在太平洋发现二战期间被击落的美国飞机

在太平洋发现二战期间被击落的美国飞机

A group called Project Recover has located two dive bombers and one torpedo bomber at the bottom of the Truk Lagoon, within the Federated States of Micronesia, over seven decades after they went missing in action during World War II.

一个名为“寻回计划”(Project recovery)的组织在密克罗尼西亚联邦境内的特鲁克泻湖(Truk Lagoon)底部找到了两架潜水轰炸机和一架鱼雷轰炸机，这两架轰炸机在二战期间失踪已有70多年。

It took the group — a nonprofit volunteer organization affiliated with the University of Delaware, among other institutions — four expeditions to the area over the course of two years to find the crafts’ remains.

这个非营利性志愿者组织隶属于特拉华大学(University of Delaware)和其他机构，在两年的时间里，他们四次前往该地区寻找这些工艺品的遗骸。

While the vessels’ resting place is today known as Chuuk State and considered to be a premier diving destination, it was once a war zone.

虽然这些船只的安息地现在叫作楚克州，是一个重要的潜水地，但它曾经是一个战区。

At dawn on Feb. 17, 1944, the planes took off from the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise and USS Intrepid as part of the two-day Operation Hailstone. The operation was considered to be a huge win for the Americans, with more than 200 Japanese aircraft and 50 merchant vessels sunk and destroyed — but American aircraft and lives were still lost.

1944年2月17日拂晓，作为为期两天的冰雹行动的一部分，飞机从“企业号”和“无畏号”航空母舰起飞。这次行动被认为是美国人的一次巨大胜利，200多架日本飞机和50多艘商船被击沉和摧毁，但美国飞机和生命仍然在失去。

“Though a US victory, 23 American servicemen and 30 American Aircraft went missing in action in Truk Lagoon,” writes the University of Delaware in a press release.

特拉华大学在一份新闻稿中写道：“尽管美国取得了胜利，但23名美国军人和30架美国飞机在特鲁克泻湖的行动中失踪。”。

Researchers spent 50 days surveying over 43 miles of seafloor before finding deep water debris fields containing the aircraft remains.

研究人员花了50天的时间调查了43英里的海底，然后发现了含有飞机残骸的深水碎片区。

“While discovering these sites is exhilarating and validating, these feelings are mixed with the humbling emotions of the sacrifices made by these service members and their families in protecting our freedoms,” says Recover’s expedition leader, Mark Moline.

“虽然发现这些遗址令人振奋，也令人欣慰，但这些感受与这些军人及其家人为保护我们的自由而做出的牺牲所带来的悲悯情绪交织在一起，”寻回计划探险队的领队马克·莫林(Mark Moline)说。

Now, the researchers hope to identify the remains of up to seven crew members who may have died aboard the aircraft. The lagoon is thought to contain the remains of an additional 103 World War II MIA’s, altogether affiliated with 28 planes.

现在，研究人员希望能确认多达7名机组人员的遗体，他们可能已经在飞机上死亡。这个环礁湖被认为包含了另外103架二战军情局的遗骸，共有28架飞机。

“Project Recover is honored to play our part in keeping our nation’s promise of returning our fallen service members home and we remain committed to locating more Americans missing in action in Chuuk and around the world,” says retired US marine aviator and Project Recover CEO Derek Abbey.

美国海军陆战队退役飞行员、“寻回计划”(Project recovery)首席执行官德里克•艾比(Derek Abbey)表示:“‘寻回计划’很荣幸能够履行我们国家的承诺，让阵亡军人回家，我们也将继续致力于在楚克和世界各地寻找更多在行动中失踪的美国人。”