Pete Noddin owns and operates the Maine Aviation Archeology Website at http://www.geocities.com/petef86a. He's also recently been elected president of Maine Aviation Historical Society which runs The Maine Air Museum in Bangor

AM: How is Maine's aviation history different than what you'd find in other states?

Noddin: I think that one of the most important factors making Maine "unique" in aviation history is simply our geographic location in the U.S. This has resulted in a lot of important and "first" aviation events in American aviation to occur here. Yet, when one thinks about "Maine history", aviation and aircraft usually don't come to mind.

Pete Noddin next to the wreckage of a KC-97 near Newry, Maine (photo courtesy Pete Noddin)

Many of the early failed trans-Atlantic flight attempts as well as the later first trans-Atlantic hot air balloon flight started in Maine. WW II resulted in Maine becoming a key step in the route for heavy aircraft being ferried to the European Theatre. Half of all multi-engine aircraft use by U.S. forces in Europe passed through either Dow Field in Bangor, or Presque Isle Army Air Field. All of the "Operation Bolero II" P-38s featured in the History Channel's "Search for the Lost Squadron" earlier this week departed the U.S. from Dow Field.

Though not well explained in U.S. history books. Our neighbor to the north, Canada, gained her independence from the British Commonwealth by agreeing to use the vast expanse of the nation for training British Commonwealth military pilots far from the danger of prowling axis aircraft. Numerous Maine airfields and lakes played a crucial role in this effort due to our position between the training fields in New Brunswick and those in Quebec.

From an aviation archaeology standpoint, Maine has a unique historical tragedy in that the most commonly crashed aircraft, and largest number of aircrew fatalities in a single aircraft type were both military aircraft of a foreign nation. Brunswick Naval Air Field, and its auxiliary fields were known to Great Britain as "HMS Sakar". Royal Navy Corsair and TBF "Avenger" pilots received their operational training here before deploying to the Pacific. The Corsair was the first naval aircraft to gain the dubious nickname "ensign killer" and the most commonly crashed aircraft in Maine. Many of their pilots are buried here.

Part of Rear Gun position from a B-52 that crashed in Greenville (photo courtesy Pete Noddin)

The cold war era brought a new importance to our position in the U.S. Ground breaking work in jet fighter operational deployment and aerial refueling occurred in the skies over Maine. The first nuclear armed intercontinental missiles to stand alert were in Maine. The "Caribou Air Force Station" was one of the largest nuclear weapon stockpile sites through the 1950's and provided depot level maintenance for most weapons east of the Mississippi and in Europe and the Middle East. SAC bombers from Dow and Loring set many records and had many "firsts" in cold war aviation.

Maine's vast forest and numerous lakes resulted in a lot of unique general aviation developments related to float plane and ski plane operations.

AM:  How did you first become interested in aviation archeology? Was there one particular site that you became interested in?

Noddin: I've been interested in aviation and especially military aircraft since childhood. I grew up hearing stories from family and other locals about three mishaps in the Millinocket area and over the years I collected news clippings and notes about them. As my career in public safety and occupational safety took shape, I began to get interested in the human performance and technological barriers that were being pushed in WW II and the cold war era. The stories of how these accidents occurred and the stories of search and survival that unfolded in the Maine woods are as phenomenal as any that you can see on a TV documentary. History and activities in the Maine woods have always been hobbies of mine, so it all kind of came together as something I later learned was being called "Aviation Archaeology".

The site that really got me started in the process of actually finding and documenting crash sites was the 1962 F-101B crash in Macwahoc. My dad and a friend were hunting in the search area at the time and got involved in the four day search for the wreckage and missing pilot. I grew up hearing stories about the search operation and events surrounding the crash.

Engine from a C-54 that crashed at Fort Mountain (photo courtesy Pete Noddin)

AM: How did you come to make a web site devoted to the topic?

Noddin: Well.. a friend and fellow wreck chaser and I are planning to finish a book about military aircraft mishaps in Maine in the cold war era. After this we plan on doing the same for the WW II era. He took seriously ill and the project hasn't come together yet. In the meantime several of us have been writing articles for various publications, but I have several file drawers and file boxes full of information and photos of no use to anyone but me.

Looking over several friends' web sites (especially Craig Fuller's AAIR site - http://www.aviationarchaeology.com) made me realize that a web site was a good place to summarize all of my work and accomplish my goal of making people aware about the cost of our freedom and the aircrew who died protecting it in the skies over Maine.

A local web site builder asked to put together a site dedicated to the Sea Fury site based on my articles about the incident. This greatly increased the number of calls and e-mails that I was getting looking for information, so I set down and taught myself to use a simple page building tool and put some of my own material on the web.

AM: Is any effort being made to preserve sites? Should there be?

Noddin: Part of my effort is to work with landowners to preserve historic crash sites, especially those where fatalities occurred. There is a lot of debate on exactly how this should be done. My preference is to designate these sites as "special areas" under Maine law and erect memorials that explain the significance of the site to those who pass by. If we do nothing, sites that are accessible will be pilfered. If we work to educate about and memorialize a site, we run the risk of drawing commercial parts hunters and souvenir collectors.

The B-52 site at Greenville is a good example the dilemma. By memorializing the site and creating respect for it, they are probably reducing the obliteration of it. Yet every fall, parts of the aircraft and crew personal effects will show up on e-bay for sale!

Preserving a crash site rarely interferes with any other use of the property. If you know it's there and its significance, you can harvest timber or grow crops around it with just a little care.

AM: Are you ever prevented from visiting a site by landowners?

Noddin: Sometimes. We have to be very careful in Maine. If we throw the words "artifact" and "archaeology" around we can be seen as another group trying to limit landowner rights. This isn't the case.

Sometimes we are hurt by the commercial parts sales crowd (who carry out parts then sell them on the aviation marked as "used") or the souvenir hunters. Sometimes they've been there first or a landowner has had a bad experience with them. The landowners often want to preserve the sites and paint us with the same brush.

I usually approach landowners up front with my work and intentions. I assure them that I won't take anything but photos and measurements and that I don't widely publish coordinates of sites. I use my web site as a "check me out, what I'm about" tool. Another real good door opener that I use is my files. Often the landowner is as interested in what really happened as I am. I always carry extra copies of the news clippings, photos, and accident reports when I go to meet a landowner or crash site witness. These techniques have opened most doors.

B-52 Bomber (USAF Photo)

AM: If you could recommend one site for people to visit where would it be and why?

Noddin: I would recommend the Greenville B-52C site because of its easy access. You don't need any woods skills to find or safely visit it. There is also enough wreckage left that is clearly "airplane" to someone who isn't necessarily an aviation buff. The size of the site, destruction of the airframe, and the memorial to the seven men who died serving their country there create a deeply moving experience.

AM: What's the single most intact site?

"Intact" is a very relative term if you haven't ever looked closely at what happens to an aircraft that crashes. I would probably say that the Fort Mountain C-54A in Baxter State Park is the most intact. Even though the aircraft broke up along a long track, most of the wreckage is still there and much of it still looks like part of an airplane. There is an F-101B on Mount Abraham that is very intact from the standpoint of being the most "together" in one small area.

AM: Are there sites you are aware of that you keep secret?

Noddin: I don't publish site coordinates and set a few "crash site etiquette" rules for anyone that I take to a crash site on a public hike. There have been several historic sites seriously vandalized around the country and a few here in Maine.

I haven't really gone out of my way to keep the existence of any documented sites secret. I do keep some under the lid when they are "unknowns" or pieces of wreckage that I've been asked to identify. There are still some "missing" aircraft out there in the Maine woods and waters. Also, the heavy military air traffic over Maine means that there are numerous panels, drop tanks, and jettisoned equipment out there that people find and want identified. I keep these "secret" mainly to avoid getting media attention prematurely and to be sure of what I am saying before announcing it.

Memorial at KC-97 Site (photo courtesy Pete Noddin)

AM: Do you ever get to speak to survivors? Have you recorded their stories?

Noddin: Yes, I've interviewed many survivors while collecting the history of individual crashes. When Maine Aviation Historical Society dedicates a memorial, we like to contact survivors, family of the crew, and unit veterans to invite them along and keep them abreast of our efforts. In a few cases, we've returned to sites with survivors.

Another twist on this, and the one thing that I find most rewarding about this hobby, is when family of lost aircrew contact me or the society for information about lost loved ones or asking to visit the crash site. In many cases these are children of lost aircrew that were very young at the time and were never given any details about what happened. It is very humbling, but rewarding to assist in these cases.

Thanks to Pete Noddin - Visit his web site at: http://www.geocities.com/petef86a This site is often unavailable during high-demand times.

aroundmaine.com March 6, 2003