Bimini Mysteries & Legends: Flight 19: The "Lost Patrol"
5 Dec 20104:55 AM
Today is the 65th anniversary of the disappearance of Flight 19, the US Navy’s infamous “Lost Patrol”. On Dec. 5, 1945, five TBM Avengers were on a routine training mission from their …
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![](mailto:?subject=Bimini Mysteries & Legends: Flight 19: The "Lost Patrol"&body=Today is the 65th anniversary of the disappearance of <a title="Wikipedia entry for Flight 19" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_19" target="_blank">Flight 19, the US Navy's infamous "Lost Patrol"</a>. On Dec. 5, 1945, five <a title="Wikipedia entry for Avenger torpedo bombers" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TBF_Avenger" target="_blank">TBM Avengers</a> were on a routine training mission from their <a title="Wikipedia entry for NAS Ft. Lauderdale" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Station_Fort_Lauderdale" target="_blank">base in Ft. Lauderdale</a> when they disappeared after a practice bombing run. No trace of the crews or their planes were ever found.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/f191.png"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-315" title="Artists Rendering of Flight 19, the "Lost Patrol"" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/f191.png?w=250" alt="" width="250" height="300" /></a>
The case of of the "Lost Patrol" is one of the 20th Century's great mysteries, and is another chapter in the very colorful history of <a title="Islands of the Bahamas web site" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Station_Fort_Lauderdale" target="_blank">Bimini</a>, the tiny islands in the <a title="Wikipedia entry for the Gulf Stream" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Stream" target="_blank">Stream</a> that seems to have more than their fair share of mysteries and legends. You see, shortly before disappearing forever, Flight 19 had just completed a bombing run on the <a title="Wikipedia entry for S.S. Sapona" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Sapona" target="_blank">S.S. Sapona</a>, a shipwreck just off the coast of Bimini and only a short trip north from the <a title="BBGC web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com" target="_blank">Big Game Club</a>.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/sapona.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-316" title="The Wreck of the S.S. Sapona" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/sapona.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>
So what happened to the "Lost Patrol"? No one really knows, but some believe Flight 19 was a victim of the <a title="Wikipedia entry for Bermuda Triangle" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bermuda_Triangle" target="_blank">Bermuda Triangle</a>, the area where ships and planes have disappeared for centuries without explanation. Many theories have been given for the strange occurrences in the Triangle, from aliens to the paranormal to some type of interaction with the <a title="Wikipedia entry for Atlantis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis" target="_blank">Lost City of Atlantis</a>. For those that believe in the Triangle, Atlantis is the most plausible explanation for the disappearance of Flight 19. Why? Because Bimini also happens to be the home of the reputed <a title="Wikipedia entry for the Road to Atlantis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimini_Road" target="_blank">Road to Atlantis</a>. Coincidence??
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/bimini_road.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-318" title="The Road to Atlantis" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/bimini_road.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a>
NOTE: The S.S. Sapona and the Road to Atlantis (AKA the Bimini Road) are two of Bimini's most popular dive sites. For more information on scuba diving these famous sites, as well as Bimini's other underwater adventures, contact <a title="Dive Bimini's web page" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/dive-bimini.htm" target="_blank">Dive Bimini, a Guy Harvey Outpost Dive Center</a> located at the Bimini Big Game Club. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/after-65-years-flight-19-remains-the-lost-patrol/){kind=link}
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