Tufi · Papua New Guinea · Wreck
Black Jack B-17
A near-intact Flying Fortress on white sand at 45 m
Area photo: Larry V. Dumlao · CC BY-SA 4.0
A B-17 Flying Fortress that ran out of fuel returning from Rabaul in July 1943 and now sits on white sand at 45 m, the nose crumpled by the impact and the rest of the airframe in excellent condition. It is one planned decompression dive at the end of a long boat run, met on arrival by a school of very big batfish.
Also known as Blackjack B-17, Black Jack.
Where it is and how deep
9.6324° S, 150.0123° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
You descend a submerged mooring buoy straight down to the aircraft, and the reception committee arrives before the wreck does: a large school of very big batfish that are not afraid of divers and come within touching distance. The bomber lies on a white sandy bottom at 45 m, not far from deep water — close enough that it might never have been found at all had it drifted a little further before it went down.
The nose was torn and crumpled when it hit the bottom; the rest of the aircraft is in excellent condition, which is what makes the dive worth the run out. Large schools of pelagics pass over it and several shark species work the same water. Bottom time is brief, the profile is fixed, and there is nothing to be gained by improvising at this depth.
It ends the way a decompression dive ends: compulsory safety stops on the way up, then a minimum four-hour surface interval before a second dive. The distance is the other constraint — the aircraft lies well down the coast near Boga Boga, and the resort adds an extra charge for the run out to it. Between the profile and the trip, this is a dive the day gets built around rather than one slotted into a morning.
The wreck
- Vessel
- B-17 Flying Fortress 'Black Jack'
- Type
- Heavy bomber
- Built
- 1942
- Sunk
- 1943
- Cause
- Ditched after a storm and two failing engines left it off course and out of fuel
- Lies
- On white sand at 45 m near Boga Boga, Cape Vogel; nose crumpled, the rest of the airframe intact
The aircraft was built in Seattle on 23 July 1942 at a cost of US$314,109 and was originally assigned to Captain Kenneth McCullar, who chose it because the last two digits of its serial number were 21 and had a Jack and an Ace painted on the nose — twenty-one, blackjack. On 11 July 1943, returning from a raid over Rabaul, it was caught in a violent storm with two engines malfunctioning, veered off course and eventually ran out of fuel, ditching at sea. Divers found it near Boga Boga, off Cape Vogel, on 27 December 1986.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows Tufi: Apr–Jun and Oct–Dec are calmest for the offshore reefs; the fjords stay divable year-round whatever the weather does.
Know before you go
- The 45 m depth makes this a compulsory-decompression dive, with mandatory stops on ascent and a minimum four-hour surface interval before a second dive.
- The aircraft sits close to deep water on an open sand bottom, so there is nothing to stop a descent that gets away from you.
Dive videos
Blackjack B-17 Papua New Guinea WWII aircraft wreck · Nomadic Scuba on YouTube
Diving the B-17 bomber " Black Jack". · EXRAFAPP on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Black Jack B-17?+
The bomber lies at 45 m on a white sandy bottom. That makes it a decompression dive with compulsory stops and a mandatory four-hour surface interval afterwards, so it is run as a single dive rather than part of a normal two-tank morning.
Why is it called Black Jack?+
Captain Kenneth McCullar picked the aircraft because the last two digits of its serial number were 21, and had two playing cards — a Jack and an Ace — painted on the nose: twenty-one, blackjack.
Sources
- Wreck Diving — Tufi Resort
- Kenneth D. McCullar — Wikipedia
In The Logbook
- Do you need a safety stop? What it buys youBody & health · 11 min read
- Deep wreck diving: where recreational stopsWrecks · 8 min read
- WWII wrecks you can dive, by theatreWrecks · 7 min read
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