"The divers and experts have gone home and the search for the last missing female pilot from World War II is over.
Gertrude Tompkins, a newlywed Women's Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) from Summit, taxied a P-51D Mustang fighter plane out of an Army airfield in Los Angeles and disappeared on Oct. 26, 1944. She was one of 1,074 WASP in the war, one of 38 killed and the only one still missing.
Last week, a consortium of part-time adventurers pooled their time and expertise to search for what is left of the plane, which is believed to have crashed into Santa Monica Bay. It was an intense expedition, requiring months of preparation and the volunteer services of master divers and search theorists from throughout the country.
They didn't find Tompkins' plane, but expedition organizers said their disappointment was outweighed by "collateral benefits."
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Search fails to solve mystery of vanished WWII pilot - NJ.com
Search fails to solve mystery of vanished WWII pilot
