This is a case of commemorative plaque for US Naval Aviators who served at Naval Air Station, Fort Lauderdale, FL during WWII in particular the officers & crewmen of five Naval Avenger Torpedo Bombers who disappeared mysteriously on Dec. 5, 1945 in Atlantic Ocean known as the Bermuda Triangle.
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have mysteriously disappeared.
Location and Boundaries :
The Bermuda Triangle’s boundaries are not universally agreed upon, but it is generally defined by the points of Miami, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Bermuda.
History of Incidents :
The Bermuda Triangle’s reputation for mysterious disappearances dates back to the 1940s and 1950s, when several high-profile incidents occurred, including:
1. Flight 19: Five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger torpedo bombers on a training mission disappeared on December 5, 1945.
2. Star Tiger: A British South American Airways DC-3 airliner disappeared on January 30, 1948, while flying from Puerto Rico to Miami.
3. Star Ariel: Another British South American Airways DC-3 airliner disappeared on January 17, 1949, while flying from Bermuda to Jamaica.
Theories and Explanations :
Over the years, numerous theories have been proposed to explain the Bermuda Triangle’s mysterious incidents, including:
1. Magnetic Anomalies: Some scientists suggest that the Bermuda Triangle is home to unusual magnetic anomalies that can interfere with compass readings and disrupt navigation equipment.
2. Methane Gas: Some researchers propose that methane gas bubbles rising from the seafloor could cause ships to lose buoyancy and sink.
3. Rogue Waves: Another theory suggests that the Bermuda Triangle is prone to rogue waves, also known as freak waves, that can be devastating to ships and aircraft.
4. Human Error: Many experts believe that the majority of incidents in the Bermuda Triangle can be attributed to human error, such as navigational mistakes or equipment failure.
Despite extensive research and numerous investigations, the Bermuda Triangle remains one of the world’s greatest unsolved mysteries.
Australian scientist and author Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki joined FOX Weather on 2023 to explain that perhaps the legends aren’t really as mysterious as they seem.
Scientist Dr. Karl Kruszelniucki claims to have an answer to the mysteries of the notorious Bermuda Triangle saying it is a heavily traveled area, meaning more accidents are likely to happen and the number of disappearances aren’t unusual due to human error and poor weather.
A scientist thinks he has cracked the code of one of the most enduring mysteries of the modern world – the Bermuda Triangle.
Conspiracy theories on their disappearance include everything from magnetic forces to aliens to methane bubbles to even the Lost City of Atlantis.
Australian scientist and author Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki explained that perhaps the legends aren’t as mysterious as they seem.
“Well, if you go to the facts, they come from both the United States Coast Guard and the massive insurance company, Lloyd’s of London,” he told FOX Weather meteorologist Amy Freeze. “Both of them reckon that there’s no extra losses of ships or airplanes in that area.”
Kruszelnicki added that, as a percentage, the disappearances are comparable to losses of ships and airplanes in other parts of the world.
“Some years a bit more, some years a bit less,” he said. “But it averages out the same.
No one knows the exact number of disappearances that have occurred in the Bermuda Triangle, but common estimates include about 50 ships and 20 airplanes, according to Britannica.com.
Among those include the doomed Flight 19, a group of five torpedo bombers that disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle. Kruszelnicki explained that Flight 19 took off in early December 1945 on a training mission because World War II had just ended, and the U.S. Navy was teaching their aviators a new trade.
“In charge of them was Lt. Charles Taylor, who, on two occasions, was such a bad navigator that he got lost at sea,” Kruszelnicki said.
Kruszelnicki also said that Taylor tried to get someone to cover his shift but was unsuccessful. He was also seen traveling without a watch which “was very unprofessional.”
Once out at sea, he then did not follow the standard lost at sea procedure with regard to the training mission,” Kruszelnicki added. “And instead of heading back to the west, he kept on going east, further out into the Atlantic Ocean, ran out of fuel and vanished.”
Kruszelnicki said the original story of the Bermuda Triangle was written by Vincent Gaddis and appeared in the science fiction magazine Argosy.
Author Charles Berlitz followed up with a book called The Bermuda Triangle, and then author Larry Kusche debunked all the stories in 1980, referencing both the Coast Guard and Lloyd’s of London, according to Kruszelnicki.
The size and depth of the ocean may have been fueling the flames of the Bermuda Triangle, according to Kruszelnicki.
“Another fact to be felt, beside the massive number of storms, is the fact that the ocean goes down to, not 5,000 feet – 30,000,” he said. “When it’s going down, it’s staying down.”
There’s also a slight chance that something beneath the ocean waters could be responsible for the loss of some ships.
“There is a microscopic chance of something called methane clathrate,” Kruszelnicki said. “Which are methane gas bound in ice could bubble loose from the ocean floor, come up to the surface and then have a shower of bubbles appearing at the surface.”
Kruszelnicki said that experiments conducted by
Australia’s CSIRO (the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) showed that with model ships if enough bubbles are coming to the surface, the density of water is reduced.
So, Kruszelnicki said there’s a slight possibility that a situation like that is instrumental in some of the disappearances “but very remote.”
Conclusion
The Bermuda Triangle remains one of the most intriguing mysteries of our time. While numerous theories—ranging from natural phenomena to conspiracy theories—attempt to explain the strange disappearances, no single explanation has been universally accepted. Some believe that scientific factors like methane gas eruptions, magnetic anomalies, or extreme weather patterns contribute to the incidents, while others hold onto the more mysterious or supernatural explanations.
Despite modern navigation technology and extensive research, the Bermuda Triangle continues to capture the imagination of adventurers, scientists, and conspiracy theorists alike. Whether it is a true anomaly or simply a myth fueled by human fascination, the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle persists, ensuring that it remains a subject of debate and curiosity for generations to come.