Information passed down through our friend Amber’s family was that Walter A. Hood was a merchant sailor who died after his ship was torpedoed in WWII. In fact, it was his son (and Amber’s great grandfather) Augustus William Hood—who went by William Augustus Hood or W.A. Hood— born 19 November 1900 in Belize, who […]
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The story of the aircraft lost in The Bahamas – Moore’s Island, Abaco: FM-2 Wildcat Fighter
Nylon stockings, parachutes and wreckage found on Acklins of a B-26 Bomber
Women who donated her nylon stockings to the US war effort might not know they often became parachutes, four of which floated to earth and sea over Acklins. After Ralph Stevens rolled out of a doomed bomber, spraining ankle and knee, it was given to a family of six children in Pompey Bay, by the […]
Book Review: The Black Joke: The True Story of One Ship’s Battle Against the Slave Trade by A. E. Rooks
A. E. Rooks. The Black Joke: The True Story of One Ship’s Battle against the Slave Trade. New York, NY: Scribner, www.simonandschuster.com, 2022. 382 pp., illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. US $29.00, cloth; ISBN 978-1-98212-826-5. (E-book available.)Prepare to encounter more than you may have bargained for: Rooks wields her quill like a scalpel, keeping us up […]
A beacon that saved lives of pilots
US B-18A bombers crash land near Acklins while patrolling for German and Italian subs
80 Years Ago, Fighter Planes Collide in Mid-Air, Crash at Fruit Street, Hit by Train
P-47 Thunderbolt Fighter Aircraft, courtesy of U.S. Air Force On the morning of June 24, 1943, a flight of four U. S. Army P-47 Thunderbolt fighter planes took off from Hillsgrove Army Air Field in Warwick, Rhode Island, on what was to be a routine formation training and intercept flight. The flight leader was 2nd Lieutenant […]
St Andrew’s International School Alumni Spotlight: Eric Wiberg ’86
An adventurous spirit, Eric has been on an exceptional journey since his departure from St. Andrew’s some 40 years ago. Following his time at the Massachusetts boarding school, his path has led him across the world and to the helm of 165 boats, racking up an impressive 80,000 nautical miles of sea travel. Eric’s extensive […]
The last flight of a Marauder
On October 17, 1944, five years into World War II, a B-26 Marauder aircraft assigned to the Royal Air Force Transport Command took off from the Windsor Field. #Two young Canadians were training at takeoffs and landings and were on their seventh such touch-and-go when their starboard engine caught fire. #The pilots, Jack Wood of […]
20 accidents at sea off New Providence
NEW Providence saw over 20 World War II aircraft ditch, crash, and explode into its adjacent waters. Most of these were to the south of the island, east, and north, and depended on direction of the winds, which air field was used, and complex night-time exercises using extremely bright Leigh Lights, and flying in formation. […]