Can you identify these artifacts?
The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) found these items on the remote Pacific atoll Nikumaroro while searching for evidence that Amelia Earhart (AE) landed there and eventually perished after failing to reach her intended destination Howland island. The artifacts were recovered from what appears to be the camp of a castaway where human bones were found in 1940. TIGHAR has mounted six expeditions to the atoll over the last twenty years. Each time new artifacts are recovered and carefully analyzed. They continue to be stumped by these items.
Following URLs all begin with http://tigar.org/
Large pictures of artifacts Projects/Earhart/help/Artifact5.html
Small pictures wiki/2-6-S-03a_and_2-6-S-03b
Measurements of 2-6-S-03b aw/mediawiki/documents/gidgie.pdf
Screw dimensions TTracks/2002Vol_18/1804.pdf
These may be manufactured or hand crafted. Has anyone seen similar items? Who made them? For what purpose are they used? Can you provide a link to examples of said use? Are there any online resources or books that might list these or similar items?
The screws are brass American No. 8, 15/16″ length woodscrews meeting specifications that were current from the 1930s up until 1970. The metal appears to be aluminum.
The atoll was uninhabited at the time of AEs disappearance. In later years it was colonized by Pacific islanders under British administration. It was abandoned in 1963. During WWII the U.S. Coast Guard maintained a LORAN station on the island. Any of the above are possible sources for the artifacts.
Thanks for looking. Pass this along to one and all. Hopefully we can sove this mystery.
Replies
Looks to me like a galley fixture !! Used to open "CANS OF SPAM"
More Detail Please
Bruce, Thanks for the reply. I'm used to P-38s for opening ration cans - so I'm having trouble envisioning how this would work. Can you provide more detail about how these metal pieces are used to open cans? Were they attached to a wall? Were they a stand alone tool with a wood handle? Any thoughts where I could find a picture? Google isn't helping today.
Thanks in advance.
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