and people that are missing
320
00:14:29,500 --> 00:14:30,800
and stories that haven't been fully told.
321
00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:33,670
Mm-hmm.
322
00:14:33,670 --> 00:14:35,840
And it's the mission of project remembrance
323
00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,510
to make sure these stories are never forgotten.
324
00:14:39,510 --> 00:14:41,170
Later, pat and david will determine
325
00:14:41,180 --> 00:14:43,210
that the 7-cylinder engine we found
326
00:14:43,210 --> 00:14:45,580
belonged to a cessna 195,
327
00:14:45,580 --> 00:14:50,520
a civilian aircraft produced between 1947 and 1954.
328
00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:53,590
Only about 1,000 of these planes were ever built.
329
00:14:55,790 --> 00:14:59,230
Pat and dave will make sure this crash site is fully documented
330
00:14:59,230 --> 00:15:01,030
and not abandoned.
331
00:15:05,700 --> 00:15:07,770
Meanwhile, I'm off to look for new leads
332
00:15:07,770 --> 00:15:09,640
in the case of tommy tompkins
333
00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:14,010
in the wide-open plains of sweetwater, texas.
334
00:15:14,010 --> 00:15:16,480
This place is known as avenger field.
335
00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:18,980
It's a name that sounds like it comes from a comic book,
336
00:15:18,980 --> 00:15:21,680
and this place's origin story reads like one
337
00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:23,650
because here, at the height of world war ii,
338
00:15:23,650 --> 00:15:25,390
a group of highly skilled women
339
00:15:25,390 --> 00:15:28,350
were trained to become real-world superheroes.
340
00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:30,920
Welcome to the home of the wasps.
341
00:15:30,930 --> 00:15:38,800
♪
342
00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:42,140
today, it's a museum dedicated to preserving the legacy
343
00:15:42,140 --> 00:15:45,040
of these groundbreaking air force pilots.
344
00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:50,480
25,000 women applied to the program,
345
00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:52,980
but only 1,074 completed
346
00:15:52,980 --> 00:15:55,620
the 6-month gauntlet of army training,
347
00:15:55,620 --> 00:15:58,580
thousands of hours of military drills and ground
348
00:15:58,590 --> 00:16:01,290
and flight training,
349
00:16:01,290 --> 00:16:03,660
to earn their wings,
350
00:16:03,660 --> 00:16:06,990
and I'm meeting one of these elite pilots in person --
351
00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,760
97-year-old wasp veteran nell stevenson bright.
352
00:16:10,770 --> 00:16:13,730
Nell is a bona fide american war hero.
353
00:16:16,100 --> 00:16:19,070
She was also tommy's classmate and might be able to offer
354
00:16:19,070 --> 00:16:22,040
critical insight into her disappearance.
355
00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:24,640
First of all, thanks for taking the time to talk with me.
356
00:16:24,650 --> 00:16:25,780
Well, it's a pleasure.
357
00:16:25,780 --> 00:16:27,350
It's an honor for me, really.
358
00:16:27,350 --> 00:16:29,750
I'm amazed by the story of the wasps.
359
00:16:29,750 --> 00:16:31,080
How would you describe the training?
360
00:16:31,090 --> 00:16:32,350
It was very difficult.
361
00:16:32,350 --> 00:16:34,220
We had the same training as the men.
362
00:16:34,220 --> 00:16:35,250
The full army experience?
363
00:16:35,260 --> 00:16:37,060
The full army experience.
364
00:16:37,060 --> 00:16:40,390
How many different types of planes did you fly?
365
00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:42,030
I believe it was 19.
366
00:16:42,030 --> 00:16:43,560
19 different aircraft?
367
00:16:43,570 --> 00:16:45,770
Most men were trained to fly on one plane.
368
00:16:45,770 --> 00:16:47,300
Right.
369
00:16:47,300 --> 00:16:48,630
You would fly the b-25,
370
00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:50,700
doing what's called towing targets.
371
00:16:50,710 --> 00:16:53,440
That means that you would tow something behind the plane,
372
00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:54,910
and people would shoot at it.
373
00:16:54,910 --> 00:16:57,110
That's right, real bullets.
374
00:16:57,110 --> 00:16:58,480
People that were learning how to shoot.
375
00:16:58,480 --> 00:16:59,580
That's right.
376
00:16:59,580 --> 00:17:01,310
You're either fearless or nuts.
377
00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:02,920
Now, which is it?
378
00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:04,480
That's your orders. That's what you do...
379
00:17:04,490 --> 00:17:05,750
Yeah. ...In the military.
380
00:17:05,750 --> 00:17:08,250
That's right.
381
00:17:08,260 --> 00:17:09,960
Gates: Yet, despite taking the same risks
382
00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:11,420
as their male counterparts,
383
00:17:11,430 --> 00:17:14,630
the wasps were considered civilians.
384
00:17:14,630 --> 00:17:17,160
They had to wear hand-me-down men's uniforms.
385
00:17:17,170 --> 00:17:20,770
Their pay was lower, and if a wasp died in service,
386
00:17:20,770 --> 00:17:25,070
the army didn't even cover their funeral expenses.
387
00:17:25,070 --> 00:17:27,110
It took a long time for the wasps
388
00:17:27,110 --> 00:17:30,010
to be recognized for their service.
389
00:17:30,010 --> 00:17:31,180
Yes, it did.
390
00:17:31,180 --> 00:17:35,080
We finally got our veteran status in 1977.
391
00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:37,420
In 2010, the wasps were also awarded
392
00:17:37,420 --> 00:17:39,950
one of the highest honors bestowed by the government,
393
00:17:39,950 --> 00:17:41,990
the congressional gold medal.
394
00:17:41,990 --> 00:17:45,560
And now nell is hoping for another overdue victory --
395
00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:48,160
solving the mystery of her missing sister-in-arms,
396
00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:50,860
gertrude "tommy" tompkins.
397
00:17:50,870 --> 00:17:54,730
This is her in this photo back here?
398
00:17:54,740 --> 00:17:56,600
Is that her, I think, back there?
399
00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:58,000
Yes, it is. That's her.
400
00:17:58,010 --> 00:17:59,670
She looks a bit shy in that photo.
401
00:17:59,670 --> 00:18:01,740
She was shy. Yeah.
402
00:18:01,740 --> 00:18:03,110
She was a very good pilot.
403
00:18:03,110 --> 00:18:05,680
She was. She was just all business.
404
00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:07,950
I can remember be scared to death
405
00:18:07,950 --> 00:18:10,620
we were gonna wash out and everything,
406
00:18:10,620 --> 00:18:13,420
and tommy was always very calm about it
407
00:18:13,420 --> 00:18:14,850
and would say,
408
00:18:14,860 --> 00:18:17,160
"don't worry, girls, you'll be just fine."
409
00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,760
she was always confident.
410
00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:20,790
Do you have a theory
411
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:22,160
as to what might've happened to her?
412
00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,400
Well, they would have to take a plane
413
00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,200
right off the assembly line
414
00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:29,870
before they took it to cross-country.
415
00:18:29,870 --> 00:18:32,110
Right, so this is a plane with no hours on it.
416
00:18:32,110 --> 00:18:33,410
That's right.
417
00:18:33,410 --> 00:18:36,910
I would say it was definitely the plane and not her.
418
00:18:36,910 --> 00:18:42,420
♪
419
00:18:42,420 --> 00:18:45,150
tompkins' p-51 was untested.
420
00:18:45,150 --> 00:18:48,290
To find out if the plane itself played a role in her crash,
421
00:18:48,290 --> 00:18:50,520
I head back to southern california...
422
00:18:52,990 --> 00:18:55,460
...To meet expert pilot chris liguori.
423
00:18:55,460 --> 00:18:57,160
Hey, josh. Welcome. Hey. How are you, man?
424
00:18:57,170 --> 00:18:58,360
Good.
425
00:18:58,370 --> 00:18:59,400
Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you as well.
426
00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:00,900
This is the p-51 mustang? This is it.
427
00:19:00,900 --> 00:19:03,340
This is the legendary p-51d mustang.
428
00:19:06,670 --> 00:19:08,270
What makes the mustang a challenge?
429
00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,340
It's got a laminar-flow wing, which was new to the day.
430
00:19:10,350 --> 00:19:11,410
Okay.
431
00:19:11,410 --> 00:19:12,780
It doesn't give you a lot of warning
432
00:19:12,780 --> 00:19:15,150
when it's done flying, when the wing is gonna stall.
433
00:19:15,150 --> 00:19:16,480
Okay.
434
00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:18,950
The first-of-its-kind wing reduced drag
435
00:19:18,950 --> 00:19:22,390
and made the p-51 faster and more fuel efficient,
436
00:19:22,390 --> 00:19:24,290
but like its wild-horse namesake,
437
00:19:24,290 --> 00:19:26,790
the mustang was also unpredictable.
438
00:19:26,790 --> 00:19:28,930
They would have had an 85-gallon fuel tank
439
00:19:28,930 --> 00:19:31,060
behind the pilot's seat, and the problem there is
440
00:19:31,070 --> 00:19:34,030
that it shifts the center of gravity aft on the airplane.
441
00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:36,340
That, and combined with this laminar-flow wing,
442
00:19:36,340 --> 00:19:37,800
if you lose control of the airplane,
443
00:19:37,810 --> 00:19:40,070
it's really hard to recover.
444
00:19:40,070 --> 00:19:42,840
And the fact that tompkins' canopy wasn't closing properly
445
00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:44,540
and had to be fixed on the fly
446
00:19:44,550 --> 00:19:46,950
added to the hazard she faced that day.
447
00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:52,320
I think the important thing in trying to figure out
448
00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,120
what happened to tompkins is understanding her movements
449
00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:56,720
right after she took off.
450
00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:57,960
Really, the only way to experience it
451
00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,030
is to go out and do it, so what do you say?
452
00:20:01,030 --> 00:20:03,300
She flies? Hell yeah, she flies.
453
00:20:06,700 --> 00:20:08,170
Wow. It's cozy.
454
00:20:08,170 --> 00:20:09,570
This is cool.
455
00:20:13,140 --> 00:20:15,370
All right. Here we go.
456
00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:18,610
[ engine pops ]
457
00:20:18,610 --> 00:20:25,250
♪
458
00:20:25,250 --> 00:20:26,950
she's alive.
459
00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:28,190
Here we go, man.
460
00:20:28,190 --> 00:20:31,220
Woman: Mustang 44727, camarillo bound,
461
00:20:31,230 --> 00:20:34,430
foxtrot runway 26 10c via foxtrot alpha.
462
00:20:34,430 --> 00:20:36,730
Chris, is this a parachute behind your seat?
463
00:20:36,730 --> 00:20:37,930
I can't help but notice
464
00:20:37,930 --> 00:20:39,830
that I'm not sitting on a parachute.
465
00:20:39,830 --> 00:20:41,970
Very good observation there, josh.
466
00:20:41,970 --> 00:20:52,680
♪
467
00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:54,650
aye-aye-aye. Whoo!
468
00:21:06,430 --> 00:21:08,460
Gates: I'm on the hunt for missing world war ii
469
00:21:08,460 --> 00:21:11,160
wasp pilot gertrude "tommy" tompkins,
470
00:21:11,170 --> 00:21:14,500
who vanished in 1944 after taking off from l.A.
471
00:21:14,500 --> 00:21:16,570
In a p-51 mustang.
472
00:21:16,570 --> 00:21:22,240
♪
473
00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:24,780
now I'm flying in an identical aircraft
474
00:21:24,780 --> 00:21:27,710
to try to understand what went wrong.
475
00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:29,380
Wow. She got some power.
476
00:21:29,380 --> 00:21:31,480
Yeah. She'll get up and go, that's for sure.
477
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:35,760
Whoo, feel those g's when it turns.
478
00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:38,890
Awesome.
479
00:21:38,890 --> 00:21:42,900
Chris banks and dives, putting the p-51 through her paces,
480
00:21:42,900 --> 00:21:45,730
but turning on a dime at 300-plus miles an hour
481
00:21:45,730 --> 00:21:49,570
means that the smallest mistake can lead to deadly consequences.
482
00:21:49,570 --> 00:21:51,670
Ligouri: So this is gonna be a left break.
483
00:21:51,670 --> 00:21:52,840
Okay.
484
00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:55,540
Whoo!
485
00:21:55,540 --> 00:21:58,210
Aye-aye-aye. [ laughing ]
486
00:22:03,220 --> 00:22:04,450
holy [bleep]
487
00:22:04,450 --> 00:22:05,850
you liked that one, huh? Yeah.
488
00:22:05,850 --> 00:22:08,290
That got a little tunnel-y there for a second for me.
489
00:22:10,990 --> 00:22:13,390
Even seasoned pilots struggle to remain conscious
490
00:22:13,390 --> 00:22:15,700
when pulling high-g-force maneuvers.
491
00:22:15,700 --> 00:22:18,260
If tompkins' hastily repaired canopy flew open
492
00:22:18,270 --> 00:22:19,770
just after takeoff,
493
00:22:19,770 --> 00:22:23,070
she may not have had time to recover.
494
00:22:23,070 --> 00:22:26,370
With that canopy problem, she could've got disoriented,
495
00:22:26,370 --> 00:22:27,810
maybe lost control of the airplane,
496
00:22:27,810 --> 00:22:29,140
but that's a theory.
497
00:22:29,140 --> 00:22:31,140
Or it could have been this issue with the mustang itself,
498
00:22:31,150 --> 00:22:33,580
the way the fuel tank and the center of gravity is.
499
00:22:33,580 --> 00:22:37,250
What's clear though is that it's absolutely reasonable
500
00:22:37,250 --> 00:22:39,150
that there could have been a problem
501
00:22:39,150 --> 00:22:40,290
right out of the gate.
502
00:22:40,290 --> 00:22:41,650
Yeah, statistically speaking,
503
00:22:41,660 --> 00:22:44,060
the first power reduction after takeoff
504
00:22:44,060 --> 00:22:45,960
is when you're gonna encounter the most trouble.
505
00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:47,960
And much like lax is situated today,
506
00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:50,230
you come off this runway, you're basically
507
00:22:50,230 --> 00:22:52,570
right out over the water almost immediately.
508
00:22:52,570 --> 00:22:53,770
That's correct.
509
00:22:53,770 --> 00:22:55,170
We've investigated the theory
510
00:22:55,170 --> 00:22:58,200
that tompkins may have crashed en route to palm springs,
511
00:22:58,210 --> 00:23:00,610
but I'm now understanding that it's entirely possible
512
00:23:00,610 --> 00:23:05,010
she wrecked in the water immediately after takeoff.
513
00:23:05,010 --> 00:23:07,180
I'll tell you what, chris. Sitting in this plane right now,
514
00:23:07,180 --> 00:23:09,820
I feel a whole new connection to this story.
515
00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:13,090
Yowzers.
516
00:23:13,090 --> 00:23:14,820
Oh, you feel the g's.
517
00:23:19,460 --> 00:23:22,830
As we soar over the seemingly endless california coastline,
518
00:23:22,830 --> 00:23:24,160
it's a sobering thought to know
519
00:23:24,170 --> 00:23:26,630
that tommy could be right beneath us.
520
00:23:28,340 --> 00:23:31,240
All right, josh. We are done here, my friend.
521
00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:36,340
♪
522
00:23:36,340 --> 00:23:38,510
chris isn't the only one who believes that tompkins
523
00:23:38,510 --> 00:23:43,250
crashed into the ocean immediately after takeoff.
524
00:23:43,250 --> 00:23:45,680
At the nearby los angeles flight path museum,
525
00:23:45,690 --> 00:23:49,260
I'm meeting with investigators pete kelsey and scott pawlowski,
526
00:23:49,260 --> 00:23:52,560
who believe they've uncovered evidence that proves it.
527
00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:53,890
Pleasure to meet you. Okay.
528
00:23:53,900 --> 00:23:55,960
So I've just taken a flight in the p-51 mustang,
529
00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:58,660
and, really, being up there made me realize
530
00:23:58,670 --> 00:24:01,870
just how many potential contributing factors
531
00:24:01,870 --> 00:24:03,740
there were right at the beginning
532
00:24:03,740 --> 00:24:04,900
of gertrude's flight.
533
00:24:04,910 --> 00:24:06,140
Yes.
534
00:24:06,140 --> 00:24:09,210
So any number of things combined could wind up
535
00:24:09,210 --> 00:24:13,550
with tommy tompkins in the water.
536
00:24:13,550 --> 00:24:15,950
Gates: Scott and pete have unearthed a treasure trove
537
00:24:15,950 --> 00:24:18,480
of formerly classified military documents,
538
00:24:18,490 --> 00:24:20,420
including the statement of another pilot
539
00:24:20,420 --> 00:24:22,990
in her squadron that day.
540
00:24:22,990 --> 00:24:25,490
She says, "after leaving at the end of the runway,
541
00:24:25,490 --> 00:24:28,930
I was in the haze."
542
00:24:28,930 --> 00:24:31,160
she says that, "between 2,500 to 3,000 feet,
543
00:24:31,170 --> 00:24:34,730
it was impossible to see the ground or water."
544
00:24:34,740 --> 00:24:36,640
literally, you're taking off into the fog here.
545
00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:37,800
Right.
546
00:24:37,810 --> 00:24:40,670
Got a copy here of an internal communique
547
00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:42,310
from the military folks.
548
00:24:42,310 --> 00:24:45,680
It says, "subject aircraft took off together
549
00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:47,980
on runway 25,
550
00:24:47,980 --> 00:24:51,620
but only two seen to circle back across field
551
00:24:51,620 --> 00:24:53,890
on course to palm springs."
552
00:24:53,890 --> 00:24:57,220
so there was no visual sighting of her plane
553
00:24:57,230 --> 00:24:59,360
coming back across land.
554
00:24:59,360 --> 00:25:00,990
That's almost a smoking gun.
555
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,330
Exactly. We certainly agree,
556
00:25:03,330 --> 00:25:06,100
and that's why she has to be in the water.
557
00:25:08,100 --> 00:25:09,540
Why hasn't anybody found her?
558
00:25:09,540 --> 00:25:11,000
It's a big ocean out there.
559
00:25:11,010 --> 00:25:14,770
Classic needle in a haystack problem.
560
00:25:14,780 --> 00:25:17,780
So how do you find the needle?
561
00:25:17,780 --> 00:25:21,380
Technology.
562
00:25:21,380 --> 00:25:23,320
Gates: To see that technology firsthand,
563
00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:25,550
we rendezvous early the next morning with scott
564
00:25:25,550 --> 00:25:29,120
and pete's investigation team in marina del rey.
565
00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:30,790
We board a large survey vessel
566
00:25:30,790 --> 00:25:32,860
accompanied by a dive support boat
567
00:25:32,860 --> 00:25:35,330
with two mixed-gas deep divers.
568
00:25:38,270 --> 00:25:42,270
And we set a course for the waters just offshore from lax.
569
00:25:45,470 --> 00:25:46,870
We reach the search zone,
570
00:25:46,870 --> 00:25:49,170
and underwater survey expert chad nelson
571
00:25:49,180 --> 00:25:52,650
introduces me to his high-tech toys.
572
00:25:52,650 --> 00:25:54,250
Okay. Look at this.
573
00:25:54,250 --> 00:25:55,610
They look dangerous, first of all.
574
00:25:55,620 --> 00:25:56,750
Let me start by saying that.
575
00:25:56,750 --> 00:25:58,020
These are sonar units, right?
576
00:25:58,020 --> 00:26:01,650
Yep. This is a auv, autonomous underwater vehicle.
577
00:26:01,660 --> 00:26:04,160
So, in layman's terms, this thing drives itself?
578
00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:05,460
Drives itself.
579
00:26:05,460 --> 00:26:07,330
We program it on the surface, put it in the water.
580
00:26:07,330 --> 00:26:10,460
It does its thing, and then we pick it up when it's finished.
581
00:26:10,460 --> 00:26:12,800
And if I wanted to pick up one of these bad boys for myself,
582
00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:14,630
what's that gonna set me back, chad?
583
00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,800
These two here will cost you about $500,000 or $600,000,
584
00:26:17,810 --> 00:26:19,640
depending on the configuration. Sure.
585
00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:23,380
And this one over here is running roughly about a million.
586
00:26:23,380 --> 00:26:26,810
A million dollars, sure, that seems reasonable.
587
00:26:26,810 --> 00:26:29,250
Gates: I hold my breath and hope chad has got insurance
588
00:26:29,250 --> 00:26:31,950
as we drop the top-dollar tech into the drink...
589
00:26:31,950 --> 00:26:33,620
All right, chad. It's away.
590
00:26:33,620 --> 00:26:35,620
...And watch it disappear.
591
00:26:35,620 --> 00:26:37,320
All right. Starting mission.
592
00:26:37,330 --> 00:26:42,800
♪
593
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:44,500
gates: Equipped with side-scan sonar,
594
00:26:44,500 --> 00:26:47,570
the device records a detailed map of the ocean floor,
595
00:26:47,570 --> 00:26:51,570
revealing whatever is hiding in the depths.
596
00:26:51,570 --> 00:26:52,970
While we kill time on deck
597
00:26:52,970 --> 00:26:56,610
watching the endless line of planes taking off from lax,
598
00:26:56,610 --> 00:27:00,050
the auv runs its preprogrammed search grid.
599
00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:06,020
Two hours later, it returns home.
600
00:27:06,020 --> 00:27:08,220
Gates: Okay. So we've got our auv back.
601
00:27:08,220 --> 00:27:11,120
Yep. We have some really good targets to look at.
602
00:27:11,130 --> 00:27:14,460
The most promising one is this here.
603
00:27:14,460 --> 00:27:17,630
So you can see that we have some large pieces of debris.
604
00:27:17,630 --> 00:27:19,530
Oh, yeah.
605
00:27:19,530 --> 00:27:22,840
Doesn't look like a plane, but then again,
606
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:24,100
maybe looking for pieces, right?
607
00:27:24,110 --> 00:27:25,440
Right.
608
00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:27,340
One of the heavy items that would be really resistant
609
00:27:27,340 --> 00:27:29,140
to corrosion over all these decades,
610
00:27:29,140 --> 00:27:33,110
so engine block, landing gear, the prop...
611
00:27:33,110 --> 00:27:36,120
Machine guns. ...Machine guns, the canopy,
612
00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:37,820
which was unique to this model of the...
613
00:27:37,820 --> 00:27:39,550
Right, that plexiglass would still be down there.
614
00:27:39,550 --> 00:27:40,620
Right. Okay.
615
00:27:40,620 --> 00:27:42,420
So we're looking for parts, really.
616
00:27:42,420 --> 00:27:43,660
Yeah. Okay. What else we got?
617
00:27:43,660 --> 00:27:45,190
All right. So we have this target here.
618
00:27:45,190 --> 00:27:46,530
That's a large object.
619
00:27:46,530 --> 00:27:49,330
You've got a length of about 9 meters.
620
00:27:49,330 --> 00:27:51,060
What's the wingspan on that mustang?
621
00:27:51,070 --> 00:27:52,560
We're in the neighborhood.
622
00:27:52,570 --> 00:27:54,800
We are. How much water is that in?
623
00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:58,770
Oh, this is in about, I'd say 80 feet.
624
00:27:58,770 --> 00:27:59,910
Now, that, I can get down to,
625
00:27:59,910 --> 00:28:01,370
so might be able to scuba-dive down to that.
626
00:28:01,380 --> 00:28:02,470
That's really cool.
627
00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:03,580
Okay. What else we got?
628
00:28:03,580 --> 00:28:04,880
All right. So we have this target here,
629
00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:08,350
which is just on the deeper end of our survey.
630
00:28:08,350 --> 00:28:10,520
We've got a large piece of debris,
631
00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:12,320
lot of scouring around the debris field,
632
00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:13,650
which means that it's probably been sitting
633
00:28:13,650 --> 00:28:15,420
on the ocean bottom for a little while.
634
00:28:15,420 --> 00:28:16,590
And this depression here,
635
00:28:16,590 --> 00:28:17,820
is that because something heavy is there?
636
00:28:17,830 --> 00:28:19,490
Yep.
637
00:28:19,490 --> 00:28:20,490
Like an engine block?
638
00:28:20,490 --> 00:28:22,390
Like merlin engine block
639
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:24,660
and maybe three machine guns off to the right?
640
00:28:24,670 --> 00:28:26,130
Yeah, that would be nice, wouldn't it?
641
00:28:26,130 --> 00:28:28,500
Is it me, or does everything look like a p-51?
642
00:28:28,500 --> 00:28:30,340
Exactly. Exactly.
643
00:28:30,340 --> 00:28:31,540
But definitely something down there,
644
00:28:31,540 --> 00:28:32,910
something fairly large. Yes.
645
00:28:32,910 --> 00:28:34,640
Why don't we check out the shallower targets first?
646
00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:36,340
I'll go over to the dive boat,
647
00:28:36,340 --> 00:28:38,010
and we can go down from over there,
648
00:28:38,010 --> 00:28:39,310
and then we can chat while I'm down there.
649
00:28:39,310 --> 00:28:40,580
-Yeah, sounds good. -Yeah?
650
00:28:40,580 --> 00:28:42,110
After that, we'll attack those deeper targets,
651
00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:44,620
and that's gonna have to be with the mixed-gas divers.
652
00:28:44,620 --> 00:28:46,350
You're the man, chad. Yeah.
653
00:28:46,350 --> 00:28:48,090
Okay. All right. Let's do it.
654
00:28:48,090 --> 00:28:49,420
-Excellent. -Let's do it.
655
00:28:49,420 --> 00:28:51,060
Let's see what's down there.
656
00:28:51,060 --> 00:28:53,660
Come on.
657
00:28:53,660 --> 00:28:55,790
Gates: We motor out to our first site.
658
00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:57,130
While I prepare to dive,
659
00:28:57,130 --> 00:28:59,870
chad's team deploys a remote-operated vehicle,
660
00:28:59,870 --> 00:29:03,140
or rov, equipped with a camera and sonar
661
00:29:03,140 --> 00:29:05,270
to help guide us to the debris field.
662
00:29:05,270 --> 00:29:15,280
♪
663
00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:18,420
I see josh. Hey, josh.
664
00:29:18,420 --> 00:29:20,390
We got eyes on you up here.
665
00:29:25,660 --> 00:29:27,960
That's it, josh, if you just head
666
00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:29,700
right on the bearing you're on.
667
00:29:32,370 --> 00:29:34,670
I make my way down to the ocean floor
668
00:29:34,670 --> 00:29:36,200
and begin searching for anything
669
00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:39,140
that could be a piece of tompkins' p-51.
670
00:29:57,890 --> 00:30:02,530
♪
671
00:30:02,530 --> 00:30:04,800
gates: I'm searching for the wreck
672
00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:07,100
of gertrude tompkins' p-51 mustang.
673
00:30:07,100 --> 00:30:08,930
Missing for 75 years,
674
00:30:08,940 --> 00:30:11,170
tompkins was part of an elite group of female
675
00:30:11,170 --> 00:30:14,940
world war ii pilots known as wasps.
676
00:30:14,940 --> 00:30:17,110
Now I'm diving in santa monica bay
677
00:30:17,110 --> 00:30:19,380
near where she took off to investigate
678
00:30:19,380 --> 00:30:21,610
the possible crash site of her plane,
679
00:30:21,620 --> 00:30:23,480
and there's something down here.
680
00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:31,720
I swim closer and pull up a piece of debris
681
00:30:31,730 --> 00:30:34,030
to try to identify the wreckage.
682
00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:44,140
Josh, what do you see?
683
00:30:46,270 --> 00:30:50,310
This could be the smoking gun we need to I.D. Tompkins' plane.
684
00:30:50,310 --> 00:30:53,080
Half-buried, it looks like a landing gear.
685
00:30:58,550 --> 00:31:01,190
I finally break the object free from the sand
686
00:31:01,190 --> 00:31:03,620
and recognize it immediately.
687
00:31:03,620 --> 00:31:07,490
This can only be one thing...
688
00:31:07,490 --> 00:31:08,660
A toilet.
689
00:31:21,710 --> 00:31:23,110
But wow.
690
00:31:23,110 --> 00:31:25,310
That is -- that is really something.
691
00:31:26,780 --> 00:31:29,550
It's a large vessel, and the fixture suggests
692
00:31:29,550 --> 00:31:32,580
that it's been down here a while,
693
00:31:32,590 --> 00:31:36,260
an incredible find lost to the depths for decades.
694
00:31:36,260 --> 00:31:39,420
We carefully document the mystery wreck and its location
695
00:31:39,430 --> 00:31:41,030
so we can pass along the discovery
696
00:31:41,030 --> 00:31:43,400
to maritime historians.
697
00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:47,630
For now, the ship is too decayed to tell exactly what it was,
698
00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:49,740
but I did find the poop deck.
699
00:31:53,540 --> 00:31:55,070
More targets to search for.
700
00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:56,810
Come on up.
701
00:31:58,850 --> 00:32:00,410
I make my way to the surface
702
00:32:00,410 --> 00:32:03,080
and rendezvous with the team topside.
703
00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:06,080
Oh, for a split second,
704
00:32:06,090 --> 00:32:07,720
I thought that was an airplane wing.
705
00:32:07,720 --> 00:32:08,920
I know. I know.
706
00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:10,020
I mean, it looked just like it, didn't it?
707
00:32:10,020 --> 00:32:11,720
We weren't breathing up here, man.
708
00:32:11,730 --> 00:32:14,190
I know. But, hey, another target down.
709
00:32:14,190 --> 00:32:15,260
Another target down.
710
00:32:15,260 --> 00:32:16,930
Okay. Let me get back on board.
711
00:32:16,930 --> 00:32:18,300
We'll look at some of those deeper targets, yeah?
712
00:32:18,300 --> 00:32:19,770
Yeah.
713
00:32:19,770 --> 00:32:22,600
Once I wash my hands,
714
00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:26,710
we move on to our deep-water readings.
715
00:32:26,710 --> 00:32:29,040
At 140 feet, our next target area
716
00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:30,910
is almost beyond scuba depth,
717
00:32:30,910 --> 00:32:33,910
but it's not out of reach for our technical diving team.
718
00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:41,120
They work with a special nitrogen gas mixture
719
00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:44,960
that allows them to stay deeper longer.
720
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:48,290
While the divers gear up, we deploy the rov.
721
00:32:52,330 --> 00:32:54,630
Okay. Rov is in.
722
00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:56,600
Man: 90 feet.
723
00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:58,900
It rapidly descends toward our target.
724
00:32:58,910 --> 00:33:02,540
Okay. -Okay.
725
00:33:02,540 --> 00:33:04,280
Man: On the bottom.
726
00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:10,420
Okay. We're on the bottom.
727
00:33:15,620 --> 00:33:18,920
Gates: The divers descend into the murky depths,
728
00:33:18,930 --> 00:33:21,890
slowly working their way down the ship's anchor line.
729
00:33:28,370 --> 00:33:30,340
Divers, we have eyes on you from the surface.
730
00:33:30,340 --> 00:33:31,600
We see you with the rov.
731
00:33:35,580 --> 00:33:38,040
Okay. Let's see if we can find that target.
732
00:33:40,850 --> 00:33:44,050
The divers and rov split up to search for the debris field
733
00:33:44,050 --> 00:33:46,620
we saw in the scans,
734
00:33:46,620 --> 00:33:49,250
and the rov is swarmed by a school of fish.
735
00:33:49,260 --> 00:33:51,220
You don't have a speargun on this rov, do you?
736
00:33:51,230 --> 00:33:53,660
No. We keep asking for them to make the attachment.
737
00:33:53,660 --> 00:33:56,630
I mean, we could have dinner in the bag right now.
738
00:33:56,630 --> 00:33:59,630
Right?
739
00:33:59,630 --> 00:34:02,000
Gates: But our seafood buffet will have to wait.
740
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:04,400
The divers spot the first signs of the anomaly
741
00:34:04,410 --> 00:34:06,070
we picked up on the sonar.
742
00:34:17,950 --> 00:34:19,250
Yeah. We're seeing it, too.
743
00:34:19,250 --> 00:34:20,990
That's wreckage for sure.
744
00:34:24,460 --> 00:34:27,030
So a piece of metal.
745
00:34:27,030 --> 00:34:28,760
That looks like it might be cable.
746
00:34:35,740 --> 00:34:37,470
We're looking for serial numbers,
747
00:34:37,470 --> 00:34:40,410
aluminum, aviation parts.
748
00:34:46,150 --> 00:34:48,450
Chad brings the rov in close,
749
00:34:48,450 --> 00:34:53,290
carefully inspecting every piece of flotsam and jetsam.
750
00:34:53,290 --> 00:34:55,790
Another piece of metal.
751
00:34:55,790 --> 00:34:58,720
Boy, I was hoping that was landing gear, but it's not.
752
00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:02,660
Let's look around the inside of this piece of metal.
753
00:35:02,660 --> 00:35:04,430
Is that riveted?
754
00:35:04,430 --> 00:35:06,160
Yep.
755
00:35:09,170 --> 00:35:11,640
Gates: These may be metal fragments from a plane wreck,
756
00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:14,010
but we still need definitive proof,
757
00:35:14,010 --> 00:35:17,580
a serial number or a part specific to the p-51
758
00:35:17,580 --> 00:35:20,510
to positively I.D. This as tompkins' aircraft.
759
00:35:20,510 --> 00:35:22,880
What the hell is that?
760
00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:24,180
A steering column or something...
761
00:35:24,180 --> 00:35:25,250
-Right. -...But it's not.
762
00:35:25,250 --> 00:35:26,320
I mean, I don't know what that is.
763
00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:29,620
But more of that aluminum-looking stuff.
764
00:35:29,620 --> 00:35:30,760
-Yeah. -Yeah.
765
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:32,760
That is tantalizing.
766
00:35:36,300 --> 00:35:39,630
I need an m2 .50 caliber machine gun.
767
00:35:39,630 --> 00:35:40,830
-Don't we all? -Yeah.
768
00:35:40,830 --> 00:35:43,670
[ laughter ]
769
00:35:43,670 --> 00:35:45,200
gates: We continue to survey the site,
770
00:35:45,210 --> 00:35:48,270
uncovering more scattered bits of debris,
771
00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:50,710
all enticing, but inconclusive
772
00:35:50,710 --> 00:35:54,080
until we stumble on something jaw-dropping.
773
00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:56,180
And whoa, whoa, whoa. What is that?
774
00:35:56,180 --> 00:35:58,150
Heyo. Ho, ho, ho, what is that?
775
00:35:58,150 --> 00:36:00,220
What the hell is that?
776
00:36:00,220 --> 00:36:01,520
Oh, my god.
777
00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:05,220
That is an oxygen cylinder, world war ii era.
778
00:36:05,230 --> 00:36:06,590
That's world war ii.
779
00:36:06,590 --> 00:36:08,930
Absolutely. Ha.
780
00:36:08,930 --> 00:36:11,060
They would definitely have had oxygen tanks
781
00:36:11,060 --> 00:36:11,930
on that mustang.
782
00:36:11,930 --> 00:36:13,670
Absolutely.
783
00:36:27,750 --> 00:36:31,520
Gates: Exploration is always a complicated logistics puzzle.
784
00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:33,820
I like to think that my team is the best in the business,
785
00:36:33,820 --> 00:36:36,790
but sometimes the little things get overlooked.
786
00:36:36,790 --> 00:36:38,920
I swam from that boat to this boat after my dive,
787
00:36:38,930 --> 00:36:41,630
but they forgot to send over my underwear.
788
00:36:41,630 --> 00:36:42,830
Okay. Don't mess this up.
789
00:36:42,830 --> 00:36:45,230
We got you covered, josh.
790
00:36:45,230 --> 00:36:47,300
I guess this is why mom always told me
791
00:36:47,300 --> 00:36:50,470
to wear clean underwear.
792
00:36:50,470 --> 00:36:52,240
I got them. We're good.
793
00:36:52,240 --> 00:36:53,510
We're good. I have underwear.
794
00:36:53,510 --> 00:36:55,910
I have underwear.
795
00:36:55,910 --> 00:36:56,940
Thanks, mom.
796
00:37:03,620 --> 00:37:08,590
♪
797
00:37:08,590 --> 00:37:11,790
gates: I'm on a search mission in santa monica bay.
798
00:37:11,790 --> 00:37:13,020
75 years ago,
799
00:37:13,030 --> 00:37:15,190
world war ii pilot gertrude tompkins
800
00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:20,230
took off from lax in a p-51 mustang and disappeared,
801
00:37:20,230 --> 00:37:22,870
and now we may have just discovered the wreckage.
802
00:37:22,870 --> 00:37:23,970
What is that?
803
00:37:23,970 --> 00:37:25,670
Heyo. Ho, ho, ho, what is that?
804
00:37:25,670 --> 00:37:26,940
What the hell is that?
805
00:37:26,940 --> 00:37:28,170
Oh, my god.
806
00:37:28,180 --> 00:37:31,880
That is an oxygen cylinder, world war ii era.
807
00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:33,210
That's world war ii.
808
00:37:33,210 --> 00:37:35,650
Absolutely. Ha.
809
00:37:35,650 --> 00:37:37,850
They would definitely have had oxygen tanks
810
00:37:37,850 --> 00:37:38,680
on that mustang.
811
00:37:38,690 --> 00:37:40,390
Absolutely.
812
00:37:40,390 --> 00:37:45,960
♪
813
00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:48,630
gates: This is a major historic find.
814
00:37:48,630 --> 00:37:51,600
Oxygen canisters just like this were used during the war
815
00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:54,870
by pilots flying in unpressurized cabins.
816
00:37:58,070 --> 00:38:00,140
We're hanging out over here next to this cylinder.
817
00:38:00,140 --> 00:38:01,370
It's an o2 bottle.
818
00:38:01,380 --> 00:38:03,640
We want to try to get it to the surface.
819
00:38:09,550 --> 00:38:12,480
Copy that. Sounds like a plan.
820
00:38:14,550 --> 00:38:16,590
The divers secure an inflatable bladder
821
00:38:16,590 --> 00:38:19,890
to the canister that they can fill with air from their tanks
822
00:38:19,890 --> 00:38:23,630
to lift our discovery to the surface.
823
00:38:23,630 --> 00:38:25,700
Okay. There's the float bag, and the air is going in.
824
00:38:25,700 --> 00:38:27,500
This is gonna happen fast. Are we ready, everybody?
825
00:38:31,870 --> 00:38:33,170
Copy that. We'll be waiting for it up here.
826
00:38:33,170 --> 00:38:34,340
Yeah. They're gonna fill it up.
827
00:38:34,340 --> 00:38:36,540
-Coming up. -Okay. Here we go.
828
00:38:39,310 --> 00:38:41,810
Nelson: The balloon is filling.
829
00:38:41,820 --> 00:38:43,880
On its way. It's coming up.
830
00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:45,750
Gates: Okay. It's coming up.
831
00:38:47,950 --> 00:38:49,650
Anybody see it?
832
00:38:49,660 --> 00:38:53,020
No, it should be in here somewhere.
833
00:38:53,030 --> 00:38:54,130
-There. -There we go.
834
00:38:54,130 --> 00:38:56,360
Okay. Float bag is up.
835
00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:57,860
Here we go.
836
00:38:57,860 --> 00:39:00,970
Okay. We got it hooked.
837
00:39:00,970 --> 00:39:03,170
We scramble to reach the canister.
838
00:39:03,170 --> 00:39:06,070
One false move, and this piece of world war ii history
839
00:39:06,070 --> 00:39:09,370
could sink back down into the sand and be lost forever.
840
00:39:09,380 --> 00:39:10,810
Okay. We ready?
841
00:39:10,810 --> 00:39:11,810
Here we go. One...
842
00:39:11,810 --> 00:39:15,410
-Yep. -...Two, three.
843
00:39:15,420 --> 00:39:17,120
Okay. It's on the deck.
844
00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:18,680
Okay. Woo-hoo-hoo.
845
00:39:18,690 --> 00:39:21,250
Oh, look at that.
846
00:39:21,250 --> 00:39:24,490
Hadn't seen the daylight in 70-odd years.
847
00:39:27,860 --> 00:39:30,600
We secure the oxygen canister aboard the boat,
848
00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:35,270
but the question remains, can we trace it to tompkins' p-51?
849
00:39:35,270 --> 00:39:38,000
Unbelievable. It is an o2 cylinder.
850
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,140
You can see the threading here where the gauge goes on.
851
00:39:40,140 --> 00:39:42,610
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. -See if we can turn it.
852
00:39:46,410 --> 00:39:48,150
I don't see any serial numbers. Do you?
853
00:39:48,150 --> 00:39:49,450
-No. -All right.
854
00:39:49,450 --> 00:39:51,950
No serial numbers, but, visually, unmistakable.
855
00:39:51,950 --> 00:39:53,420
Unmistakable.
856
00:39:53,420 --> 00:39:56,090
Gertrude certainly would have had o2 cylinders in the p-51.
857
00:39:56,090 --> 00:39:57,390
That's right. I agree.
858
00:39:57,390 --> 00:39:59,420
So now we got to go back, look at the diagrams,
859
00:39:59,430 --> 00:40:03,400
look at the plans, see if this came from a p-51.
860
00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:04,630
Whether it does or it doesn't,
861
00:40:04,630 --> 00:40:06,830
what an amazing piece of history we have here.
862
00:40:06,830 --> 00:40:07,930
Absolutely.
863
00:40:07,930 --> 00:40:09,730
That is a piece of history right there.
864
00:40:09,740 --> 00:40:10,870
Sure is.
865
00:40:10,870 --> 00:40:13,740
Waiting 70-odd years for us to come find it.
866
00:40:13,740 --> 00:40:15,440
That is awesome.
867
00:40:15,440 --> 00:40:20,780
♪
868
00:40:20,780 --> 00:40:23,420
gates: After studying world war ii aircraft schematics,
869
00:40:23,420 --> 00:40:25,320
pete and scott determined that the canister
870
00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:29,150
is not the model that was used in tompkins' p-51 mustang.
871
00:40:29,160 --> 00:40:33,460
However, it is the style found in b-25 bombers.
872
00:40:35,500 --> 00:40:36,900
And that's not all.
873
00:40:36,900 --> 00:40:40,570
It turns out a b-25 crashed in the area during a test flight
874
00:40:40,570 --> 00:40:46,300
on February 27, 1946, and was never fully recovered.
875
00:40:46,310 --> 00:40:48,010
The three men on board perished,
876
00:40:48,010 --> 00:40:51,610
and it seems we just unearthed a piece of their wreckage.
877
00:40:54,380 --> 00:40:57,580
Gertrude "tommy" tompkins is still missing,
878
00:40:57,580 --> 00:40:59,150
but we were able to bring closure
879
00:40:59,150 --> 00:41:02,420
to two cold-case aircraft wrecks,
880
00:41:02,420 --> 00:41:07,890
the san jacinto cessna and the b-25 in santa monica bay.
881
00:41:11,700 --> 00:41:13,970
The wasps proudly flew under the motto,
882
00:41:13,970 --> 00:41:16,300
"we live in the wind and the sand,
883
00:41:16,300 --> 00:41:18,740
and our eyes are on the stars."
884
00:41:20,770 --> 00:41:24,040
they believed in the ideals of hard work and dedication
885
00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:25,740
to a greater cause.
886
00:41:25,750 --> 00:41:27,910
These pioneering pilots who trained for
887
00:41:27,910 --> 00:41:29,910
and performed military jobs
888
00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:33,620
were classified as civilians and overlooked by history
889
00:41:33,620 --> 00:41:36,960
simply because they were women,
890
00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:41,130
but, nevertheless, they persisted,
891
00:41:41,130 --> 00:41:45,930
paving the runway for future generations of female pilots.
892
00:41:45,930 --> 00:41:49,630
Now it's up to all of us to make sure that tompkins' story
893
00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:52,200
and the history of these fearless fliers
894
00:41:52,210 --> 00:41:54,370
will never be lost.
66272
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