A huge thrill for the South Pacific WWII Museum this week following the discovery of aircraft wreckage in Port Vila. During a recent visit to the Vanuatu capital, museum chairman Bradley Wood spotted the tail and engine of what appeared to be a World War II aircraft.
Through further research and with the assistance of our dedicated Facebook followers, we confirmed that the tail section and remnants of the engine belonged to a WWII US Dauntless aircraft. These were pieces that we couldn’t pass up for our museum collection.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of Jason Rakau, the CEO of Airports Vanuatu Limited (AVL), he graciously agreed to donate the tail and engine to the museum. However, we soon faced the challenge of transporting these precious artefacts to Santo.
Fortunately, Shaun Griffin from Ocean Logistics came to our aid. He made arrangements for the Dauntless wreckage to be picked up by the team from Recyclecorp in Port Vila and transported to the dock, where it was loaded onto a barge for transportation to Santo.
We extend our sincerest gratitude to Jason Rakau from AVL for his invaluable donation to the museum. Special thanks also go to Rowland and Damas from AVL for their assistance with the loading process, Recyclecorp for transporting the wreckage to the waterfront, and Sean Griffin from Ocean Logistics for organising the transportation to Santo.
Once we have mounted the tail and engine, we will share further photographs of these pieces on display at the museum in Luganville.
Fortunately, Sean Griffin from Ocean Logistics came to our aid. He made arrangements for the Dauntless wreckage to be picked up by the team from Recyclecorp in Port Vila and transported to the dock, where it was loaded onto a barge for transportation to Santo.
We extend our sincerest gratitude to Jason Rakau from AVL for his invaluable donation to the museum. Special thanks also go to Rowland and Damas from AVL for their assistance with the loading process, Recyclecorp for transporting the wreckage to the waterfront, and Sean Griffin from Ocean Logistics for organising the transportation to Santo.
Once we have mounted the tail and engine, we will share further photographs of these pieces on display at the museum in Luganville.