On February 17, 2005, Nick Bellantoni was contacted by Thomas Palshaw, a volunteer at the New England Air Museum and author of the book Bradley Field, the First 25 Years, requesting help in locating the crash site of Lt. Bradley's P-40 fighter plane. The crash occurred on August 21, 1941, three days after Bradley and his wife Anne had arrived at the new military air base. In his book, Mr. Palshaw told the story of Lt. Eugene Bradley and how he became the first casualty at the military base, which led to the naming of the facility in his honor on January 20, 1942.

Officials of the New England Air Museum wish to erect a memorial monument at the exact location of the crash site. Mr. Palshaw has been researching the crash site for five years and has not been able to determine exactly where the plane came down. He is hoping that Nick, using archaeological methods, might be able to answer this perplexing question. Historical evidence suggests that not all of the pieces of the plane had been removed on the day of the crash. The question was raised, could the aircraft remains be found using metal detectors or ground penetrating radar equipment?

Several preliminary meetings were held at the Air Museum. Attending were Nick, several members of FOSA, as well as two representatives from the East Granby Historical Society. Mr. Palshaw reviewed some of his historical documentation, eye-witness testimony, aerial photographs and maps from that time period. Tom had also shared some of the criteria he had established from several years of research. These included:

1 - It crashed in East Granby, within 50 yards of the town line.
2 - It was within the boundary of the air base.
3 - It was north of the main hangar on the east runway.
4 - It was in a wooded area of small trees.
5 - It crashed vertically and did not disturb trees next to the impact area.
6 - The area was very sandy, like beach sand.
7 - The engine had buried itself 13-15 feet deep.

Surprisingly, there are no remaining photographs of the crashed plane. Military documentation is confusing and is further complicated by classified documents related to the 9/11 terrorist attack.

Five eye-witnesses were interviewed; all are in their eighties. They live in Suffield, Windsor Locks and East Granby. Descendants of other deceased eye-witnesses were also interviewed. It is known that four vehicles responded to the crash. These were a fire truck, an ambulance, a bulldozer and a wrecker. The plane and remains of Lt. Bradley were removed from the crash site by 6 p.m. on August 21, 1941. Efforts have been made to identify the access roads leading to the crash site.

An official report on the Bradley crash was obtained from Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama where archival material on military airplane crashes are stored. Unfortunately, the only reference to the location of the crash was "in the northwest corner." No coordinates were given; no photographs were included.

With all the information available, two potential sites were identified. One is located across the road from the Air Museum building and the other is a section of land adjoining the old Liss Farm on Russell Road in East Granby. The surveying firm Close, Jensen and Miller provided assistance as they recently surveyed part of the Liss Farm.

On July 14, 2005, fifteen members of the "Yankee Coin Shooters" (a metal detecting group) and thirteen FOSA members searched these two sites for fragments of Lt. Bradley's P-40 fighter plane for over six hours. The result was disappointing; several pieces of nondescript metal were found, nothing suggestive of Bradley's aircraft. The search efforts were hampered by thick vegetation and underbrush.

The research work is ongoing. This includes a review of aerial photographs, a planned group interview with eye witnesses, and further exploration of historical documents.

The mystery continues. Stay tuned.