Downed World War II Aircraft Found In Pacific After 72 Years

It was July of 1944, the height of World War II, when a TBM-1C Avenger torpedo bomber was approaching its target. The three-man crew, anticipation in the air, were suddenly vanquished by anti-aircraft fire over a relatively shallow lagoon near the Pacific island of Palau. After an initial fruitless search, it is now, nearly 3/4 of a century later, that the aircraft was found in 85 feet of water.

Finding World War II plane is emblematic of larger mission

The single-prop Avenger lay dormant for 72...