ENIGMA OF THE SEA

We were all once obsessed with the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, and then it disappeared. David Barnett looks closer

- David Barnett

On 5 December 1945, five United States navy TBM Avenger bombers took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 2.10pm as part of a navigation training exercise codenamed Flight 19. Their 320-mile route was to take them east from Florida then banking north, flying over Grand Bahama Island, then turning southwest and heading back to their base.

Five days later, the search for the five planes was called off after not a single trace was found of any of them, with the only clue to the disappearance of all five planes a few fragmentary radio messages that seemed to make no sense at all.

Leading the training exercise was experienced pilot Lt Charles Carroll Taylor, who had another veteran pilot with him, leading the other 12 trainee pilots, gunners and radio operators on what should have been a straightforward exercise.

But two hours into the flight, Taylor radioed base to say he’d completely lost his bearings. He said: “Both my compasses are out… I’m over land but it’s broken… I’m sure I’m in the [Florida] Keys but I don’t know how far down and I don’t know how to get back to Fort Lauderdale.”

If Flight 19 had kept to its scheduled course, it should not have been anyway near the Florida Keys at that point – it should have been 200 miles away near Great Sale Cay.

Over the course of the next two hours, Taylor radioed back to say he believed they were over the Gulf of Mexico and heading back to Florida. His final message revealed that Flight 19’s five planes were running low on fuel and would have to take drastic action.